Archive for Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Rockets, recycling on display at Douglas County Fair

4-H members show off innovations

Connor Rainey, 10, of the Kanwaka 4-H Club, talks to contest judge Linda Biles, of Topeka, Tuesday afternoon. Connor's futon-turned-bike-rack won a purple ribbon at the fair.

Photo by Richard Gwin. Enlarge photo.

Connor Rainey, 10, of the Kanwaka 4-H Club, talks to contest judge Linda Biles, of Topeka, Tuesday afternoon. Connor's futon-turned-bike-rack won a purple ribbon at the fair.

By Alexander Parker

July 29, 2008

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4-H project combines conservation, creativity

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If you've ever wondered what to do with that old futon or those discarded cans, 4-H club members can help. Today they showed off new uses for old items at the Douglas County fair. Enlarge video

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Holly Vesecky, 7, of the Vinland Valley 4-H Club, enters her flowers for judging Tuesday morning at the Douglas County Fair.

Douglas County Fair Entries

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Douglas County Fair 2008

Livestock, a world of entries, a carnival and a demolition derby - see the sights and hear the sounds of the 2008 Douglas County Fair.

Today's schedule

8:30 a.m.: Poultry show

10 a.m.: Dairy show

10 a.m. to noon: Food sale

1 p.m. to 10 p.m.: Petting zoo

4 p.m. to 10 p.m.: Pony rides

6 p.m. to 11 p.m.: Moore's Greater Shows Carnival

6 p.m.: Naturally Nutritious Food Festival

6 p.m.: Swine show

7 p.m. to 10 p.m.: Musical performance by Cubby Lane and the Secrets

7 p.m.: Hot Rod Garden Tractor Pull

Innovation was the key Tuesday at the Douglas County Fair.

From lamps to clocks, rockets and bike racks, local 4-H club members showed judges at the Douglas County 4-H Fairgrounds how to create something out of nothing.

Craig Shultz, judging aerospace entries, said 4-H'ers learn valuable skills by assembling rockets, robots and telescopes. He said the projects are meant to be fun, and club members learn about everything from propulsion and weight ratio to aerodynamics and other building basics.

Young people gain practical skills constructing small rockets, built with kits, but there's an added benefit.

"I just like making rockets and shooting them off," said Travis Neis, 10, of the Eudora 4-H Club. He entered a small rocket modeled after the Air Force's Bullpup missile.

"It takes a long time to build it because it has to be the exact same" as the actual missile. But it's that attention to detail that Shultz says is the linchpin of the 4-H program.

"It starts as something fun; it's cool," Shultz, of Lawrence, said. "Then, as they get older, they're gaining some knowledge of advanced construction, technology, some science."

At the fairgrounds' Building 2, club members showed off their creativity in the Away with Waste exhibit, where inventions made from recycled material were displayed.

Emily Morehouse, youth development agent for K-State Research and Extension, said club members, like Connor Rainey, whose futon-turned-bike-rack won a purple ribbon, got an opportunity to learn about conservation and creativity.

"It helps them become better stewards of our environment. It also teaches them to be thrifty and economical," she said.

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