Youth Outreach Resources

Educational Resources

Curricula and kits can be used to create lessons to support learning goals. Our Extension Staff can also can also implement programs to your group or classroom as well. To check-out a kit or schedule a program contact the Story County Extension Office at xstory@iastate.edu or 515-337-1601.

Definition of Resources:

Curriculum: Lessons are ready to implement, however supplies are not provided. Request for a staff-led lesson with supplies may be an option. A check-out form will be used for any reservation to collect contact information and participant data information.

Kits: Each kit offers one or more pre-planned lessons and materials for groups of youth to participate in the activity. A check-out form will be used for any reservation to collect contact information and participant data. These kits may be used at home, in Clover Kid groups, in classrooms, or another youth group setting. If you are not comfortable leading these activities it may be possible to have them led by a Extension Staff Member.

Programs: Programs are available for implementation by County Extension Staff and include full curriculum units with 6+ hours of education that can be done in a series. We are happy to discuss options and timeframes that fit your needs. Program areas include Ag & Natural Resources, Human Sciences, and 4-H Youth Development.

Printable Version of Educational Resources

Curriculum
  • Acres of Adventures Curriculum – fun lessons to learn about science in agriculture. Grades 3-5
  • A Crime, A Clue, and Biotechnology – curriculum lessons exploring DNA. Grades 7-12
  • Agriculture Everyday-Lessons that explore Agriculture related topics. Grades 4-12
  • Brick Lab Core Set – Lessons around STEM with the opportunity to incorporate Legos! Grades 1-6 https://edventures.com/collections/bricklab Build It! – mathematic activities. Grades K-6
  • Cycling Back to Nature – environmental lessons. Grades 4-6
  • Engineering is Elementary Curriculum (design, engineer, improve) - lessons may build on each other for a longer program. https://www.eie.org/ Grades 1-5
    • Lighting Systems - Curriculum
    • Model Membrane - Curriculum
    • Earthquake Buildings - Curriculum
    • Recycled Racers - Curriculum
  • Energizing your future with energy, economics, and the environment. Grades K-12
  • Explore Your Environment from Project Learning Tree. Grades K-8
  • Food, Culture & Reading – National 4-H Curriculum Guide. Grades 4-6
  • Food, Land, People Curriculum – food, community, etc. Has individual lessons plans that connect youth to people, the land, and people. Grades K-12
  • Funtivities 1 & 2 – Hand-On Science and Math activity lessons. Grades 4-8
  • Growing in the Garden Curriculum – horticulture based. Has individual lessons plans for indoor. Also has outdoor garden option. Grades K-3
  • Junior Master Gardener Curriculum – garden related lessons. Grades K-8
  • Making STEM Connections - Levels include novice, practitioner, apprentice, and expert. Topics include Old Things/New Ways, Embrace Constraints, Fashion Upcycle, ARTech. Grades K-8.
  • More Picture-Perfect Science – science lessons. Grades K-4
  • Mud, Muck, & Other Wonderful Things-Environmental Curriculum. Grades K-3
  • Mystery Festival – mystery activities. Grades 2-8
  • Ohio Cloverbud Book of Activities Curriculum. Lessons in the following topic areas. Grades K-3.
    • Science & technology
    • Community & Expressive Arts o Healthy Lifestyles
    •  Environmental and Earth Science
    • Personal Development
    • Citizenship
    • Consumerism and Family Science
    • Plants and Animals
  • Palette of Fun Curriculum - Arts & craft lessons. Painting, printing, etc. Grades K-6
  • Project Butterfly Wings – Explore life cycle and types of butterflies. Grades K-6
  • Where We Live Curriculum – learn about land, natural resources, food, and more through individual lessons plans. Grades 4-8
Kits
  • Antarctica's Climate Secrets Kit-past and present; includes mapping, wildlife, geology. Grades K-8
  • Bee Bots Kit – introduction to programming with Bee Bot Robots. Program buttons located directly on bee bots. Grades K-3
  • Bridge Kit – learn to build a bridge with K’Nex and a larger scale bridge to crawl through. Learn the engineering process, careers, etc. Grade 3-5
  • Checkout STEM Backpacks-contains lesson and activity supplies including story book(s). Grades K-3. Backpack Ideal for 2-4 youth. https://www.extension.iastate.edu/humansciences/checkoutstem
    • Bee and Me-use a Bee Bot to navigate to a flower.
    • Building Bridges-complete bridge design challenges.
    • Curious Coding-set up a maze for Colby, the mouse.
    • Fabulous Five Senses-explore sense through activities.
    • Humpty Dumpty-explore wall designs.
    • Magic Eye-learn and explore all about our eyes.
    • Super Slinky-explore gravity with a slinky.
