Mini 4-H

Mini 4-H Guidelines and Exhibit Requirements

As a Mini 4-hers you may select one or more projects from the specifically designated Mini 4-H projects listed in this handbook. Their manuals and/or record sheets telling them what to do in the projects are available through their club leader or the Extension office.

Poster Construction Hints:

1. Poster Board– Use white when required; experiment with other colors when not required. Poster boards are available for purchase in the Extension office.
2. Mounting Adhesives– The best is rubber cement (leaves no marks and won’t wrinkle paper)- double stick tape is best for leaves– white glue should be used only in cases where wrinkling or damage will not occur.
3. Stiff Backing– Any material that will keep the poster from bending forward will work. Examples: Stiff cardboard, foam core (proper dimensions), plywood (may get heavy), Masonite 1/8” thick - found to work well and could be used year after year.
4. All Mini 4-H project posters must be 14” x 22” (half a standard 22” x 28” poster board). Foam core is acceptable; please note 14” x22” dimensions. They should be mounted horizontally, and on stiff backing with clear (not cellophane) plastic covering. Poster sleeves are available for purchase in the Extension office.
5. Title must be placed per exhibit requirements or use own creativity, if permissible. Mini 4-H exhibit label (provided by the Extension office) must be placed in lower right-hand corner. Neatness and cleanliness are important.

General Guidelines:

1. All 4-H members are encouraged to attend their local club meetings.
2. The number of projects a 4-H member takes each year should be determined by the 4-H member with guidance from parents and the 4-H Club Leader. Each child’s ability varies.
3. All 4-H members are encouraged to complete projects in which they are enrolled. Participation in the experiential learning activities is an important, ongoing part of your development. Enrolling in a project is considered a commitment to complete project requirements and associated record keeping plus exhibiting at the 4-H Fair.
4. The completion of a 4-H project must not be misinterpreted as exhibition of said project at the 4-H Fair, although exhibition is encouraged. A 4-H member is considered complete in their project work for that year when they have:

- Completed 4-H enrollment on www.v2.4honline.com by January 15th deadline.

- Turned in completed record sheet to 4-H Club Leader.

Please exhibit one of the following each year.

• Collect and exhibit 5 items or 5 pairs of items. These articles can be rocks, coins, insects, salt and pepper shakers, pencils, or any kind of fun collection. Attach a 3x5-inch card that tells what you collected and why you collected the items.
• If you take Collections more than one year, add 5 more articles to your collection each year.
• Go to a museum and look around at the collections of things. Write a short report on your visit. Here are some things that you might want to put in your report:
  • Why do museums collect articles? List some things they collect.
  • Ask someone who works at a museum how they get things for their collections.
  • What is the best collection of items? What is the most unusual? (If a museum is not in your home area, try the library.)
• Talk to family and friends. Ask them what they like to collect and why they like to collect it. Then make a chart to show your information.

 Mini 4-H Collections Manual and Record Sheet

     Choose 1 of the 10 activities in the project manual to exhibit. Next year choose a different exhibit.

1. Splatter Painting         
2. Decoupage          
3. Hand Print 
4. Drawing 
5. Craft Kit 
6. Gift Bag
7. Your Creative Craft
8. Sculpting with Modeling Dough
9. Sponge Fun
10. Handmade Paper

Resources:

Mini 4-H Crafts Manual and Record Sheet

Please exhibit one of the following each year.

• Make a fossil cast. Use something that will make a fossil that might have been around 200 million years ago. (Examples: bones, leaves, and twigs)
• Find four pictures of dinosaurs. Answer these questions for each picture. You can use the dinosaurs in this book. Put the pictures and information in a self-made notebook.
  • What is the name of dinosaur?
  • How big is the dinosaur?
  • How much does the dinosaur weigh?
  • What type of dinosaur is it?
• Make a poster that shows how big dinosaurs were. Draw pictures of yourself, your house, your school, and your favorite dinosaur. Answer these questions for each thing:
  • Name of thing
  • Size of thing
• Make a model of your favorite dinosaur. You can use model materials of your choice.
• Make a dino-time Dinorama.
  • Find a large shoebox.
  • Paint the inside of the box to look like the Earth when dinosaurs were alive.
  • Put soil in the bottom of the box. Put enough in to make hills and swamps.  You can use poster board painted blue for water.  Collect rocks for your dinorama.
  • Collect small twigs, leaves and other plants.
  • Make models of dinosaurs and put them in your box.
  • You can use poster board to add stiffness.  Clay works too!
• Collect five types of plants that dinosaurs would be able to eat if they lived today. Put the plants in a self-made notebook. Answer the following questions next to each plant:
  • Name of plant?
  • Why would a dinosaur eat it?
  • Where did you find the plant?

