Junior Hokie Showcase connects local students to agriculture, science, and opportunity.

Virginia Cooperative Extension Agent Morgan Paulette demonstrates drone techniques and safety with Pulaski County students and teachers.

 

By Case Keatley,

Virginia Cooperative Extension

For hundreds of fourth-grade students from across the New River Valley, a recent trip to Virginia Tech offered more than just a day away from the classroom. It gave them a hands-on look at the many ways agriculture, natural resources, science, and technology shape the world around them.

Held at Virginia Tech’s Alphin-Stuart Livestock Teaching Arena, the 4-H Junior Hokie Showcase welcomed students from Pulaski, Floyd, Craig, and Montgomery counties for a full day of interactive learning. The event introduced young students to a wide range of agricultural and natural resource topics while also helping them make connections between what they are learning in school and the careers and industries that support communities across Virginia.

Montgomery County Agriculture and Natural Resources Extension Agent Meredith Hoggatt fields questions on flower biology

Throughout the day, students rotated through a variety of stations designed to make learning active, memorable, and fun. At one stop, they encountered sheep and pigs up close and learned important facts about their care and health, At another, they explored how modern technology is changing the future of farming through tools like drones, GPS, and precision agriculture. Other stations highlighted areas such as wildlife science, natural resources, and academic programs connected to Virginia Tech and Virginia Cooperative Extension.

One of the showcase’s biggest strengths was its ability to take familiar classroom subjects like math and science and place them in a real-world setting. Whether students were learning how wildlife professionals use measurement and observation in the field or seeing how drones can help farmers monitor land and crops, the experience helped bring academic concepts to life in a way that felt exciting and approachable.

For many students, the animal exhibits were a highlight. The chance to see livestock up close created moments of curiosity, laughter, and wonder that are hard to replicate in a traditional classroom setting. Students also learned the basics of tree identification by examining different leaves and noticing the shapes, textures, and patterns that help distinguish one species from another. The station gave them a hands-on way to better understand the forests that are such an important part of Southwest Virginia and showed how even something as simple as a leaf can tell a bigger story about the natural world around them.

Events like Junior Hokie Showcase are about much more than a single field trip. They are designed to broaden students’ understanding of the industries that help feed, fuel, and sustain communities while also showing them that those industries are full of opportunity. Agriculture today includes animal science, environmental stewardship, engineering, communications, technology, education, and research. By introducing those ideas early, students are able to see that their interests in science, problem-solving, nature, or working with animals can all lead somewhere meaningful.

The showcase also reflects the mission of 4-H and Virginia Cooperative Extension: helping young people learn by doing. Through hands-on experiences, students are encouraged to ask questions, explore new interests, and imagine futures they may not have considered before.

For many of the students who attended, Junior Hokie Showcase was likely their first glimpse into the broader world of agriculture and natural resources. For some, it may have simply been a fun and memorable school day. But for others, it may have planted the first seed of a future interest, college path, or career.