WOODSTOCK — The University of Maine Cooperative Extension is funding the national 4-H Tech Wizards program in area schools.

The program has teachers working with students to help build skills and aspirations in science, technology, engineering and math and to develop an ethic of service and civic engagement.

The program will be facilitated by Bryant Pond 4-H Camp and Learning Center.

“This program puts special emphasis on service learning, fulfilling community needs and focusing on conservation projects,” Lyndsey Smith, Lakeside Classroom coordinator at the Learning Center, said.

The mission of 4-H Tech Wizards-Maine is to engage students, ages 8 to 17,  in small-group mentoring programs focusing on the use of technology, she said.

Tech Wizards will be held both in classrooms and after school.

Bryant Pond 4-H Camp and Learning Center will be hosting Tech Wizards and is partnering with many local schools. Tech Wizards programs will be happening at Crescent Park in Marie Keane’s fifth-grade class, at Woodstock in Tonya Prentice’s fifth-grade class and at Telstar High School in the Mahoosuc Kids After School Program.

In the Oxford Hills School District, the program will be conducted in all three of the Paris Elementary School’s fifth-grade classes and at the Oxford Hills Middle School for a select group of students.

The staff at Bryant Pond 4-H Camp and Learning Center is looking for community volunteers to serve as mentors for the Tech Wizards program, Smith said. Mentors will work with small groups of youth, helping Bryant Pond staff teach the Tech Wizards’ curriculum.

This year’s projects include building underwater robots to help in the eradication of variable-leaf milfoil (an invasive aquatic plant) in Bryant Pond and other lakes in the area, and documenting this process with digital photography and filmmaking.

Mentors with skills in digital photography and film, basic electronics and experience working with youth are needed. Training will be provided for the right individuals.

For more information, call Lyndsey Smith at 665-2507 or e-mail [email protected].

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