Extension
It Starts With Us
Author: Kimberly Whitson
Planning Unit: Laurel County CES
Major Program: Science, Engineering and Technology 4-H Core Curriculum
Plan of Work: Engaging discovery, exploration and understanding in science, engineering and technology
Outcome: Initial Outcome
| Kentucky ranks 47th in the nation for the number of scientists in the work force, according to the Kentucky Science and Technology Corporation. A key to producing more scientists is to introduce youth to the wonders of science and technology at an early age. Local teachers and Extension Council members identified science, engineering and technology as needed programs in the county. The 2017 National Youth Science Day experiment, Incredible Wearables, empowers youth to explore the world of (e-textiles), which represents a field of engineering that combines electronics and computing with textiles and design. The problem that participants attempted to solve is that youth and adults are not staying active enough to lead healthy lives. In this experiment, youth designed and built their own low-cost fitness tracking device that was a functional wearable device that could record multiple biological signals. The data from these devices can be used to make informed decisions about the wearer's health. The two-part experiment tested young people's knowledge of science, engineering, computing and electronics by: * Learning to follow the engineering design process and create new technology * Learn enough about fitness and health data that they can design, test and utilize a functional product. The activity was conducted on National Youth Science Day in the city afterschool program and later that month in ten 4th and 5th grade classrooms. A total of 320 students participated in the activity and the following results were yielded: 89% of students were able to create a basic circuit 90% of students were able to understand how the THING (small server) interfaces with other wireless devices 99.5% of students could understand how sensors work 97% of students were able to view and interpret data 98% of students understand what careers are related to the skills used in this challenge |
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