  • Checkout STEM and the Arts Backpacks-contains lessons aimed at supporting the development of literacy and STEM with the Arts for children K-3.
    • Daring Dance-Learn about light and sound through a variety of reading materials and activities that involve dancing.
    • Fabulous Farms-Learn what it takes to be a farmer with practice using problem solving skills in a creative and inventive way.
    • Good Gardens-Investigate what a garden is and the steps in growing a garden though various activities, reflection, and reading.
    • Marvelous Math-Have fun with a variety of math materials involving topics of geometry. 
    • Pet Patterns-Interact with a coding dog to learn about programming while also learning more about fun facts about dogs.
    • Sky Spy-Focuses on observations and their significance in STEM and the Arts by looking up to the sky!
    • Super Stars-Involves learning about the night sky and stars through various activities with one being an opportunity to use a telescope!
  • Checkout Iowa Backpacks-A variety of lessons focused on foundational understanding in key STEAM concepts with a focus on developing and further foundational literacy skills. For children K-3.
    • Curious Contraptions-Involves reading materials and hands on activities that explore chain reactions and their role in making inventions.
    • Fabulous Fractions-Lesson that explores fractions through fun pizza themed activities and provides a recipe to make a real pizza as an additional opportunity to further investigate fractions.
    • Groovy Gravity-Lesson focuses on gravity through the exploration of falling objects with reading materials and STEM related activities.               
    • Magnificent Magnets-Lesson looks at the science of magnets and explores the use of magnets in everyday life through a variety of reading materials and fun activities that looks at why magnets attract.
    • Marvelous Munching-Lesson discusses the importance of eating a variety of healthy foods through a variety of reading materials and fun activities that use the MyPlate Chart.
    • Perfect Patterns-Lesson explores shapes and patterns through various reading materials and activities that challenge youth to identify patterns and create their own patterns.
    • Very Veggie- An opportunity to cook vegetable soup to explore the importance of vegetables and how they are grown from soil to garden. The lesson also discusses knife safety in the kitchen
  • Dash Robots – program Dash Robot with a tablet and a blockly program. Grades 3-8
  • Engineering is Elementary Kits (design, engineer, improve) - lessons may build on each other for a longer program. https://www.eie.org/ Grades 1-5
  • Financial Literacy-Lessons that provide grades K-5 youth good financial habits and norms through the use of the children's literature and by offering additional activities for extended learning. Grades K-5  (https://store.extension.iastate.edu/product/Financial-Literacy-Lesson-Plans-Grades-K-5)
    • Available Books:
      • Kindergarten-
        • Joseph had a Little Overcoat by Simms Taback
        • Lily Learns about Wants and Needs by Lisa Bullard
        • Whose Tools are These? By Sharon Katz Cooper
      • 1st Grade-
        • Shanti Saves Her Money by Lisa Bullard
        • Beatrice's Goat by Hillary Rodham Clinton
        • Brody Borrows Money by Lisa Bullard
        • Clothesline Clues to Jobs People Do by Kathryn Heling and Deborah Hembrock
      • 2nd Grade-
        • Whose Hands are These? By Miranda Paul
        • A Chair for My Mother by Vera B. Williams
        • Rock, Brock, and the Shavings Shock by Sheila Bair
      • 3rd Grade-
        • Ella Earns Her Own Money by Lisa Bullard
        • Kyle Keeps Track of Cash by Lisa Bullard
        • Kermit and the Hermit by Bill Peet
      • 4th Grade-
        • The Good Garden: How One Family Went from Hunger to Having Enough by Katie Smith Milway
        • Tops and Bottoms by Janet Stevens
        • Those Shoes by Maribeth Boelts
      • 5th Grade-
        • Gabriel Gets a Great Deal by Lisa Bullard
        • My Rows and Piles of Coins by Tololwa M. Mollel
        • Uncle Willie and The Soup Kitchen by DyAnna Disalvo-Ryan
        • One Hen: How one Small Loan Made a Big Difference by Katie Smith Milway
  • Fish Iowa Kit – Everything fishing! Supplies and related activity/lesson resources. Grades K-12
  • GPS kit – Six hand held devices available along with related activity information. Grades 4-12
  • Incubator Kit-for incubating chick eggs for a minimum to twenty-one days. Grades K-12
  • Hand Washing Kit – stay healthy by washing hands lesson, black light, lotion). Grades K-12
  • Money Craze Kit – Binder has lessons and most supplies. Grades 4-12
    • Blind Taste Test
    • It All Adds Up
    • Making Change
    • Menu Math
    • Money Match
    • Pet Pals
    • Shoplifting Costs
