On June 19th,  GYAN hosted a session as part of MSU Extension 4-H Exploration Days, a pre-college program that brings over 1,000 youth from across Michigan to MSU’s campus to give them the opportunity to live like college students and explore future careers. During three days, youth stay in MSU residence halls and choose from over 100 learning sessions on a variety of topics led by MSU faculty/staff, 4-H volunteers, and other experts.

GYAN's session “Games & Crafts From Around the World” gave youth participants a taste of games, crafts, and snacks from around the world.

GYAN Senior Innovation Officer Luna Lu shared Chinese snacks and a traditional Chinese craft known as Xiang bao (香包), or perfume sachets, a traditional craft associated with the Dragon Boat Festival, which fell on June 10th this year. These sachets serve as good luck talismans and are worn on the body or hung to ward off bad spirits and insects. They can be made from cloth, ribbon, or paper, and traditionally contain Chinese medicinal herbs like mugwort, realgar, and wormwood.

Participants at the 4-H Exploration Days enjoyed learning about the cultural significance of sachet and the traditional techniques used in their creation. It was a wonderful opportunity to make something beautiful and meaningful but also helped foster an appreciation for cultural traditions among the participants.

Alexandra Jarvis, GYAN’s Program Administrator, shared traditional candy and games from the U.S. such as “Guess Who?”, cornhole, and other fun card games. For those unfamiliar with cornhole, this is an extremely popular game in the U.S. also known as bean bag toss. Individual players (or teams) take turns throwing bags filled with corn (or beans) at an inclined board with a hole in its far end; landing a bag on the board scores one point while putting a bag through the hole scores three points (corn in the hole).

Beyond sharing some typical Brazilian candy, Faculty Liaison & Program Coordinator Leticia Cherchiglia shared pescaria (in English, "fishing"), a game traditionally played during Festa Junina ("June Festival") in Brazil. Put simply, players use bamboo rods to "fish," and once they catch a fish, they win a prize. Festa Junina's origins date back to Portuguese colonization, and it was originally organized around the feast days of several Catholic saints. However, Festa Junina has developed alongside Brazilian culture over time, being celebrated often times without a specifically religious significance. In fact, in some states it has become the second largest popular celebration after Brazilian Carnival.

During Festa Junina, cities, towns, and even schools organize their own celebrations, which usually include eating typical food, traditional dancing known as quadrilha (similar to American square dancing), and playing games such as pescaria or ring toss.

Leticia also shared a traditional Brazilian craft known as bandeirinhas, a flag garland often used as decoration for Festa Junina, alongside paper balloons, straw hats, and corn. During the session, participants used Post-It notes to cut and assemble their own bandeirinhas.

Reflecting upon the event, Leticia said: “I loved being able to share a little bit about Brazil, particularly one of my favorite celebrations, Festa Junina, and a game I used to play a lot growing up: pescaria! These types of cultural exchanges and connections with youth are so refreshing!"

GYAN thanks MSU Extension for this opportunity to engage with pre-college youth, and looks forward to 4-H Exploration Days 2025!