With the growing number of careers in the Science, Engineering and Technology field, it is becoming more important to begin exposing youth to the subject matter as much as possible and in a variety of ways. Job skills, such as team work and communication are also important to expose youth to as much as possible. In attempt to educate our 4-H members about Science, Engineering and Technology, as well as other curriculum areas and job skills. Hancock, Webster, Henderson, Breckinridge, and Ohio County 4-H Programs joined together to plan and coordinate the Team Challenge Camp at West KY 4-H Camp. The camp was created to be very similar to the TV Reality Show “The Amazing Race” where participants were given a set of coordinates and had to use their GPS units to find the location of the challenge. Once they reached their destination, they were given directions for a specific task that they must complete as a team. Once completed, teams were given a set of coordinates for their next team challenge. 

A total of 30 Middle School members  were divided into teams and had to work together to complete 8 different challenges. Challenges were created using the 7 core curriculum areas (Science Engineering and Technology, Family and Consumer Science, Health, Communications and Leadership), however each task did challenge participants both physically and mentally. Each team was assigned a Teen Leader to help them if they ran into any problems and help ensure participant safety. Challenges were also facilitated by Adult and Teen Volunteers.Team challenge participants wore pedometers to track the level of physical activity. 4-H team members each walked approximately 10,000 steps during the Team Challenge, the recommended daily amount of steps. Teams worked as a group to prepare and cook a healthy meal. 

Following the event both participants and leaders completed surveys. Some results were:

-100% of the survey respondents indicated they had to listen to other team members with ideas different from their own. 

-100% felt they were better leaders after the camp

-100% indicated they used information they learned to make decisions

-100% indicated they had to work together to set and accomplish a goal.

Three of the most common answers for most valuable lesson learned during the event were the value of both verbal and non-verbal communications skills, teamwork and leadership. Many of the participants found that at first it was difficult to work with a diverse group that they did not know, but quickly realized how important it was to overcome that barrier in order to be successful as a team. Participants also commented on the amount of physical activity that was involved with the event and noted that they realized how much physical activity they were lacking in their daily routines.