Rowan County 4-H Program

To wrap up our first week of 4-H Summer Fun, we moved on to robotics and advanced robotics using LEGO Spike kits!

On the first day, participants built and programmed their robots to navigate a variety of complex mazes. The excitement continued into day two for our advanced class, where the youth leveled up their creations by adding sensors to detect colors, objects, and other robots. The kids had an absolute blast putting their engineering to the test in our very own version of "BattleBots"! A final, heartfelt thank you to our amazing volunteers, Crystal Croyle and Trisha Calvert. They stayed with us through it all, guiding our participants and showing them just how much fun STEM can be!

Fun Fact: The word "robot" didn't come from a laboratory or a science lab-it actually came from a 1920 Czech science fiction play!
The term was introduced in the play R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots), written by Karel Čapek.

We had such a great first week of 4-H Summer Fun! The kids dived into beginner coding using Dash & Dot robots, tackling fun challenge cards along the way. By the end of the day, they were putting their new skills to the test by having their robots navigate custom challenges, play games, and even perform on the xylophone! None of this would have been possible without our incredible volunteers. A massive shoutout to Crystal Croyle and Trisha Calvert for lending their time and creating such a wonderful, memorable experience for our youth!

Did you know that the world’s first industrial robot started working on an assembly line all the way back in 1961? Invented by George Devol and Joseph Engelberger.

It's 4-H Poultry Judging time! If you are interested in the opportunity for your child, join us on Zoom on Monday, May 11 from 4:15-5 pm to learn more. We will go over practice dates, the contest dates, and contest details. To get the Zoom link, email [email protected].

Youth ages 8-18 (as of January 1) are able to participate. Youth will learn how to judge eggs (interior, exterior, broken out), ready to cook carcasses and further processed products, will learn to identify raw meat cuts, and will judge live birds and give oral reasons.

Any Rowan youth can participate. If they are not already enrolled as a 4-H member, they will need to enroll at v2.4honline.com.

Rowan County 4-H, Rowan-Salisbury Schools, YSUP Rowan, and Center for Prevention Services recently partnered to offer a youth substance use prevention event for parents and community members. Click below to read an article that Intern Reagan wrote about this event.

Reagan Brown: Youth substance use prevention - Salisbury Post Parents and community members gathered this week for Behind Closed Doors: Understanding Youth Substance Use, a youth substance prevention event highlighting hidden drug concealment items and tools to help families […]

Tonight, Rowan County 4-H led the Pledge of Allegiance and served as the program portion of the local Corriher Grange's monthly meeting. 4-H Agent Laura Allen gave a 4-H update and then 6 of our 4-H'ers gave their 4-H Presentations. These 4-H'ers are all members of the Heritage & Horizons 4-H Club that meets at the Corriher Grange Hall each month. We appreciate the support that Corriher Grange gives to Rowan County 4-H!

Today, Rowan 4-H'ers completed their participation in the 4-H Piedmont Rabbit Project by competing in a show held at the Rowan County Fairgrounds. During this multi-county project, 4-H'ers cared for owned or borrowed rabbits over a nearly 2 month period. They have learned a lot and showcased that today! Congrats to all of our Rowan youth and special congrats to Lainey Plott who won Best of Show with her Silver Fox rabbit!

We had a great time at our Paper Circuits drop-in event that we hosted as part of !

Tomorrow is the day! We are officially hosting a NC Science Festival event! 💡Drop-in to explore the magic of electricity with Rowan County 4-H!

In honor of this year's theme, "Science Matters," we are illuminating the world of electronics with our FREE Paper Circuits drop-in event. Join us to discover the power of learning with 4-H!

📍: Rowan Community Center (in the concourse)
🗓️: Wednesday, April 29th
⏰: 2:00–4:00pm (drop-in)
🎟️: FREE!

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, STEM-related occupations are projected to grow by 10.8% through 2031, a rate that is more than double the 4.9% growth expected for non-STEM roles. Come to our STEM event and check out other NC SciFest event to help set your child apart!

Go to https://ncsciencefestival.org/events/ to find NC SciFest events near you!

If you missed our original order deadline for our 4-H Port-a-Pit fundraiser, it's your lucky day! We can still take Port-a-Pit orders, but I need them ASAP!

📅 Event Date: Wednesday, May 6, 2026
🔗 Order Here: go.ncsu.edu/rowan4hportapit2026

Did you know that research from the Tufts University 4-H Study of Positive Youth Development shows that 4-H members are nearly 4 times more likely to make meaningful contributions to their communities than their peers. Your support today helps build the community leaders of tomorrow!

Join us TONIGHT for an important session on youth substance use prevention. According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 1 in 10 youth aged 12 to 17 reported using an illicit drug in the past month (Source: SAMHSA, 2022).

"Behind Closed Doors: Understanding Youth Substance Use" will provide parents & guardians with vital information, strategies, and resources that will provide awareness and help keep their children safe. Come hear from experts in the field and a local mother sharing her message on addiction.

Event Details:
Date: April 27
Time: 6-8 PM (get there before 6 pm for food)
Location: Rowan County Events Center
Registration: go.ncsu.edu/rowansubstanceuseprevention26
**Childcare is available for youth ages 5 and up.**

This event is brought to you by:
Center for Prevention Services
Rowan County 4-H
YSUP Rowan
Rowan-Salisbury Schools