 Resources:

Mini 4-H Dinosaurs Manual and Record Sheet

Please exhibit one of the following each year.

• Make a poster showing the different things that we get from farm animals. (Examples: hamburgers, wool, eggs, etc.)
• Make a poster showing the different kinds of farm animals. You can use the pictures from Activity 1 or use other pictures that you find.
• Write a story about your favorite farm animal.
• Make a model of your favorite farm animal. If you want, add it to the farm scene you made in the shoebox (see Activity 4).
• Make a poster of your favorite farm animal and identify 5 parts of the animal.
• Talk to a farmer. Ask him or her questions about working on a farm. What animals does he/she raise, and what do they feed their animals? Write a story about the farmer.
• Write or rewrite your favorite fairy tale using farm animals. (For example: Cinderella on the Farm)
• Make a poster of your favorite farm animal and identify 10 parts of the animal. Use a different animal than you did last year.
• Take part in the Livestock Mentoring Program. Learn about what it takes to properly care for and exhibit either a rabbit, chicken, lamb, goat, or pig. You will be paired with at least a 5th year member in the project. Please contact the Extension office for more details.
• Anything else you can think of. Be creative!

 Resources:

Mini 4-H Farm Animals Manual and Record Sheet

Please exhibit one of the following each year.

• Popcorn snack displayed in a small plastic sandwich bag
• Two no-bake cookies displayed in a small plastic sandwich bag
• A poster you made that shows at least three kitchen safety rules
• A poster you made that shows MyPyramid.
• Two marshmallow bars displayed in a small plastic sandwich bag
• A poster you made that shows how to properly measure ingredients
• Your 4-H Cooking Kit

 Resources:

Mini 4-H Foods Manual and Record Sheet

Please exhibit one of the following each year.

• Poster suggestions:
  1. Poster board should be displayed horizontally.
  2. Title should be at the top of the poster.
  3. Exhibit 5-7 items on the poster.
• In some of the activities, there is a choice of exhibits.    Choose one of the choices — both exhibits are not required.
• Books may be made with white paper for the activities and colored paper for the cover and back, and stapled. There should be 5-7 pages in the book.
• If forestry will be taken again next year, leaves may be collected this fall for exhibit next year.

 Resources:

Mini 4-H Forestry Manual and Record Sheet

Please exhibit one of the following each year.

• Your exhibit will be one plant in a pot (no larger than 10 inches in diameter). You must have taken care of your plant for at least the last two months before judging. A Chia Pet you have grown can be substituted for the potted plant.
• A plate with a maximum of three vegetables.
• A scrapbook of picture of different types of vegetables. Label each vegetable with its name.

 Resources:

Mini 4-H Gardening Manual and Record Sheet

Please exhibit one of the following each year.

• A poster titled “Lego®” with 4-6 photos of Lego-style models (kit and/or your own creating) you have constructed in the last year.
• A store-bought kit model made with any Lego-type bricks, that is not larger than 8”x8”x8”.
• A Lego-type brick model made with the use of a kit or plan, that is not larger than 8”x8”x8”.

 Resources:

Mini 4-H Legos Manual and Record Sheet

Please exhibit one of the following each year.

• Make one snap-together plastic model. Do not glue or paint your model. LEGO MODELS BELONG IN THE MINI 4-H LEGO PROJECT!
• Make a model using 2 to 4 different items of your choice. Examples: clay, toothpicks, sticks, ceramics, sugar cubes, etc.
• Visit a museum and look around at different models. Write a short report on your visit. Here are some things you might want to put in your report:
  • What kind of models did you see?
  • Ask someone who works at the museum how they build their models. Or do they buy the models already built?
  • What was your favorite model? Why did you like this model? How big was it? How big would the real-life item be?
• Make a model using as many different items of your choice. Make a model background to display your model. Example: Paint a shoebox so that a plastic model car looks like it is driving down the road, across a field, through the water or the air.

 Resources:

Mini 4-H Models Manual and Record Sheet

Please exhibit one of the following each year.

Make your very own scrapbook or a poster (14” x 22”) about your special pet to exhibit at the fair.  Inside you may want to put some of these things:

• My name is …
• I am this old …
• My pet is a …
• My pet’s name is …
• My pet is this old …
• My pet likes to eat this food …
• My pet sleeps in a ...
• I like my pet because …
• A funny story about my pet would be …

 Resources:

Mini 4-H My Pet and Me Manual and Record Sheet

Please exhibit one of the following each year.

