4-H Agent Alana West, Benjamin Hall, Emmett Setzler, Everett Setzler, William Hall, Tiger following their win.
Courtesy of Alana West
Samantha West and Ali Chapman with their ribbons.
Courtesy of Alana West
Addison James, Paisley West, Hannah Chapman with their ribbons.
Courtesy of Alana West
NEWBERRY COUNTY — Each spring, South Carolina 4-H hosts the S.C. 4-H Engineering Challenge in Columbia. This event is open to youth ages 9-18 regardless of 4-H membership status. Youth can compete in one or more events: rocketry, robotics, visual arts, coding, bridge building and a mystery challenge. In addition to competitions, the event hosts a STEAM fair and speaker to represent various opportunities from the science and engineering industry. This year, participants heard from WIS-TV’s Chief Meteorologist Adam Clark and had access to over ten booths with hands-on opportunities.
This year, Newberry County upped its attendance at this event from five last year to nine this year. Addison James, Hannah Chapman, Ali Chapman, Samantha West, Paisley West, Emmett Setzler, Everett Setzler, William Hall and Benjamin Hall all put in preparation time for this event and were excited to come home with ribbons.
The Bridge Building Challenge teams were given 40 minutes to build a truss type bridge to span 12” using 60 popsicle sticks, four glue sticks, and a low temp hot glue gun. Bridges were tested to determine which one held the most weight. All nine youth competed. The three bridges the teams entered held 21.6 pounds, 24 pounds, and 13 pounds. All three teams brought home white ribbons.
The Rocketry Challenge teams were tasked with building a rocket to weigh less than ½ pound and to fit a specified launching mechanism. Rockets were built ahead of the event. Teams tested rockets on the day of the event using a bicycle pump and 28 PSI of air. Emmett Setzler, Everett Setzler, William Hall and Benjamin Hall shot their “Flamin’ Donkey” rocket made of lightweight materials an impressive 236’. Each team was also asked to prepare a presentation for judges explaining their use of materials, design styles and testing procedures. The boys came out on top in presentations as well. They placed first for the Junior Division, ages 9-13.
The Mystery Challenge teams are tasked with a surprise each year. They are given no knowledge of the challenge or the materials ahead of time. Therefore, this challenge requires no preparation. This year, teams were given a random bag of materials such as binder clips, popsicle sticks, plastic spoons, condiment cups and rubber bands and 40 minutes to create a catapult that would launch a marshmallow the furthest. The girls’ teams both had strong showings shooting their marshmallows 8’ and 10’6”. Samantha West and Ali Chapman brought home white ribbons while Paisley West, Addison James and Hannah Chapman brought home blue ribbons.
In addition to these challenges, youth can also participate in the Robotics Challenge where teams of build a Lego branded robot and program it to complete assigned missions or the Coding Challenge where individuals may use Scratch software to develop a computer game and give a presentation to judges about their inspiration and development process. Youth ages 5-18 may participate in the Visual Arts Challenge by submitting a photograph to one of the challenge categories for judging.
In all, there were 369 entries from 17 South Carolina counties, with 120 of these youth competing in more than one event.