Shooting Sports Leader Certification Workshop to be Held at Gretna
A Nebraska 4-H Shooting Sports Leader Certification Workshop is scheduled for December 1-2, 2007, at the Eastern Nebraska 4-H Center near Gretna. Registration deadline is November 23. Adult volunteers and junior leaders can choose one of six disciplines to become certified. Muzzle-loading, wildlife, archery, rifle, shotgun and pistol will be offered. The registration fee is $65 per person and includes lodging on Saturday night, meals, supplies, and program materials. Lodging on Friday night is available at the Eastern Nebraska 4-H Center for an additional $16. For more information and registration materials see the 4-H Shooting Sports web page at http://4h.unl.edu/programs/environment/shootingsports, or contact Steve Pritchard at (402) 395-2158 or (308) 536-2691.
In addition, the Nebraska 4-H Shooting Sports Program receives funding from the National Wild Turkey Federation. The State 4-H Shooting Sports Advisory Committee would like to offer a portion of these funds to clubs across the state to further enhance their program in a variety of ways ... purchase equipment, travel, awards, member recruitment, etc. An application form and guidelines are available on the 4-H Shooting Sports web site at http://4h.unl.edu/programs/environment/shootingsports/forms.htm. Application deadline is December 31, 2007. Applicants must show additional support and resources to fund the reimbursement request.
Apply to Attend the AYHC Symposium
Applications for the 2008 Nebraska 4-H Horse Project Leader Training Grant applications are due December 1. Information about the Grant and applications can also be found at: http://www.animalscience.unl.edu/extension/equine/4H/programs/ 07Leadergrantapplication.pdf This is a wonderful opportunity for 4-H Horse Project leaders to attend the American Youth Horse Council's National Symposium this February.
Valley County Fair Benefit on December 1
A Chili Cook-Off will be held at the Valley County Fairgrounds during the Big 12 Championship Football Game. The public is invited to attend, sample the chili and vote for their favorites. The $1 per vote will be donated to support activities and improvements at the fair. Chili cooks are also invited to enter their chili in the competition. Contact Harry Walahoski at 346-4972 or Kiley White at Ord Grocery Kart for all the details.
Horse Conference Meeting Scheduled
Extension Educator Steve Niemeyer has set December 17 as the date for the Loup Valley 4-H Horse Conference meeting. It will be held at 7 p.m. at the Extension Office in Ord. Leaders, parents and riders are encouraged to attend.
Other dates to mark on your 2008 calendar include the Equestrian Academy beginning January 22; Horsin Around held February 9-10 in Lincoln; Horse Stampede on March 8 (entries due February 1); and 4-H Horse Leaders workshop on March 29 in Grand Island.
My Horse University Offers New Learning Opportunities
My Horse University (www.myhorseuniversity.com) is a national online program for horse enthusiasts based at Michigan State University. The online learning programs can also be incorporated into youth and adult group experiences. View archived presentations on horse conformation and selection, hay selection or Cushings disease, plus see the schedule of upcoming presentations.
Change in Identification Methods for State Fair
DNA samples will be required for all market animals (beef, swine, sheep and meat goats) exhibited at the 2008 state fair. The DNA samples are in addition to the visual identification requirements; ear tags for beef, sheep, and meat goats and ear notches for swine. The same DNA samples will be used for both state fair and Ak-Sar-Ben.
Photography Themes Reminder
The photography themes for 2008 are 1. "Celebrating Citizenship" and 2. "Go For Gold" (In celebration of the Nebraska 4-H Foundation's 50th Anniversary). Be watching for creative opportunities to depict those themes through pictures.
Join the Fun at the W.H.E. Contest
The 2008 Wildlife Habitat Evaluation Contest will be held June 6-7 at Hordville. If you enjoy learning about the food preferences, habits and habitat of Nebraska wildlife, please consider joining the Central IV W.H.E. team. Contact Steve or Sue Hornickel at 308-728-5673 for more information.
Request a Program for 2008
We are currently making plans for spring and summer 4-H workshops. This is your opportunity to suggest a program or topic which you feel would benefit our members and leaders. Some of the most popular workshops last year were the result of your requests, so we value your opinions.
Check Out the Celebration of Youth Exhibits
A few exceptional examples of art and textile design were selected at the 2007 Nebraska State Fair to appear in the Robert Hillestad Textiles Gallery Celebration of Youth. Now you can view the creative work of these 4-Hers by clicking on their name at http://textilegallery.unl.edu/coy2007page
Exciting Robotics Opportunity Coming in June
Nebraska 4-H is on the cutting edge of technology using robotics and GPS/GIS technology to prepare youth for the 21st century workplace. Using the latest tools in technology like the LEGO Mindstorm NXT Robot Kits, handheld geographical positioning system (GPS) devices, and geographical information systems (GIS) youth can explore and understand the work around them.
The funding for the 4-H Robotics and GPS/GIS Program project was received in the form of a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) as part of the Information Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST) competition. The goal of the program is to provide an immersive hands-on, minds-on experience in information technology for youth ages 11-15.
Activities included in the program are:
Building and programming the Lego NXT robotics
Building and programming sensors (Light, Touch, Rotation, Ultrasonic)
Develop skills in mathematics and scientific reasoning by testing robotic behaviors
Develop skills in engineering design by developing detailed building plans
Learn how to use the Garmin Rino GPS units
Calculate distance between two points using their geographic coordinates
Record routes and paths
Record geographic coordinates of favorite places
Explore GIS with Google Earth and ArcGIS
Create visual representations of information in the form of GIS maps
Create customized maps based on GPS data
Participate in creating a community mapping project
An important part of the program is the summer camp component. This year we will be hosting a day-camp in Ord, Nebraska from June 23rd to June 27th. The camp will provide an opportunity for youth to explore robotics, GPS/GIS and aerial photography and how they can be integrated. For example, youth will shoot video of the camp from a wireless camera attached to a remote control helicopter and place the images on a map. Next, they will program their robots to complete a course while pulling a trailer with a GPS receiver and track the robots progress in real-time on a GIS computer map as is done in fields using precision agriculture.
The experience will begin for most youth as a summer camp experience in June of 2008. After the camp, clubs will be expected to meet during the year for 8 - 10 hours per month. Then, during the second year of the program, youth will return to Nebraska for another 5-day camp in June of 2009 where they will explore robotics and GPS/GIS concepts in more detail. Youth will then return to their clubs and meet for 8-10 hours per month until May of 2010. In all, youth will have 120 contact hours per year for a total of 240 contact hours over two years.
Contact Kayla if you are interest in participating in the program or if you would like to be an adult volunteer/robotics club leader. Opportunities of this magnitude dont come along often. We hope a number of you will consider including this in your summer plans.
