BREI has been invited to work with Kathy Junker the 4-H/Youth Development agent for Greenup County for a biotech camp she has scheduled for June 29 and 30 (see her proposed agenda attached)

Biotechnology and You Camps

The purpose of these camps is to improve the knowledge and understanding of biotechnology of young Kentuckians. In 2005 camps were held in two regions of the state, an East and West camp.

4-H has been one of the leading organizations in educating the public about biotechnology and in 1997 the National 4-H Council’s Environmental Stewardship program published the excellent leader’s guide to Making Sense of Biotechnology in Agriculture, “Fields of Genes”. Their learning activities are available online at: http://fog.n4h.org/. Some states have multi-year experience in conducting highly successful 4-H camps where youths learn about biotechnology. Iowa and Illinois are among such leading states.

Kathy Junker, a Greenup Co. 4-H agent, has been a pioneer for biotech 4-H camps in KY. Kathy conducted a biotech camp for 7^th and 8^th graders on June 29 and 30 2004 at Greenbo State Park modeled in part on one the Illinois Cooperative Extension/4-H did in 2003. Kathy contacted UK for help and was steered toward the BREI committee. Joe Chappell and Scott Kinison took the lead for the hands-on DNA science activities for the camp building on their now extensive experience with K-12 science educational outreach. The agenda Kathy et al. developed for this camp is linked.

Kathy worked with the UK 4-H biotech group to conduct the East Biotechnology and You Camp at the North-Central site in Carlisle on August 4 and 5, 2005. Click on these links for information on this East camp including the agenda, a brochure, participants, assessment and some camp photos.

We worked with Tony Riley for the West Biotechnology and You Camp at the West 4-H Camp site in Dawson Springs on September 15 and 16, 2005. Click on these links for information on this West camp including the agenda, a brochure, participants, assessment and some camp photos. Jeff Franklin and colleagues from Agricultural Communications put out a video on the West KY camp that was aired on the NBC affiliate in Central KY, channel 18. This can be viewed on Extension Today’s archives at http://www.ca.uky.edu/agc/video/ontheair/oct05/index.htm (see Biotechnology Camp in October, 2005).

An Agricultural Biotechnology (ABT) undergraduate student, Larry “Clay” Greunke, conducted an ABT 395 project with Dr. Joe Chappell and Clay took the lead in the hands-on DNA science exercises at the camps. Clay’s ABT 395 project report on these camps is posted as well as a report on the 2005 Venture Grant and the 2005 and 2006 Venture Grant Proposals.

A state-wide 4-H biotechnology camp will be held September 21 and 22, 2006 at the Feltner 4-H camp site in London. Sherrill Bentley of Lewis Co. is the 4-H agent taking the lead in working with the UK group in organizing this camp. Online application form

There are some very nice animated materials on the web that introduces DNA science and genetic engineering particularly from the Univ. Nebraska Cooperative Extension Service that we can link to (e.g. click on 'Animations' button at http://croptechnology.unl.edu/viewLesson.cgi?LessonID=957882007) but we have not been able to find any such materials yet that are interactive.