For nearly 70 years, brightly colored, plastic Lego bricks have inspired imagination that introduced children to engineering, architecture and the thrill of invention.  By simply tinkering with the toys, masterpieces were born and flaunted to proud parents everywhere. 

 

For over 100 years, 4-H programs have also been inspiring young people, teaching life skills through interactive projects that require creativity, discipline and a visionary mindset.  The two programs have now merged and Bridgeport High School freshman, Sarah Sprouse, was recognized at the national level for her accomplishments in the Maker Summit recently.

 

In early November, Sprouse, along with two Preston County students were selected to represent West Virginia at the National 4-H Maker Summit.  The girls were chosen based on their interest in science, technology and inventions, all skills encouraged in both 4-H and through Lego. 

 

For Sprouse, the opportunity came about after six years of participating in the 4-H STEM Club, in which she and her team designed and programmed a Lego robot and competed in Lego Robotics Tournaments in the area.  She also participated in STEM Camp at WVU and Girls in Aviation Day at RCB National Aerospace Education Center and attended meetings pertaining to rocketry and space in 4-H. 

 

After aging out of the STEM Club, Sprouse found a new passion among other “makers” who supported her love of inventing, tinkering, investigating, testing and creating.  The “maker” movement is quickly growing across the state of West Virginia in an effort to encourage girls in particular to explore and create through curiosity and scientific methods, improving the state’s educational standing in America and beyond.

 

The National 4-H Maker Summit took place in Washington, D.C., providing participants with workspace and equipment for their creations.  Goddard Space Center sponsored the first group challenge  as the summit began.  Teams were challenged to use everyday supplies such as balloons, pipe cleaners and paper clips, to create a contraption that could hover over a plant in a model jungle. 

Field trips were taken to Catylator Makerspace in Silver Spring, MD, where students used 3-D printers, laser engravers, robots, and soldering and woodworking tools for their creations.  They also visited The Labs, in the D.C. Public Library, where they learned to digitalize movies, use sound effects and fabricate products using emerging computer-assisted technologies.

 

After touring the city, they opened the second day of the Summit with a DIY American Ninja Warrior Challenge, making a portion of an obstacle course using a variety of supplies.  All the states put their challenges together to make one big obstacle course that was used by all participants.

 

Google sent a speaker to the Summit to discuss the role of technology and science in curing diseases.  Students made microscopes for their cell phones using a glass bean and a 3-D printed custom clip.  Next, they were given an unusual challenge: they were to put a plastic frog on a drone and fly it without having the frog fly off.  After successfully completing that challenge, they were treated to a speaker panel of expert inventors, followed by a fashion challenge and a Google Doodle challenge.

 

Sprouse and the other two West Virginia representatives will share their new “maker” knowledge with other interested students in February at the Code Camp at Jackson’s Mill.  From February 23-25, students will use apps, robots, video games and movies to prepare for the growing job market in software development.  Interested students aged 12-17 can find more information at https://extension.wvu.edu/youth-family/4h/events/code-camp