Make your very own scrapbook or a poster (14” x 22”) about your special pet to exhibit at the fair.  Inside you may want to put some of these things:

• A poster with six pictures of non-moving subjects (landscapes, buildings, scenery, etc.)
• A poster with six pictures. Three of the pictures can be of anything you like. The other three should be of the following:
  1. One picture of your school.
  2. One picture of a special friend– that friend may be your best friend, a dog or cat, a brother or sister, or your parents/guardians.
  3. One picture of where you live.
• A poster with six pictures. Four pictures can be of anything you like. The other two should be of the following:
  1. One picture of scenery.
  2. One picture of your favorite animal.

 Resources:

Mini 4-H Photography Manual and Record Sheet

Please exhibit one of the following each year.

• Three cut flowers in a vase. The flowers can be the same kind or different kinds. Attach a small label that tells the kind of flower.
• A flowering plant in a pot. Attach a small label that tells the kind of flowering plant.
• A house plant. Attach a small label that tells the kind of plant.
• A cactus. Attach a small label that tells the kind of cactus.
• Exhibit a colored flower. See Activity 6 for directions.
• Make a poster that shows the different parts of a plant.
• Find at least 3 pictures of flowers. Write the names of the flowers next to their pictures. You can use the flowers in this book. Put the pictures in a self-made notebook.

 Resources:

Mini 4-H Plants and Flowers Manual and Record Sheet

Please exhibit one of the following each year.

• Draw a picture of your favorite book character.
• Create a model or diorama of a scene from your favorite book.
• Write a short book report about your favorite book. List the name of the book and the author.
• Design a new book cover for your favorite book.
• Create a paper bag book report. Decorate a paper bag to show your favorite book, then fill it with 5 items to represent characters or what happens in the book.
• Make a map of your library, to help others find their way around.
• Make a poster about your book.
• There are lots of ideas on the Internet. Be creative and use your imagination!

 Resources:

Mini 4-H Reading for Fun Manual and Record Sheet

Choose one of the activities from the Mini 4-H Sewing manual to exhibit: 

1. Sewing Kit
2. Pin Cushion
3. Tissue Cover
4. Placemat
5. BBQ Apron

 Resources:

Mini 4-H Sewing Manual and Record Sheet

Please exhibit one of the following each year.

• Make a solar system mobile. You may use any materials that you want. Make sure that you label each planet.
• Exhibit the asteroid you made in Activity 3.
• Exhibit the comet you made in Activity 4.
• Make a model or poster of the shuttle. Label the main parts of the shuttle.
• Make a poster showing one or two different constellations. You can use the ones in this manual or find new ones.
• Make a poster about one or two different planets. Label the planets and tell something about them. You can use the information in this manual or find your own.
• Make a poster about your own make-believe planet. Be creative. If you were going to visit this planet, what would you find?

 Resources:

Mini 4-H Sun, Stars, and Space Manual and Record Sheet

Please exhibit one of the following each year.

• Make an Ocean Diorama with whales and dolphins.
• Make a whales and dolphins mobile.
• Make a whale or dolphin model out of paper maché or other materials.
• Find four pictures of whales or dolphins, color, and cut out and place on a poster and label with the name, size, weight and type.
• Make a poster that shows how big whales are, draw pictures of yourself, your house, your school and your favorite whale and label the pictures with the name and size.
• Visit a dolphin show, draw a picture of what you saw, and display it on a poster.
• Make an origami whale.
• There are lots of ideas on the Internet. Be creative and use your imagination!

 Resources:

Mini 4-H Whales and Dolphins Manual and Record Sheet

Choose one project each year and bring it to the fair for judging.

• Birds Poster (from Activity 1)
• Birds Mobile (from Activity 1)
• Bird Feeder (from Activity 2)
• Bird Watching Chart Poster (from Activity 3)
• Paper Airplane (from Activity 4)
• Three Insects (from Activity 5)
• Local Wildlife Poster (from Activity 6)

 Resources:

Mini 4-H Wildlife Manual and Record Sheet

This project can be on an event or person in history. Topics may include period-appropriate homesteads, toys, recipes, games, clothing, etc., as well as historical information about the person or event.

Choose one of these things to bring to the fair. Project can be no larger than 36”x36”x36”.

1. Poster
2. 3-ring binder
3. Display

 Resources:

Mini 4-H Yesteryear Manual and Record Sheet