Greenbush and Feeding Eudora
by Rachel Pratt, 4-H Summer Engagement Intern
My name is Rachel Pratt, and I’ve had the pleasure of working this summer as a summer engagement intern here at the K-State Research and Extension Douglas County office. The summer has brought along many new challenges for me, but ultimately the opportunity to reach
more kids than I thought was possible in a real and meaningful way. While all of the interns worked with each program to some extent, we were asked to take the lead on different ones. For me, the first of these were two day-camp programs at Greenbush Academy Resource Center. Douglas County Research and Extension put on a two-day program called Fun and Fitness that presented real-world healthy living practices and easy homemade recipes using the Teen Cuisine curriculum at Greenbush Academy Resource Center. The camp reached 13 students, and 70 percent of students reported that they learned something about healthy eating choices, being active, making healthy food, serving sizes, and MyPlate. One of my favorite parts of this program was kids telling me that they were going to go home and ask their mom to help them make the recipe we had made that day because it was so good. A week later, Douglas County Research and Extension put on a two-day program that used various Science,
Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math curriculum to give students aged K-2 a hands-on experience of STEAM concepts. Students made gravity-powered cars, worked with SNAP Circuits, Lego BricQ, Colby Mouse, and experimented with creative activities such as Perler Beads. The camp reached 5 students and all reported that they had learned how to look at problems and find new solutions. Because of the small group size, this camp allowed me to work one-on-one with students and really explore what worked and what didn’t and why. I was amazed at their creativity and ability to problem solve.
Throughout the later part of June and all of July, I worked with a community partner called Feeding Eudora. Feeding Eudora is a community organization that provides free lunches on summer weekdays, sponsored by local churches and organizations. Each Tuesday, we reached 35 children with a variety of take-home STEAM activities. The kids would come to get lunch and stop by excited to see what this week’s activity had to offer. From hoop gliders to plastic straw lightsabers to a garden in a glove, Douglas County KSRE presented concepts such as aerodynamics, Newton’s laws of physics, and circuits to a variety of ages. I loved getting inquisitive questions and seeing the kids immerse themselves in the activity and proudly bring their parents the product of their hard work. As the summer comes to an end, I am immensely grateful for my experience this summer. I’ve had the opportunity to learn with the kids that I was able to reach, and it was an invaluable experience.
