Above: Four Youth Productions students on a field trip to photograph bald eagles, cormorants and other wildife at Conowingo Dam in Maryland.
By Mary Ellen Mitchell
Photos by Joe Del Tufo
Since 2019, when Out & About last wrote about the mission and progress of Four Youth Productions, this inspiring non-profit has expanded supplemental STEAM education opportunities for Wilmington’s underprivileged youth in grades K-12.
STEAM education integrates art with science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), to encourage curiosity, dialogue, critical thinking, and creativity to solve problems. Through an interactive, hands-on approach, STEAM education has been shown to help students identify their strengths and interests, build confidence, and increase enthusiasm for learning.
Executive Director Theresa Emmett, a former professional photographer and photography instructor, founded Four Youth in 2013 on four essential pillars: education, mentorship, employment, and scholarships. Emmett believes that the younger students are when they’re exposed to STEAM education, the earlier they find their passion.
“We believe in teaching above,” Emmett says. “For example, I’ve heard 5-year-olds chatting about bioluminescence. And we have a third-grade student who is planning to work in environmental science one day.”
The effectiveness of this approach is reflected in Four Youth student test scores, which show, on average, a 36% increase in knowledge of STEAM subjects.
Uriel Rosiles Pedraza uses a 600mm lens to capture bald eagles at Bombay Hook Wildlife Refuge in Smyrna.
“We find that students naturally care more about their grades when they have a goal in mind,” Emmett says. “The chance that they’ll pursue higher education is also greater.”
One former student, Braheem Wilson, now in college pursuing a nursing degree, says, “I was involved in Four Youth’s after-school, weekend, and summer programs from sixth grade through high school. Over the years, Ms. Emmett and her team helped me identify my strengths and interests, which helped guide my college and career decisions.”
Four Youth classes and workshops are led by University of Delaware professors, graduate students, and seniors, along with STEAM industry professionals who donate their time and talent. A recent grant from the Longwood Foundation enabled Emmett to expand her leadership team from six to nine members, which include certified teachers and STEAM subject matter experts, many of whom she met through a collaboration with the UD Department of Engineering.
In addition to creating, executing, and expanding Four Youth’s curriculum, the leadership team continually networks to find teaching and mentorship support for the nearly 450 students in Four Youth programs during the current school year alone.
Whether it’s a shoebox projector, a glow-in-the-dark atom model, or a replica windmill, everything students create as part of a Four Youth STEAM project goes home with them, to encourage recall of the lesson and further their engagement with experiential learning.
Bright, Inviting Headquarters
Four Youth is headquartered in part of a historic former flour mill, built in 1762, on Superfine Lane in the Old Brandywine Village section of Wilmington. Board President Raphael Dahan, a graphic designer and post-production artist, designed the interior with a mix of bold, contemporary, and retro-style furniture and fixture finds to create a bright, highly organized, and well-equipped facility, with a bit of a whimsical flair.
Students can visit headquarters any time they wish, to chat with the leadership team members or use the technology equipment, supplies and workspace including the modern kitchenette and photography studio, which is available for lease to local photographers to help support overhead costs.
Photographers also have access to high-quality photographic printing, processing and digital imaging services right next door at Colourworks, a small business and longtime Four Youth supporter.
Advancing in The Arts
Since inception, Four Youth has integrated photography and cooking with science and engineering, but over the past three years, Emmett and her team have expanded art offerings to include painting, papermaking, ceramics and mixed media.
Through workshops led by professional guest artists, students have been learning new techniques to conceptualize and create. One sixth grade student says, “Working with the local artist Amir Campbell was a lot of fun, because he showed us how to use random items to create a portrait, and we learned about value. It looks good, and it has a lot of color.”
What’s more, through a partnership with local cable station DETV, Four Youth students will go behind the scenes on Saturdays for mentoring by communication professionals on topics such as digital literacy, broadcast journalism and videography. DETV will provide certificates of achievement to workshop graduates.
