By Chabella Guzman, PREEC Communications
This winter, kindergarteners to middle schoolers in Scottsbluff and the surrounding area will benefit from a recently awarded Beyond School Bells, Think Make Create (TMC) Lab. The mobile trailer lab is designed to meet Nebraska’s rural Expanded Learning Opportunity (ELO) programs. The Nebraska Extension 4-H received a grant from the Nebraska Children and Families Foundation for the trailer.
“The trailer has been outfitted with all kinds of activities and supplies to dive into science, technology, engineering, math, and art projects,” said Jana Schwartz, Nebraska Extension 4H youth development assistant. “It will give rural youth the opportunity to learn how to go through design processes and really dive into the activities.”
The Beyond School Bells is under the 4-H program at the Nebraska Extension in Scottsbluff but requires a full-time program leader. No stranger to 4-H or youth programs, Schwartz was hired to run the TMC Lab through the school year and at educational pop-ups in the summer.
“So, I'm scheduled at nine schools from January to May, four days a week already,” she said. “I sent out an email to the after-school programs, and they jumped, which was exciting, as they saw 4-H and extension as a place with some neat things to bring into their after-school programs.”
The lab is a six-by-12-foot trailer that can easily be transported to ELO programs and community-based learning sites. Its interior has been specifically designed to maximize the storage of supplies and projects. While the trailer is mobile, Schwartz said it will most likely stay at the Extension Center, and she will take the supplies to the schools. “It’ll be easier to take the materials I need to the schools and use the trailer for outdoor and summer events.”
This semester, Schwartz will teach kindergarten to sixth-grade students and split the youth into similar ages to tailor the lessons to fit their educational levels. “There's just a lot of neat tools that I can take into the classrooms that a lot of schools just aren't able to have all of those things, and so we're lucky to be able to share.”.
The groups will learn about electronics, engineering, aerospace, drones, and robotics. “We want them to learn how to use their creativity to solve problems, just like engineers and scientists.”
For more information, contact Schwartz at jschwartz2@unl.edu.