When it comes to robotic stuffies and art that incorporates science, 4-H lights it up

THE MONSTER Stuffy Robots made by children in Carroll County 4-H are not your typical sewing project or handmade toy.

Created to resemble dragons, cats, spiders and other creatures of the imagination, they share a striking feature: a robotic sensor attached to the outside, coded by their young makers to flash or beep when they interact with humans.

It’s a brave new world for 4-H, a youth organization known for building character and teamwork and nurturing skills, interests and friendships in clubs in rural counties across the U.S., including New Hampshire’s 10 counties. The traditional four H’s — Head, Heart, Hand and Health — are making room for a new member: High tech.

“STEM and science are fundamental to everything we do and know about our world. By doing science and engineering we learn so many fundamental skills for everyday life,” said Claes Thelemarck, a STEM field specialist for 4-H Extension and a leader for Movers and Makers, a 4-H club that meets weekly at Makers Mill, a makerspace in Wolfeboro. The makerspace was honored as a statewide Citizens 2024 Champion in Action by the New Hampshire Union Leader and Citizens in June.

“Design and engineering activities help us problem solve and figure out order of operations. The most important thing is when kids work together on projects, then develop a sense of self, agency and confidence” — and an inner voice that says, “I can do that,” said Thelemarck, a former science teacher.

STEM, which stands for science, technology, engineering and math, isn’t new to 4-H. But it hasn’t always been obvious. The organization was founded in Ohio in 1902 as an outreach to farmers to increase production through research and science. Its core mission was to train well-rounded, well-grounded youth to become productive and capable grownups. 4-H still includes projects and instruction in civics, safety, nutrition and cooking, animal husbandry, horticulture, nature and rocketry — to name a few. Plus some that are newer, such as computer science, GPS and wind power.

“It’s always been about the kids and developing young, responsible adults,” Thelemarck said. By choosing projects and making decisions, “They have a say in where their future is going.”

Working with your hands and making things — including writing by hand, drawing, coloring, gardening, sewing, knitting and playing a musical instrument — produce cognitive and emotional benefits. Those include boosted attention and memory and reduced symptoms of anxiety and depression, according to long-term and recent research.

At Movers and Makers, the STEAM agenda combines skill-building, design and technology.

During the summer, Riley Towle, an Inter-Lakes High School graduate in the accelerated master’s degree program in education at UNH, where he is preparing to become a science teacher, led art-science projects for 2024 4-H Summer of Fun at Makers Mill and the Ossipee Library. The projects included Squishy Circuits, Whimsical Whirligigs, Wigglebots, paper rocks and Rube Goldberg machines.

Monster Stuffy Robots was another favorite. The kids sketched their own character designs, created patterns, cut them from fabric, stitched them into stuffed toys, then animated them with Micro:bits, which they coded to react with sound and light in response to a user’s actions.

Two sisters, ages 7 and 8, gave the project a resounding thumbs-up.

“Margot and Olivia consider themselves makers now,” said their mother, Monica Haedicke, a textile artist from New York who joined Makers Mill after moving to Wolfeboro.

“It was a great way for them to follow a product from concept to finish. It was 100% their creation.”

She said Movers and Makers allows her daughters to express themselves freely without fear of ridicule. The girls improved their communication skills by verbalizing their thought processes and presenting their work to the group.

“It helps them to be more assertive and claim their space in the world,” Haedicke said. “They went from an analog process to a digital one. Incorporating digital technology gave their little monsters personality and attitude,” including through responsive words and hearts that light up. “I’m a big supporter of coding, especially for kids. It was great to see how quickly they picked it up.”