A two-week 4-H science camp held this summer at Oregon State University has been recognized as the best of 20 held around the country that received funding from Exxon-Mobil and the Bernard Harris Foundation.

Camp director Robin Galloway of OSU Extension-4-H Youth Development in Linn County, said this was the first year for the program. She said its success was based on a collaborative partnership that included the OSU College of Education’s Department of 4-H Youth Development, SMILE (Science, Math Investigative Learning Education), the College of Engineering and the College of Science.

“One of the things we do in 4-H is to emphasize science, engineering and technology,” Galloway said of the reason for the camp. “The demographics of the world are changing and 4-H is keeping up with that change. Even though we still focus on livestock and home economics, the traditional aspects of 4-H, we’re also making sure kids get the education and experiences they need for their futures.”

The camp attracted 60 young people from 19 counties around the state. They were in sixth through eighth grades and stayed in the dorms at OSU.

“We arranged the campers into groups we called pods, so even though they were away from home, they had groups to belong to,” Galloway said. “That helped cut down on being homesick.”

Although campers studied a variety of disciplines, one all-encompassing aspect was the study of a watershed ecosystem. The young people visited Peavy Arboretum, the Corvallis watershed and the 4-H center. They collected data along the way and then made a formal presentation of their findings at the LaSells Stewart Center.

“They also worked with students in Australia over the Internet,” Galloway said. “This partnership was called ‘The Corroboree,’ which is an Aboriginal word for ‘gathering.’”

Galloway said she was concerned about how the cultural differences of the students would mesh, but came away pleased with how well the campers got along, whether they were from Portland or Burns.

“We knew we had to make it fun since the kids were spending two weeks of their summer vacation doing this,” Galloway said. “We took them to the Oregon Coast Aquarium where they got to dissect a squid. They played in the sand and flew kites. They got to be kids.”

Much of the camp teaching was undertaken by 28 OSU students studying math and science, Galloway said. In all, it took about 60 people to make the camp happen.

Alex Paul can be reached at alex.paul@lee.net or 812-6076.