Summer 4-H projects engage youth in experiential learning

Doug Foxx
·2 min read
Doug Foxx
Doug Foxx

This year some 1,400 youth in Wayne County and thousands more in surrounding counties are engaged in self-directed learning through their participation in more than 200 different 4-H projects.

Projects include everything from the traditional cooking, sewing, woodworking and livestock projects 4-H is so well known for, to a myriad of other topics such as acting, art, astronomy, babysitting, bicycling, career exploration, electricity, gardening, genetics, genealogy, geology, interior design, laundry, money management, robotics, rocketry, scrapbooking, shooting sports, skateboarding, small engines, sports nutrition, weather, welding, veterinary science and hundreds more!

Youth development: Summer Camp fosters positive youth development

Youth are guided through completing their projects by steps outlined in project books written by expert faculty and staff at The Ohio State University. Many youth also are mentored and coached through the completion of their projects by local adult 4-H club volunteers.

Project judging leads to change to show at Ohio State Fair

At the completion of their project, 4-H youth participate in project judging and can go on to exhibit their project at the Wayne County Fair and some are selected to represent Wayne County at the Ohio State Fair. During project judging youth demonstrate what they have done or created for their project and what they have learned.

This year’s Wayne County 4-H project judging schedule is listed below:

  • Early Project Judging (for youth interested in qualifying for State Fair) is July 7 at the Wayne County Fair Event Center.

  • Late Project Judging will take place on Aug. 9, also at the Wayne County Fair Event Center.

In addition to projects, there are numerous 4-H activities throughout the summer that also engage youth in hands-on, experiential learning. Examples include our Tuesday Night Horse Fun Shows, livestock clinics, 4-H camp, club meetings, tours and field trips.

This week more than 200 Ashland and Wayne youth are engaged in learning activities at 4-H Camp Ohio near Utica in Licking County. Youth are participating in a wide range of activities including cooking their own lunch over a campfire, canoeing, fishing, line dancing, mountain biking and boarding, scuba diving, stream studies, swimming, tie dying shirts, zip lining, and navigating the high ropes challenge course.

For more information about how to join 4-H or become a volunteer, contact me at the Extension Office.

Doug Foxx is an OSU Extension 4-H Youth Development Educator and may be reached at 330-264-8722 or foxx.2@osu.edu

CFAES provides research and related educational programs to clientele on a nondiscriminatory basis. For more information, visit cfaesdiversity.osu.edu.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: Local youth learn through participation in 4-H projects