Connecting with Nature
“One of our guiding principles is listening to our students and adapting to fulfill their needs,” Emmett says. She cites an example from a few years ago, when many of the K-8 students, especially those whose parents work full-time, expressed increased feelings of disconnect from nature. To address this shortcoming, Four Youth collaborated once again with professors and students from UD to create and administer new environmental science and engineering offerings.
Four Youth classes and workshops take place in a variety of settings: From headquarters on Superfine Lane to local schools and community centers, and recently, with the new environmental studies curriculum — outside.
Thanks to local photographer Joe del Tufo of Moonloop Photography, integrating art with environmental studies was a natural progression. del Tufo has been donating his time and expertise over the past two years to lead Four Youth students on wildlife photography excursions.
Ty’sha Hampton shooting on a snowy path at Bombay Hook Wildlife Refuge.
For example, in January, he brought a group of aspiring young photographers to Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area in Stevens, Pa., where they captured stunning shots of snow geese in flight, with an infrared camera that he taught them to use. The Wilmington-based Laffey-McHugh Foundation has provided support for the photography excursions.
To highlight students’ work from the wildlife excursions with del Tufo, Four Youth will host an exhibit and sale at the Delaware Children’s Museum this fall, on soon to-be-announced dates.
“Our students are thrilled for this opportunity, which was made possible, in part, through our first National Endowment of the Arts grant,” Emmett says.
By exhibiting and selling their work, as well as partnering with local businesses to serve as professional event photographers, Four Youth students develop their entrepreneurial spirit while supporting the Four Youth scholarship fund, which is invested to benefit students who need the most financial support for college.
A Fresh Crop of Ideas
In summer of 2022, the Four Youth leadership team brainstormed ideas for giving city youth even more opportunities to interact with nature. Board member Sam Seo, a horticulturist with a focus on urban forestry, created the idea for The Urban Sense Garden, which would encourage children to use all five senses to observe and enjoy a wide variety of plants and flowers.
“We installed the Urban Sense Garden at Thomas Edison Charter School in fall of 2022, and hundreds of city kids have been enjoying it since then, even those who aren’t enrolled in a Four Youth program,” Emmett says. “Our environmental science and engineering students monitor and care for the sensory garden as part of their training.”
This year, to augment the sensory garden, Seo and Dahan developed The Urban Sense Project, an interactive play and nature observation area in the space adjacent to the sensory garden. The Chichester Foundation, along with national nonprofit Justice Outside, provided funding, while Thomas Edison Charter School endorsed repurposing a large part of the schoolyard.
The Four Youth leadership team, with assistance from volunteers, is in the process of augmenting the garden with oversized drums, chimes, and a bell, as well as a group of birdhouses Dahan is building for the area that will be called “Tweetville.” A wildlife camera will be installed for students to record the number and type of avian visitors.
“We observed that children at play like to jump from one object to another and move in a circular path,” Emmett says. With this concept in mind, Jason Gaskill of the Davey Tree Expert Company’s Wilmington location, donated various-sized tree stumps, which will be arranged in a circle. Gaskill also crafted a naturalistic outdoor table and chairs for children to use. Large trees and seven additional gardens will be planted to further enhance the space.
“We’re also installing a life-sized chess board with seating for up to 36, which can serve as an outdoor classroom or novel way for kids to play chess, a game which is a school specialty,” Emmett notes.
Art in The Garden
Four Youth students recently hosted an Art in the Garden exhibit, where they displayed their work in celebration of the grand opening of The Urban Sense Project.
“For Art in The Garden, we received our first grant from the Delaware Division of the Arts,” Emmett says.
Local artist Amir Campbell created a mural on-site, with found objects of George Washington Carver, a prominent Black agricultural scientist, horticulturist, and botanist who developed novel methods to prevent soil depletion in the early 1900s.
“We have many more community-based initiatives in the works,” Emmett says. “Be sure to follow along.”
— For more information, or to enroll in Four Youth or volunteer/donate, visit the website: FourYouth.org, or find them on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.
