The proposed Magic Lantern 4-H Innovation Lab and Learning Center has been working to interest donors and local foundations in anticipation of the project announcement last week. Behind the $2 million matching challenge grant are the Kendal C. and Anna Ham Foundation, the Maine 4-H Foundation and a major anonymous donor. Last fall, early support also came from the Stephen and Tabitha King Foundation.

University of Maine Cooperative Extension is excited for the possibilities of increasing the educational programs for youth in Bridgton and the Lake Region. The Maine 4-H Foundation is committed to the project, with funding support pledged annually for ongoing education focused on engineering, the visual and performing arts, and the aspirations of local youth.

What is 4-H youth development programming? Every state has at least one university designated as a land grant institution. The University of Maine is the state’s land grant and is home to Cooperative Extension. UMaine Extension programs bring research-based education to communities statewide. Every county has an Extension office dedicated to working on two major program areas: the food system and 4-H youth development.

4-H focuses on the education and aspirations of youth ages 5 to 18. Traditional programs such as animal science and agriculture are legacy cornerstones, but 4-H is truly broad-based education that includes science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM); leadership; community service; citizenship; healthy living; and the visual and performing arts. Maine 4-H enrolls almost 30,000 youth each year and has seven active learning centers across the state, five of which are dedicated to 4-H youth development.

The University of Maine 4-H Camp and Learning Centers at Blueberry Cove, Bryant Pond, Greenland Point and Tanglewood dedicate educational programs to connecting youth to the outdoors through a physically active, hands-on experiential approach to education. The 4-H Learning Centers hold summer camps, and are engaged in school and community programs throughout the year. Programs range from environmental education to ecology, conservation and STEM-based learning to nature and the arts.

The Maine 4-H Foundation in partnership with UMaine Extension will open the new Lafayette and Rawcliffe 4-H Science and Engineering Learning Center on June 28 in Orono.

4-H began over 100 years ago in Maine and continues to be dedicated to engaging children and teens in the latest research being conducted at UMaine and across the county. Focused on innovative technologies and engineering, 4-H brings a new world of educational possibilities to the rural areas of Maine on topics that include alternative energy research, composite construction, robotics, and diagnostic analysis and plant pathology.

The Maine 4-H Foundation and Cooperative Extension are excited to partner and bring new educational programs to the youth of Bridgton and the Lake Region, Molly Ockett and Oxford Hills area. In order to support this new initiative, the Maine 4-H Foundation will need to raise an additional $2 million. Donations and gifts can be made directly to the Maine 4-H Foundation, York Complex #1, Orono, Maine. The Maine 4-H Foundation is a 501(c)(3) Charitable Foundation and all donations are tax-deductible.

For more information or to contribute to the project, contact the Maine 4-H Foundation at 615-7300; susan.jennings@maine.edu

A video about initiative is online: https://extension.umaine.edu/4hfoundation/magic-lantern/