As Science, Engineering and Technology (SET) continues to rapidly advance, more career opportunities are being recognized and teachers are having to constantly change their lesson plans to engage their students. As a need to increase the Science, Engineering, and Technology test scores in Franklin County, the Extension Agent for 4-H Youth Development was contacted by the Vice Principal at the Second Street School about collaborating on a new school schedule, providing 4^th-8^th grade students the opportunity to participate in a more focused SET program.

The Franklin County 4-H Youth Development Agent conducted a nine week program, held at the Second Street School consisting of four different classes (4^th grade, 4^th/5^th grade, 6^th/7^th grade, and 8^th grade). There were 101 students who participated in the program (66 white, 29 African American and 6 Hispanic). Each class lasted an hour in a half every Friday for nine weeks. The nine week program was divided into three-week quarters; each quarter began with an evaluation, followed by a discussion on the topic, research by the students, hands-on activities, presentations, and closed with a post evaluation. 

The first quarter lesson was on astronomy and the science specifically related to the Solar Eclipse; some of the students had witnessed the Solar Eclipse first hand. The second and third quarter lessons were on robotics; the second quarter focused on the junk drawer robotics curriculum and the third quarter focused on the Eco-Bots curriculum. Each robotics quarter, the students worked in teams to plan, design, and create their own robot! 

Based on the evaluations from each quarter, more than half of the students gained knowledge about the topics. At the end of the nine weeks, The Extension Agent for 4-H Youth Development conducted an evaluation on the overall program. The outcome showed, 75% enjoyed the robotics lessons over the astronomy and all of the students agreed they learned something over the nine weeks. Even 55% of the students agreed in having an increased interest in Science Engineering and Technology following the program.  

Testimonies: 

“I did not realize robots could be so small.”

“I didn’t know you could use these for robots.”

“Science is more fun than I thought. I may like it now!”