Pendleton County 4-H (West Virginia) received a 2017-2018 FIRST^® STEM Equity Community Innovation Grant to engage young people from farming communities in FIRST^® LEGO^® League and FIRST^® LEGO^® League Jr. Students gained 21st century skills in technology and problem solving through robotics activities incorporated into their 4-H program.

We were extremely proud of our Franklin Mountaineer FIRST LEGO League team for winning the Core Values award at a local event and being able to advance to the West Virginia State Tournament. The competition at both levels was awesome and taught our kids so much.

As a bonus, each of our kids who participated at the West Virginia State Tournament was awarded a $500 scholarship by Fairmont State University (the host venue). This is huge for a couple of reasons: For one, our kids were mostly younger and had never even set foot on a college campus before, and two, we had several members who now have a scholarship in hand to go to college. It was a positive experience and one that will hopefully encourage them to pursue higher education.

Learn strategies Pendleton County 4-H and other youth-serving organizations are using to bring exciting, hands-on STEM programs into their communities.