Handheld devices were tools used by students in the Summer Science program.
Thirteen of the 4-H Science Ambassadors who participated in the 2013 Rutgers 4-H Summer Science program that drew students from Atlantic, Essex, Mercer, Passaic and Union counties to the Rutgers campus, attended the National Youth Summit. This event, which focused on Geospatial Technologies, was held at the National 4-H Youth Conference Center in Chevy Chase, MD, on Sept. 25-29. The high school students learned about Global Positioning System (GPS), Geographic Information System (GIS) and remote sensing through hands-on activities, projects, field trips and speaker presentations.
Chad Ripberger, 4-H agent and chair of the Department of 4-H, Mercer County, headed the design and implementation of the National Youth Summit, which brought together facilitators from throughout the 4-H system including the states of Colorado, Kansas, Maine, Missouri and New York.
4-H Summer Science students use Samsung tablets for hands-on STEM learning.
In addition, facilitators included professionals from summit partners at the United States Geological Survey, ESRI, Air Force, Smithsonian, and the National Coordination Office for Space-Based Positioning, Navigation and Timing.
The 120 youth and adults at the summit also learned how to facilitate the 4-H National Youth Science Day activity, Maps and Apps. Twelve representatives from New Jersey 4-H will be leading the activity on National Youth Science Day, which will take place at the 4-H Center on Oct. 9.
