This spring, over seven hundred Cloverbud, School Enrichment, Special Interest and 4-H Club members from Harlan Elementary and Middle Schools, Verda Headstart, Rosspoint, Cumberland, Green Hill, Evarts, Black Mountain, Cawood, James A Cawood, Sunshine Preschool, Wallins Schools and Cumberland Hope Center participated in the 4-H Chick Incubation Project during March and April. A college class at the Cumberland Hope Center also participated,   This project fulfills the 4-H Project Curriculum requirements for Animal Science and is also designed for correlation to the U.S. National Science Education Standards.  “Embryology: The Study of Life” is designed to provide classroom teachers background information and exciting activities for hands on activities provided by the Harlan County 4-H Chick Incubation Project. An additional goal of this curriculum is to help students develop life skills.  Life skills are abilities that help an individual live a productive and satisfying life.  Within this curriculum 4-H Club members will have an opportunity to develop life skills related to science processes, teamwork, keeping records, and planning and organizing. Forty dozen eggs for the project were picked up by the 4-H Agent at the University of Kentucky Poultry Farm.  Students learned definitions relating to poultry incubation and the importance of chickens and eggs in the economy.  Students discussed consumer concerns about eggs and cholesterol.  In addition, students learned the structure of the egg, and actually looked inside the egg as the embryo developed by constructing an egg candler. Students used the candler to determine whether the incubated eggs were fertile, and if fertile, to check on the growth and development of the embryo. Students learned the timing of major embryonic development of the chicks:  fertilization, division and growth of living cells, and segregation of cells into groups of special function.  On Day 21 students observed the actual hatching process of the chicks. Students used different venues during the unit, including smart boards to observe heartbeats and veins of chicks, drawings of different stages after viewing inside of shell, math calculations, and birthday parties.  91 percent of students scored higher on the post test on chick incubation than on the pretest.