2016-17 Projects

What do psychologists, sociologists, anthropologists, political scientists and economists have in common? They are all trying to understand why people and communities behave as they do. This project taught kids about the social sciences and how they focus on learning about people using rigorous scientific methods. The kids then got to be social scientists themselves by joining up with local seniors and conducting a research study comparing the seniors’ childhood and chores with that of today’s youth. They presented their findings at one of our club meetings.

Mar-May 2017

In this project, we spent 4 meetings at the City Slicker Urban Farm Park in West Oakland. We learned about the different components necessary to run this organic, sustainable, and high-yield urban farm, which houses chickens in addition to community planter boxes, a large plot for produce, outdoor classroom space and more. We got a tour, had a composting workshop, helped to spread bark mulch, went on a scavenger hunt, picked and toasted kale and made some posters to document our experience.

Mar 2017

7 member families bought 3-4 chicks each from BioFuel Oasis and raised them until they were 8 weeks old.  They learned about chick breeds and how to care for them and built their own brooders to house them.  At 8 weeks old, 3 families kept their chicks, and 5 of the chicks were placed in the EBI Coop.  The rest of the chicks were donated to SoMar Farms in Petaluma where we got to spend a fun day learning about the ranch, swimming in the pond and having a BBQ.

Mar-May 2017

Using the funds and donations raised through the EBI Chicken Coop Fundraising Project, we began building the coop in February 2017. Members learned about making a foundation, framing walls and how to use various tools. They stained and painted the wood and built various accessory structures such as a storage shed, nest boxes, roosts, a sandbox and ladder. Construction was completed in May 2017.

Play the Greatest Computer Game on Earth … And Make a Fortune! Investing really is like a fun computer game that can make you wealthy. It’s also a path to understanding accounting & business (or ANY organization with a budget), economics, politics, and even psychology.  BUT, you can lose money playing it and most people do. But you will have to play it, because we all have to save for retirement. Why not master the game while you’re young, so you don’t lose money when it counts!

Jan-June 2017

This project provided an introduction to free-hand calligraphy and cursive writing.  In the second half of the class, we created art pieces using hand lettering and collage to make beautiful decorated quotations.

Jan-Mar 2017

Drone Discovery was developed by Cornell University Cooperative Extension and was the topic for the 2016 4-H National Youth Science Day.  It included a hands-on engineering design challenge that explored the science behind drones and how they are being used to solve real world problems.  The curriculum covered flight dynamics and aircraft types, safety and regulations, and remote sensing and flight control.

Nov-Dec 2016

Members learned about the parts of a bike and how to do simple repairs.  They also went on a number of group rides.

Oct 2016-May 2017

During the 2015-16 program year, the EBI Chicken Coop Design project designed a chicken coop/run for a school in Emeryville called Escuela Bilingüe Internacional.  The goal of the Fundraising project was to raise the funds to build it.  Members ran a craft fair, asked local businesses for in-kind or monetary donations and made a presentation to the CFO of the school requesting that they contribute.  The group successfully raised the funds to begin construction.

Oct 2016-Jan 2017

Members learned all about goats, made goat cheese, threw a goat birthday party and helped take care of 2 dwarf Nigerian wethers.

Oct 2016-May 2017

In this introduction to sewing, we learned how to design and construct a simple tote bag and a zippered pen pouch. Along the way, we learned about fabric selection, measurement, marking and cutting as well as how to thread a sewing machine, wind a bobbin and more.

Oct-Nov 2016