Wrapping it all Together

The last day of Biotech the Threequeal day camp was a little nontraditional. We did something that other people do for us and that was to give a presentation. Each County chose a different day to highlight, made a poster and got up to talk about what they learned. The rules were simple everyone had to help with the presentation and everyone had to speak.
On Monday one group talked about food science. They talked about how bread is made and that root bear and bread both use yeast in different ways. They were able to talk about chemical reactions and temperature reactions. They also said the peach jam was really good. Overall the comments were that the foods rocked and so does 4-H which keeps a smile on their face.
The group that talked about our trip to Pope Air Field just didn't quite know where to start. There were so many things to talk about. The technology of airplanes and equipment. The survival gear (they seemed to especially love the parachutes) and tower trainer made big impressions also. The entire military life and lifestyle as well as codes and ethics also impressed our youth.
Wednesday at the life sciences museum our youth must have had a blast. Their poster showed everything from butterflies and insects to animals and games. They even represented the musical steel instruments on the playground and lessons in magnetism that they took part in at the museum.
The presentation about the trip to ECU was very logical and straight forward. Our youth were able to recall not only the purpose of the Da Vinci robot but the history and the future implications of the robot. The day campers recalled the benefits to operating with the robot versus a human (humans hands are not as steady, incision in the patient is smaller and ribs don't have to be spread, recovery time is shorter, etc.). They even recanted details of the heart surgery they watched.
After the presentations we had a catered lunch and then went bowling to practice centrifugal force at its finest. Looking in from the outside it might look like we had a lot of fun field trips this week. In part we did. However our youth demonstrated that they learned something. Our evaluation shows that 100% of our youth were able to determine a career that they might want to explore, or one they know they don't want to explore thanks to this day camp. They were introduced to ideas, professions, technologies, sciences, and people who can help them in the future. Who knows, maybe one of these youth will create the next medical robot that won't require an incision for surgery. Maybe one of them will be flying a cargo plane full of relief supplies to a foreign county, or maybe they will be the next great science teacher making science, technology, engineering and mathematics fun for new generations. Imagine what they could be and hopefully they are encouraged to purse the possibilities now.