More than just agriculture – Observer-Reporter

When Sheila Hackinson joined the Washington County 4-H program as a positive youth development educator, she saw an opportunity to broaden the organization’s traditional focus on livestock and agriculture.

“We like to learn something about the culture when we cook,” said Hackinson, of Hickory, of her virtual cooking class. “Usually at the start of class I’ll put up a PowerPoint on my computer and we’ll go over their homework, which is usually about something the kids learned about the area, whether it’s a holiday or a tradition.”

While 4-H has traditionally based its education around agriculture programming, the Washington and Fayette County branches have groups that expand the conventional aspect of the youth organization. Whether it’s a robotics club that teaches students about engineering and teamwork or an online cooking class that incorporates different cultures, the expansion of 4-H programs is focusing on educational inclusivity.

“I think people are starting to realize that 4-H is more than just about animals, there’s more to it,” Hackinson said. “And I think in our school systems we’re losing the ability to do cooking and sewing … so 4-H allows extracurricular activities to learn those life skills.”

Jeremy Hughes of Masontown is one of the engineer mentors for the Fayette County 4-H Robotics Club. He said the club not only brings in students with natural inclinations toward programming and engineering, but also fills an educational gap.

“I think it’s important that we have these kinds of programs in places like Fayette County, which I call ‘technology desert,” said Jeremy Hugues.

Hughes and his wife, Mary Ann, started the club 11 years ago using LEGO Mindstorms, a LEGO program that uses the toy blocks to build programmable robots. The club has evolved to participate in the FIRST Tech Challenge, a global robotics competition for middle and high schoolers.

“It’s the world’s leading nonprofit youth STEM program,” Mary Ann Hughes said. “Kids from all around the world are competing in it every year.”

Around September, the FIRST Tech Challenge program reveals sets of instructions and a theme for the year’s game. Teams are required to provide a robot that must do several tasks as well as work with teams from different areas to compete for a chance to move on in the tournament. Different students have different roles which allows team members to use a variety of skill sets including programming, engineering, digital literacy, physics and even social media.

Elyse Hughes, 18, was the Fayette County 4-H Robotics team manager last year. She has graduated from the program but said she plans to return to help the group during her breaks from college. Elyse said she learned a lot more than just engineering during her tenure at the robotics club.

“Along with the engineering and programming aspect, there is a social aspect and a teamwork aspect,” she said. “It teaches us how to work together especially when it comes to something we’re not really sure how to do, so when we have different people come up with different ideas, it really helps us learn how to work as a team.”

Hackinson, who has a degree from Penn State University in agricultural engineering, launched her cooking club during the pandemic with eight students. The weekly interactive sessions have since grown to include about 30 participants who learn cooking techniques, food safety and cultural awareness.

Like robotics Hackinson’s online cooking club includes STEM teaching objectives blended with an artistic and social aspect. The children are also encouraged to learn about the different foods they are making.

“The kids really respond to that kind of contextual information,” Hackinson said. “It makes them more engaged and curious to learn about the world through food.”

The cooking club also allows for creativity, with participants decorating cupcakes, designing their own pizza toppings and even entering homemade dishes like peach cobbler into the county fair. One student delved into a decidedly Hawaiian dish with “Island-Style Fried Rice” made with SPAM.

Washington County’s latest initiative is starting a LEGO-based robotics club using funds raised through a 4-H benefit auction. Much like Fayette’s club, Hackinson said the group plans to provide an outlet for youth interested in STEM fields.

“We want every young person to find their passion through 4-H, whether that’s raising chickens or learning to code,” she said. “The sky’s the limit when it comes to developing essential life skills.”