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.

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.