Carrageenan, a naturally occurring gum derived from red seaweed, is used as a thickener, stabilizer, and emulsifier in food products such as chocolate milk, infant formula, and pie filling. In 2016, because pesticide residues had been discovered in some carrageenan imported from the Philippines, a citizen group that advises the U.S. Department of Agriculture voted to remove carrageenan from a list of foods labeled “USDA Organic.” The controversy surrounding carrageenan is not due to ill health effects caused by carrageenan itself. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has evaluated carrageenan as “generally recognized as safe.”

Learn about healthy eating by partnering with adults in the kitchen to plan and create meals and snacks including bread baking, outdoor cooking, cheese making, and more.

• •Learn how to plan meals and make balanced food choices
• •Learn how to safely purchase, prepare, and store food
• •Discover the health benefits of different foods

This sheet outlines activity ideas at beginning, intermediate, and advanced levels of skill; also gives suggestions on how to tie the activity to STEM, healthy living, citizenship, and leadership goals.

Whether robots are used to explore dangerous environments, replace limbs, or just make life easier, robots are becoming increasingly more common in our lives. In this project you can learn about the interconnections of science, engineering and technology through robotics.

• •Learn about the basics of robotics, including platform, drive, and control systems
• •Engage in scientific inquiry around motion, forces, chemistry, and electricity
• •Design robotic solutions to engineering challenges
• •Build, construct, and test robots

This sheet outlines activity ideas at beginning, intermediate, and advanced levels of skill; also gives suggestions on how to tie the activity to STEM, healthy living, citizenship, and leadership goals.

Through board, card, dice, and other games played on a flat surface, you can learn about the fundamentals of game theory and game mechanics. The field of tabletop games has expanded and the variety of games now utilizes diverse game mechanics

• •Learn about the history of tabletop games and the variety of games available
• •Reflect on game mechanics, gameplay type, and identify your preferred play styles
• •Design and test your own game based on key game mechanics and victory conditions.

This sheet outlines activity ideas at beginning, intermediate, and advanced levels of skill; also gives suggestions on how to tie the activity to STEM, healthy living, citizenship, and leadership goals.

Learn about aspects of your physical, social, and emotional health through topics including hygiene, physical activity, stress management, preventing bullying, drug and alcohol education, disability awareness and more

• •Learn how to take care of your own physical, intellectual, emotional, and social health
• •Practice a healthy lifestyle and share what you have learned with others
• •Make decisions that positively affect the health of your family, your community, and you

This sheet outlines activity ideas at beginning, intermediate, and advanced levels of skill; also gives suggestions on how to tie the activity to STEM, healthy living, citizenship, and leadership goals.

Energy is a systematic approach to designing, building and testing tools processes, and systems. Through these engineering project you can learn about the engineering design process, attributes of design, the impacts of systems, and the effects of technology on the environment.

• •Identify and define a problem, it’s limit, and the goals and criteria for a solution
• •Develop and test possible solutions
• •Engage in engineering practices including defining problems, using models, analyzing and interpreting data, using math, designing solutions

This sheet outlines activity ideas at beginning, intermediate, and advanced levels of skill; also gives suggestions on how to tie the activity to STEM, healthy living, citizenship, and leadership goals.

Explore what kind of dog will fit into your family’s lifestyle and learn how to be an excellent trainer and caretaker of your dog.

• •Learn major dog breeds and identify their characteristics
• •Study responsibilities of dog ownership
• •Demonstrate dog care and management in feeding, handling, record keeping, grooming, and fitting
• •Learn dog health regulations, first aid, and simple treatments for ailments This sheet outlines activity ideas at beginning, intermediate, and advanced levels of skill; also gives suggestions on how to tie the activity to STEM, healthy living, citizenship, and leadership goals.

This project invites youth to expand their knowledge of the science and art of safe home food preservation. This project has prerequisites, and requires specific approvals and participations; please download the project sheet for details.

• •Expand existing knowledge of safe home food preservation methods
• •Engage in real life appreciates of science and math, such as heat transfer, chemistry, and measuring
• •Collaborate with UC Master Food Preservers to develop effective and engaging presentations that teach others in your community

This sheet outlines activity ideas at beginning, intermediate, and advanced levels of skill; also gives suggestions on how to tie the activity to STEM, healthy living, citizenship, and leadership goals.

This project will introduce you to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) concepts and how to use these concepts to solve every-day problems.

•Engage in hands-on experiments that will strengthen your ability to conduct scientific reasoning and use scientific tools

•Apply your knowledge and skills to real-world problems This sheet outlines activity ideas at beginning, intermediate, and advanced levels of skill; also gives suggestions on how to tie the activity to STEM, healthy living, citizenship, and leadership goals.

Learn about the prevention and treatment of injury through a variety of 4-H first aid and safety projects indulging emergency preparedness, first aid, CPR, cyber-safety, and risk management.

• •Identify safety hazards, including those related to fire, water, dangerous objects, being home alone, and using the Internet
• •Create strategies and learn skills so you can respond appropriately to emergency situations
• •Use safety knowledge and skills to make your community a safer place

This sheet outlines activity ideas at beginning, intermediate, and advanced levels of skill; also gives suggestions on how to tie the activity to STEM, healthy living, citizenship, and leadership goals.