October 13, 2017
Kansas 4-H SpaceTech Changes for 2017-18
Kansas 4-H SpaceTech currently has five project areas: rockets, robotics, astronomy, computers and GPS/GIS. The Kansas 4-H SpaceTech Action Team and Kansas 4-H Youth Development are pleased to continue expansion of Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) in 2017-18. While commonly referred to as “drones”, Kansas 4-H will refer to them as Unmanned Aerial Systems. New Kansas State Fair classes will be added during 2017-18 year for the exhibition of unmanned aerial systems. Class numbers and descriptions will be finished by late January 2018.
Continued Suspension of GPS/GIS and Robotics Challenge for 2017-18:
The Kansas 4-H SpaceTech Action Team routinely looks at participation levels of all the project areas. The participation in the GPS/GIS project declined over a number of years. The suspension that began for the 2016-17 4-H program year will continue for an additional year, to gather input as to how GPS/GIS interfaces with Unmanned Aerial Systems.
Note that you may create a local self-determined GPS/GIS project using a 4Honline project alias. For the 2018 Kansas State Fair, all class numbers and text referring to GPS/GIS will remain removed.
In addition, the Robotics Challenge will remain on hiatus for the 2017-18 program year. Final decisions will be made in summer 2018, as to sun setting or to revamping GPS/GIS and the Robotics Challenge. If you have comments or thoughts, please send them to Deryl Waldren, Faculty Liaison for the Kansas 4-H SpaceTech Action Team, at dwaldren@ksu.edu, or telephone him at 785-462-6281.