ISU Extension hosts Kids Club program ...

Youth got their hands a little sticky when investigating how to make a better play dough recently. Iowa State University Extension and Outreach partnered with the Community Connections 21st Century Learning Center (CCLC) Kids Club at West Elementary and Waterville Elementary schools to bring to life the "Engineering is Elementary: Improving a Play Dough Process" curriculum. Youth in both settings started with exploring “good” and “bad” play dough. They were able to feel and explain the differences and what made each one good or bad. Next, they moved to learning about the ingredients, which include salt, flour and water. The youth experimented with each ingredient and how it affected the play dough, such as too much water made it very sticky but to compensate they could add more flour.  They also discussed the order of their recipe and how much of each ingredient to add. By the end of the program the youth had planned, created and improved their play dough process into a successful play dough to take home. For more information about joining 4-H, contact Becky Rea, Allamakee County K-12 Program Coordinator, at the Iowa State University Extension and Outreach Allamakee County Office at 563-568-6345. Submitted photos.