    • Sticky Situations
    • Visit a Vault
    • Want or Need Collage
    • What’s in an Ad?
  • Monarchs on the Move Kit –Explore the life cycle and migration movement of the Monarch butterfly. Further explore Monarch habitat in our environment with a model milkweed plant and maps. Grades K-12 https://www.extension.iastate.edu/4h/monarchs-move
  • Native Bees – Explore native bees, the life cycle, and their role in the environment. Grades K-12 https://www.extension.iastate.edu/4h/native-bee-challenge
  • Pint Size Science Kits – Each kit provides background information and up to four lessons with many supplies provided. Granted through the Iowa STEM Council and the Science Center of Iowa. Grades K-2. Topics include:
    • Mini Meteorologist - inspires students to understand the weather.
    • Tiny Tinkerers - introduces lights and sounds.
    • Bits and Bots - will provide a beginning step in learning programming and coding.
    • Colorful Chemistry - introduces the three phases of matter found on earth.
    • Classifying Creatures – classify and compare features of various animals and insects.
    • Homes and Habitats - explores were animals live based on their environments.
    • Exploring Engineering - continues children’s natural curiosity in how things work.
    • Push and Pull - investigates the forces that cause motion.
    • Fascinating Farmers - brings the world of agriculture to young children.
  • STEAM'n Through the Seasons-contains lessons, storybooks, and most supplies. Intended for youth K-3.
    • Apple'licious-learn the lifecycle of the apple tree and the many uses of apples
    • Pumpkin Exploration-learn about the lifecycle of a pumpkin
    • Scurrying Squirrels-learn how squirrels prepare for winter 
    • Gingerbread Time-use the engineering design process to design and build a gingerbread house
    • Snow Spectacular-learn about blizzards and explore how meteorologists use tools to forecast weather and help people prepare for severe weather
    • Gifts from the Heart-learn the importance of giving to others by measuring and creating a delicious gift in a jar
    • TrapTastic-learn about the engineering design process and dimension creating in art
    • Bitty Bunnies-learn about rabbits and explore how animals and their babies survive
    • Sensational Seeds-learn the parts of a seed and what they need to grow
    • Dirt-N-Worms-learn about worms and their four main parts
    • Summer Celebrations-Explore educational centers while learning about fun things that happen during summer celebrations
    • Make a Splash-learn how to test and improve design for a water transportation device
  • STEM Skillastics – an interactive floor game to explore STEM with physical activities. Grade 3-6
  • STEM Lit Go Kits – contains lesson, story book(s), and most supplies. Grades K-3
    • Bubbles – investigate bubbles and their shape using the inquiry process.
    • Curious Candy – investigate the engineering process with Curious George as they design a candy machine to deliver chocolate
    • Heart – investigate how the heart works and ways to keep it healthy.
    • Inventor’s Hat – investigate the invention process by designing or creating a new or improved invention.
    • Jumping Beans – investigate Mexican Jumping Beans and what causes them to jump.
    • Lots of Light – investigate the properties of light and the role of cause and effect.
    • Popping popcorn – plan and conduct popcorn investigations.
    • Roller Coaster – investigate force and motion using model roller coasters.
    • Snow – investigate friction and design a super sled.
    • Sunny Sunshine – investigate UV rays and ways to be safe in the sum.
    • Terrific Tress – investigate trees and discuss their importance in our lives.
    • Wonderful Wind – investigate the power of the wind.
  • STEM Lit to Go IOWA Kits – contains lesson, Story book(s), and most supplies. Grades K-3
    • A Chair for Bear – Work with the engineering design process to build a chair for Goldilocks.
    • Blast Off – Learn about being an astronaut and participate in space themed learning.
    • Code Across Iowa – Practice coding and problem solving.
    • Hour at the Fair – Conduct STEM activities to learn about the fair.
    • Marvelous Marshmallows – Conduct a marshmallow investigation and launch marshmallows at a target.
    • Munching Mysteries - Learn about mystery and biography genres, and how to solve mysteries.
    • Scream for Ice Cream – Explore chemistry and the state of matter.
    • Sound All Around – Learn about the elements of music such as rhythm and pitch.
    • Super Shapes – Learn about and explore our world’s shapes.
    • Take a Chance – Participate in various games of chance to learn more about math concepts.
    • Tricky Towers – Participate in the engineering design process to learn more about structures.
