LONDON, Ohio – Farm Science Review, held each September in London, is host mostly to visitors ages 16 and up. There is little entertainment for pre-teens who do accompany their parents to this large, three-day agricultural gathering. However, many did find their way to a 34-foot bus that offers hands-on learning, from digital art to app design to robotics and coding. Parents watched as their children discovered possibilities many had never imagined.

That bus is called the 4-H Mobile Classroom, and it’s more than just a vehicle for education. It’s a catalyst for lifelong curiosity and creativity.

Led by Christy Millhouse, a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) educator with Ohio 4-H, the 4-H Mobile Classroom offers a variety of technology activities that can connect youth with more than 200 projects that Ohio 4-H offers. Inside, students use iPads and coding software, explore app development, compose music with GarageBand, and free draw with digital sketching tools.

“I travel all across the state each summer to camps, fairs, festivals and other activities and events,” Millhouse said. “I’ve already been to one school district this summer and have a few others already scheduled on my calendar. For example, we’ll schedule all fourth graders in one district pay a visit to the Mobile Classroom. At many of these gatherings we’ll discuss coding and other technical matters, but the bigger picture is sparking their interest in technology or other interests.”

The mobile classroom is part of Ohio 4-H. Through Ohio 4-H, more than 84,000 young people across all 88 Ohio counties engage in programs that inspire curiosity, build livelong skills, fuel adventure and grow leaders.

“Agriculture is the heart at where 4-H started, but we’ve grown over the years,” Millhouse said. “Nowadays, it’s about growing leaders and life skills. We’ve evolved so much that the kids can find their fit and they don’t have to be involved in showing animals at the fair or even living on a farm.”

The 4-H Mobile Classroom takes this mission on the road, delivering STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Math) experiences directly to schools and communities that might not otherwise have access. It is an educational approach that integrates these subjects to promote hands-on, interdisciplinary learning. Young children and even their parents find the long bus interesting.

“My two girls got off that bus and you could see their minds were engaged with all the tablets, smart boards and digital media in there,” said Sharon Banks, of Wilmington, Ohio. “The two of them were so thrilled to have gone in there.”

Donna Rayburn’s 7-year-old daughter designed a digital drawing inside the bus. Rayburn, of nearby Springfield, Ohio, said, “It was awesome to see a child her age have that ability to make things work. She was able to put an idea on a tablet, then watched the pen draw it.”

Supported by funding and training support from Apple, Inc., the 4-H Mobile Classroom provides these experiences at no cost to schools or communities. That accessibility, Millhouse said, is crucial to reaching even underserved areas.

“The idea is to help kids get excited about using technology that they may have never been able to access before,” Millhouse said. “We want kids to see that they can do more than they thought possible. We’re opening their minds to what they can achieve through technology.”

For some, this is their first time engaging with advanced digital tools. Millhouse recalled one high school student who said, “I do not do technology.” After some encouragement, he soon fully engaged.

“It’s really empowering for them,” she said. “We want students to leave this classroom with more than just a cool project. We want them to leave knowing that they can pursue a future in STEAM if they want it.”

Each year the 4-H Mobile Classroom makes more than 30 stops across Ohio, serving as a traveling bridge between youth and technology. Thousands of families witnessed the Mobile Classroom in action at Farm Science Review.

“We don’t just want to be considered a technology bus,” Millhouse said. “We’re calling it the 4-H Mobile Classroom now because we want it to be something that offers a variety of learning opportunities. We’ve giving these students an opportunity to see themselves in spaces they might not have thought were accessible to them. And that’s what this is all about – opening doors and inspiring a love of learning.”

At this year’s Farm Science Review, the 4-H Mobile Classroom was also set up to teach the students about stop-motion videos. Students were able to produce their own video using small inanimate characters and putting them into action by making a stop-motion video. The bus was filled with tablets, smart boards and plenty of digital media to help them with this project.

Just outside the mobile classroom, students were challenged to use a CAD-designed project to navigate four-inch spheres through a maze using tablets that were programmed these spheres.

“The activity was to show students how farmers do some of their planting using GPS,” Millhouse said.

For more information about the 4-H Mobile Classroom, contact Millhouse at millhouse.10@osu.edu.