An eight-year longitudinal study conducted by the Institute for Applied Research in Youth Development at Tufts University demonstrated that compared to non-4-H youth, participants in 4-H: 

* Reported better grades and an elevated level of engagement at school 

* Are nearly 2x's more likely to plan to go to college and are more likely to pursue a STEM career 

* 4-H girls are nearly 3x's more likely to participate in STEM programs 

Since one of the fastest growing job fields in the United States is careers in Science, Engineering and Technology, and based on the research cited above, the Cooperative Extension Service is working with Silver Creek Elementary School to provide a monthly day called STEMSday. One day each month, the County Extension Agent provides a hands-on one hour lesson to all students grades first through fifth. The lessons are all centered around STEM or SET topics. So far, lessons have been on the engineering design process; electricity and energy; and force and motion. These lessons all correlate to the Next Generation Science Standards. The results of a survey given to classroom teachers shows that at least 82% of the students have a better understanding of both the concept and vocabulary of the topic after participating in 4-H.  And additional benefit to this program is increased participation in other 4-H STEM programs from these students.