Every year, National 4-H Week sees millions of youth, parents, volunteers and alumni come together to celebrate the many positive youth development opportunities offered by 4-H. With so many children struggling to reach their full potential, 4-H believes that young people, in partnership with adults, can play a key role in creating a more promising and equitable future for youth, families and communities across the country. In 4-H, we believe every child should have an equal opportunity to succeed. We believe every child should have the skills they need to make a difference in the world. 

During National 4-H Week, the San Luis Valley Area Colorado State University Extension Office brought a taste of 4-H to 2 local schools. Bill Metz Elementary in Monte Vista and Sierra Grande in Costilla County 3rd through 5th grades were able to participate in the CSU Extension Mobile 4-H STEM Maker Lab. The STEM Maker lab is a transportable educational resource equipped with projects, activities and materials intended to promote experiential learning in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines such as woodworking, rocketry, leathercraft, engineering, agricultural sciences, and more. Each group of students spent an hour working and learning on a specific skill.

Morgan Young, the CSU 4-H Youth Development agent said,” I was overjoyed to be able to bring this experience to the valley. I hope that we can continue to build relationships with the schools in the valley to offer support to our teachers and give the youth of the valley something that they can take home and be excited about.” Young has now partnered with Mountain Valley and Center Schools to bring supplemental hands-on programming in the near future and hopes to work with other schools to offer STEM and career-based programming.

From sportfishing to woodworking, from cake decorating to artistic clothing, and from animal projects to small engines the San Luis Valley 4-H offers an array of projects and programs that each child in the valley can participate in.  In San Luis Valley 4-H, we believe in our head, heart, hands, and health. Our heads are knowledgeable and creative, our heart is caring and compassionate, our hands work hard, and our health is important in every decision we make. We believe in caring for our club, our community, our country, and our world. For a full list of 4-H projects go to http://co4h.colostate.edu/resources/projectlist.pdf or call the Extension office at (719)852-7381 for more information.

CSU Extension is opening 4-H Enrollment on October 15th.