The Silver Spurs 4-H Horse Club will be holding their monthly meeting on Thursday, March 6th, at 6:30 p.m. at the Rockwall Equine Center. 

If your horse is needing a Coggins and shots for the upcoming Show Season you are welcome to bring your horse to the meeting.

Call Rockwall Equine Center 972-524-6616 for special price.

If you have any questions please contact the Extension office at 972-932-9069. 

Texas Brigades Natural Resource and Leadership Development Camp

It is time to recruit cadets (teens 13-17 years old) to the 2014 Summer Wildlife Brigades.   A 5-day tour of duty with a Brigades camp will leave one physically exhausted but mentally rejuvenated about our youth's role in conservation. Visit quailresearch.org to view a most recent testimonial of an urban Dallas girl who has now "seen the light" regarding conservation, see the Feb. issue of the e-Quail Newsletter under the heading of "intern diaries."

"I have been most fortunate to be an active participant and speaker at some of the Texas Brigades.  To put my experience simply, the Brigades are difference makers for young people.  Brigades are week long investment for a life-changing outcome for youth participants." - Dr. Chris Boleman

"Science in Fiction" Video Contest: CALL FOR ENTRIES!

The USA Science & Engineering Festival, in association with the Kavli Foundation, has launched the Science in Fiction video contest.
Using scenes from popular science fiction movies and TV shows, and video games, Grade 6-12 students will create :30-:90 videos that investigate how science fictional scenes could be realized using current and developing technologies. The video contest culminates in a popular awards show, hosted by Bill Nye, as part of the Festival, which returns to Washington, D.C. on April 26-27, 2014.  The contest officially opens for entries on Nov. 1, 2013 and closes Mar. 21, 2014.


First prize is $2000 cash prize and a travel stipend to travel to Washington D.C. for the Expo. The second prize is $750 and the third prize is $500. The People's Choice Award prize is $250. 

GEAR Robotics Game Kickoff

We will be releasing GEAR Robotics game information on February 17.  As part of that release, there will also be two webinars offered during the day explaining the GEAR Robotics game.  The webinars areopen to all Extension employees, volunteers, and youth, and are linked below.   The webinars will be recorded and links posted afterwards on our robotics page for those unable to join at scheduled times.  We will also post all necessary resources that teams will need to know in order to compete in any Texas 4-H/GEAR Robotics competition this calendar year. 

A couple competitions for the 2014 calendar year have been scheduled.  Details will be posted on the robotics web page.  As other competitions are created/confirmed, we will post details there as well.

2014 Texas 4-H Roundup Discount Hotel Rates

For the 2014 Texas 4-H Roundup Discount Hotel Rates there will be no on-campus housing available in 2014. 

On the attached website you will find a document that lists all hotels that Texas 4-H will have room blocks reserved for at the 2014 Texas 4-H Roundup. In order for you and families in your county to receive these discounts you must make reservations by May 17th. This is extremely important. As a result of your efforts in promoting this to families last year Texas 4-H received significant financial assistance once again this year from the Bryan/College Station Convention Bureau. The State 4-H Office asks for your assistance in passing this information on to others in your area and remind them to book early. A message will also be sent through constant contact in our first official Roundup blast. Thanks again for your help. 

This information can also be found on the Texas 4-H Roundup Website http://texas4-h.tamu.edu/roundup 

Texas 4-H Outdoor Challenge - June 27-29, 2014

The state committee is excited to provide information for the Texas 4-H Outdoor Challenge, scheduled for June 27-29, 2014.  The 2014 handbook, found on the page linked below, contains registration information, rules, a tentative schedule, and various educational resource links.   Note that the Outdoor Challenge is being held in a new location this year (in Collin County), and we have made some changes to the events being offered.

http://texas4-h.tamu.edu/outdoor

We will also be providing two sessions during the Virtual Volunteer Conference on February 25 to answer any questions you or your 4-H families might have about the Outdoor Challenge.

If you have any questions, please contact Extension Specialists Derrick Bruton or Larry Hysmith.  We hope to see your 4-H families this summer!