Hello, my name is Cherydan Onishi and this is my second year doing the extern program. I was placed with the University of Idaho Minidoka County Extension Office again but this year I had a different focus on what I was doing for the extension office. My focus this year was planning and implementing STEAM activities for lunch in the park and learning/teaching coding with legos.

Lunch in the park was a great experience for working with a variety of ages and different personalities. Each week I would plan an activity and go to three different parks throughout the week for the children.

My favorite part was the coding with Legos. This was my first time working with Legos that could be programmed to do different things, so I was nervous to take on the task of teaching Lego classes. I attended a class on how to code the different projects and it was fascinating how a tub of Legos can do so many things.

I was volunteered to teach coding with Legos at the Wilson Theater. It was an amazing learning experience. I taught the students some of the different Lego parts that were used in all of the projects that were available on the program. Then I had them practice building a sled that could drive forwards and backwards. After that the students were able to make a project of their choice. I had students make a bowling lane, a swing, a helicopter, and more. I was so astonished on how quickly they caught on and were teaching me new things on the coding app.

It was another great summer externing for the Minidoka Extension office and I hope to do it again so I can continue to broaden my knowledge.