    • Wonders of Nature – Learn about natural resources and the importance of environmental conservation.
  • STEM in Action Kits – Granted through the Iowa STEM Council and Hand2Mind. Grades PreK-5. https://www.hand2mind.com/brands/stem-in-action
    • Grade PreK
      • Ron’s Habitat Adventure
      • Pam & Ava’s Mapping Adventure
      • Pam’s Camping Adventure
    • Grades K-2
      • Wild Feet Exploration
      • Project Park Design
      • Sound Bite Exploration
    • Grades 3-5
      • Food Deserts Challenge
      • Farmer Grady’s Challenge
      • Helicopter Hang Time
      • Solar House Design Challenge
  • Toys in Space Kit – lessons of science, aerospace, and physics using toys tested in space. Grades 2-12
  • Water Rocks! Kit - Supplies for many lessons. http://www.waterrocks.org/ Grades K-12
  • Water Connects Us All – explore ecosystems, nitrogen cycles, and water quality. Grades 3-12 https://www.extension.iastate.edu/4h/water-connects
  • Wind Curriculums/Kits Grades 4-12
    • Kid Wind Kit – 1 larger turbine and 15 smaller turbines https://www.kidwind.org/about
    • Power of Wind – National 4-H Curriculum Guide
    • Invent STEM – explore wind energy
  • Wonderwise Kits-Women, Science & Technology Grades 4-6
    • http://wonderwise.unl.edu/index.htm
      • African Plant Explorer
      • Genetics Counselor
      • Parasite Sleuth
      • Pollen Detective
      • Rainforest Ecologist
      • Sea Otter Biologist
      • Space Geologist
      • Urban Ecologist
      • Vet Detective
Programs (Extension Led)
  • 4-H and Clover Kids - A membership program for youth to participate in monthly club activities in addition to opportunities available at the county, state, and national levels. The 4-H and Clover Kid program provides opportunities for youth to develop skills that they can use now and throughout their lives. The Mission of the Iowa 4-H program is to "empower youth to reach their full potential through youth-adult partnerships and research-based experiences". This is accomplished through STEM, Healthy Living, Leadership, Civic Engagement, and Communications and the Arts activities https://www.extension.iastate.edu/story/page/join-4-h
  • Babysitting Basics – A program teaching safe babysitting practices to students in grades 5-12. 
  • Childcare Courses-Workshops for child-care teachers and providers on a wide variety of topics designed to improve the quality of childcare.
  • My Plate -A program used to help find your healthy eating style and build it through your daily meals. It focuses on showing students how colorful their plates should be when eating meals at school and at home focusing on the 5 main portions of a plate (fruits, vegetables, grains, protein and dairy) while doing fun activities with the students so they get the opportunity to work hands on with building their own My Plate Meal with their guardians.
  • On Their Own & Okay Program – This program supports conversation with students in grades 4-6 about being home safely for a short time. Topics include nutrition, safety, emergencies, and additional activities.
  • Raising School Ready Readers – A program for parents of preschoolers to recognize ways to help their children develop literacy skills through everyday activities. Five session series with 1.5 hours each time that includes research information and stations of interactive parent and child activities.
  • Real Money. Real World. – This program originated from Ohio State University Extension https://realmoneyrealworld.osu.edu/ This program focuses on financial literacy for students in 7-12 grade. This 6 session program consists of four lessons preparing for a spending simulation and evaluation.
  • Ricochet: A Leadership Adventure Program – Students in grades 5-8 learn five dimensions of leadership through activities. Leadership information and attitudes, decision making, communication, and stress management. Extend the program opportunity by identifying a need to support while planning and implementing a service-learning experience.
  • SWITCH – This is an evidence-based obesity prevention program designed to help students adopt healthy lifestyles – both in school and at home. Through SWITCH, students learn to ‘switch what they Do, View, and Chew’. https://www.extension.iastate.edu/switch/
  • The Mindful Teen: From Surviving to Thriving in a Busy World: The workshop series is based on the book, “The Mindful Teen: Powerful Skills to Help You Handle Stress One Moment at a Time,” by Dr. Dzung Vo, an adolescent medicine specialist and clinical associate professor at the University of British Columbia. 4-H staff developed the program as part of the Iowa 4-H Healthy Living Program Priority Area and Mental Health Champions Group, seeking new and innovative ways to meet the needs and interests of adolescents and our communities. Workshops will be offered statewide through the fall and winter.