Tomahawk High School was among the sites around the state to host the 2010 4-H Gateway Academy, a science and technology, summer camp for middle school students. Twelve middle school youth took part in Tomahawk’s Academy the week of June 14-18. Youth included Nicholas Boos, Andrew Cummings, Sheldon Dennis, Nathan Goehe, Dakota Houpt, Alex Johnson, Parker Knipfer, Madison Kundo, Jacob McGuire, Katie Reiter, Mariah Wittman, and Tyler Wittman. The Academy was conducted by Tomahawk staff members Ryan Huseby, Jim Norman and Kay Olson along with Debbie Moellendorf, 4-H Youth Development Educator with Lincoln County UW-Extension.

The academy is designed to inspire middle school students to explore science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) and consider career opportunities in these important fields. During the Tomahawk Academy, participants created shelters out of newspaper; designed a toy for children ages 4-7 in a disaster relief shelter using common supplies you would find in this situation; utilized the West Point Bridge Builder website to learn about and then built bridges using the principles they learned; and built a rocket out of a liter soda bottle. Throughout the week the youth also participated in team building exercises and had an opportunity to utilize a variety of computer programs. To learn about local businesses and possible careers where science, technology, engineering and math are used, the group toured Tomahawk Log Homes and Daigle Brothers on the final day of the academy. In their post program survey, all of the participants indicated that they would recommend the 4-H Gateway Academy to their friends.

The Kern Family Foundation of Waukesha partnered with the University of Wisconsin-Extension on this venture. Additional partners for the 4-H Gateway Academy, a program of UW-Extension’s Cooperative Extension 4-H Youth Development, include the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME) Education Foundation and local school districts.

For more information about the 4-H Gateway Academy program, contact Ryan Huseby at Tomahawk High School, [email protected] or call 453-2106 or Debbie Moellendorf, Lincoln County UW-Extension, Cooperative Extension, [email protected] or call 539-1072.