In today's global society, science, engineering, technology, and mathematics are more important than ever, However, according to the U.S. Department of Education, "only 16 percent of American high school seniors are proficient in math and interested in a STEM career." In order to increase STEM programming in our county, Carlisle County 4-H partnered with the Carlisle County STARS Family Resource Center to offer six hours of programming at their summer day camp for fourth-grade students.

Students learned about the engineering design process by designing their own umbrellas, inspecting fabrics under a magnifying glass, testing the effectiveness of different fabrics in keeping cool and warm, making their own whacky armour gak, experimenting with the elasticity of spandex, and finally, creating their own garment out of recycled materials for a final fashion show. Of the 15 participants, 100% reported that they liked to see how things are made or invented and 100% stated that they could create a display to communicate their STEM project to others.