Thirty-four 4-H'ers from the West Central Region of University of Illinois Extension recently attended a two-day study trip to Chicago on June 15 & 16, 2007. The focus of the trip was to explore ways people communicate and possible career choices.

Participants of Macoupin county included Ethan Sheley of Palmyra; Jacob Dewitt of Modesto; Abraham Fleisher, Elizabeth Kripe of Carlinville; Shelby Albert, Lucy Krochel, Christopher Catlett of Shipman; Danielle Cole, Torie Crocks of Girard; and Danielle Stevenson of Mt. Olive.

The 4-H'ers first stop was the Rainforest Caf? where they participated in a behind the scenes tour to see all the jobs involved in operating a restaurant and then enjoyed a lunch of exotic titled foods.

Next they worked directly from improvisation specialists at ComedySportz for a hands-on workshop about how performers set up a skit, react to audience ideas, and come up with entertaining acts.

Experiencing a "Black Hole" at Adler Planetarium's Star Theater helped the 4-H'ers think about a completely different dimension of careers and ways people communicate.

Later in the evening, participants got a chance to laugh and interact with the same performers at ComedySportz, where they claim that comedy is a sport. The performance was based on suggestions from the audience.

The trip concluded with an Omnimax Theater show called "Hurricane in the Bayou".

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