With the Aerospace Industry leading the way in exports in the Commonwealth, interest in 4-H Aerospace has expanded in the past few years. Aerospace products and parts remained Kentucky’s top export in 2024. The industry shipped more than $18.9 billion in products out of the United States, representing a nearly 41.8% increase over the previous year. (https://www.kentucky.gov/Pages/Activity-stream.aspx?n=GovernorBeshear&prId=2397#:~:text=Other%20top%20trade%20partners%20included,categories%20shipped%20from%20the%20commonwealth.)

Two major focuses in this project area are Drones and Rocketry.

Drones:

Using curriculum developed by the University of Illinois College of Agriculture, Consumer, and Environmental Sciences, The Ohio State University College of Food, Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, and PITSCO Education, youth participants have the opportunity to develop their drone piloting and programming for autonomous flight skills, participate in real-life problem-solving scenarios, develop, and enhance their teamwork and communication skills, explore career paths, and learn more about how drones can be used positively to improve quality of life. Ten Kentucky Counties currently have active drone programs and are showing interest, with support continuing to grow. Kentucky 4-H has received financial support for the 4-H Drone Project from Farm Credit Mid-America to develop and expand this endeavor.  4-H Drone Clubs, Workshops, Day Camps, and other efforts have reached approximately 200 youth from throughout the Commonwealth and across the nation through the IGNITE by 4-H conference in Washington, DC.

Rocketry:

Under the leadership of McCracken County 4-H Youth Development Agent Rachel Wong and the technical expertise of Alex Senig (UK College of Engineering Graduate Student) and Dr. John Maddox, PhD (Associate Professor, Mechanical Engineering; Director of Undergraduate Studies - ME, Paducah Campus), a group of 20 middle and high school students started an Aerospace Engineering 4-H Club and began to prepare to compete in the American Rocketry Challenge. Sponsored by AIA, the National Association of Rocketry, and more than 20 industry partners, the American Rocketry Challenge is the world’s largest student rocketry competition and the aerospace and defense industry’s flagship program designed to encourage students to pursue study and careers in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). The competition has inspired nearly 95,000 middle and high school students to explore education and careers in STEM fields. The American Rocketry Challenge promotes friendly competition among teams from diverse backgrounds, ethnicities, and geographic locations. This year’s American Rocketry Challenge featured more than 5,000 middle and high school students from 1,001 teams and 46 states. The McCracken County 4-H Team was one of 100 teams to qualify for the National Finals by designing, building, and launching model rockets that could safely carry a payload of two eggs oriented sideways with a flight duration of 41-44 seconds and an altitude of 790 feet.

As interest in the Kentucky 4-H Aerospace program continues to grow, these two programs will help prepare Kentucky 4-H Members for good career opportunities and get them Beyond Ready to be successful and productive citizens.