From robotics to fiber science at 4-H’s 2014 Career Explorations event

July 14, 2014

Recycling old clothes into new in Fiber Science and Apparel Design

The BCTR's 4-H Youth Development Program hosted over 375 high school students on campus for the annual Career Explorations event July 1-3.  Career Explorations provides youth with exposure to academic fields and faculty to develop leadership skills and hands-on experience in a college setting. This year's students could choose from diverse fields of study including astronomy, robotics, fiber science, and molecular biology.

4-H State STEM Program Specialist Nancy Schaff described the power of the Career Explorations experience for students, saying:

It is the personal experiences – meeting faculty members and graduate students, and seeing work in a real-life context – that helps youth realize that it could be them in those roles

Twenty-seven campus groups, departments, centers, and institutes participated this year. The Bronfenbrenner Center was represented by ACT for Youth, who led students through a PhotoVoice project. Participating youth used photography to explore a social science question, analyzing their gathered photographic information to come to a conclusion. A news post on PhotoVoice at Career Explorations can be found here.

4-H youth sample careers, college life at conference - Cornell Chronicle

Related article:
2013 4-H Career Explorations brings over 600 to campus