4-H Fun
Explore all workshops in the 4-H Fun learning track below! These workshops involve having fun with your 4-H community members.
4-H Aquarium Club
- Thursday, July 6 and August 3
- 5:30 pm
- Open to all youth
- Maximum 10 attendees
The 4-H Aquarium Club is open to youth ages 5-18 who are interested in being members of a community of youth aquarium hobbyists! This group is for youth who already have an aquarium hobby, or who are looking to start one, to come together to talk about their love for fish and aquaria. The club is led by aquaculture experts Dr. Scarlett Tudor from UMaine’s Aquaculture Research Institute, and Melissa Malmstedt from the UMaine Center for Cooperative Aquaculture Research (CCAR).
4-H Citizen Science
- Wednesdays, July 5 – August 2
- 3:00 – 4:00 pm
- Open to all youth ages 9 and up
- Maximum 15 attendees
Did you know that YOU are a scientist and can contribute to the science community?!? This virtual 4-H citizen scientists club encourages youth to practice citizen science in their own backyard, with a variety of citizen science opportunities to consider, and report their observations while making connections with fellow citizen scientists in their community and around the state. Youth will need outside access and the ability to take and share photos online. Register by June 23.
Flatbread Fun with Fermentation
- Wednesday, July 18, from 9:00 – 9:45 am, and Thursday, July 19, from 9:00 – 10:30 am
- Open to all Maine youth ages 10 and up
- Maximum 10 screens
Calling all curious and adventurous youth and teens! Join us for an exciting workshop where we delve into the magical world of sourdough and fermentation while creating delicious flatbread from scratch. Get ready to roll up your sleeves and embark on a culinary adventure that will awaken your taste buds and inspire your creativity. During this hands-on workshop, you will discover the ancient art of sourdough baking and explore the fascinating process of fermentation. Our expert facilitators will guide you through the journey of transforming simple ingredients into a flavorful and nutritious flatbread using the power of naturally occurring microorganisms. We request that an adult accompany any youth who aren’t comfortable using an oven. Tuesday will be preparation day: making and prepping your dough, Wednesday will be shaping and baking. Register by July 7.
Fun Summer Snacks
- Thursday, July 27
- 10:30 – 11:30 am
- Open to all youth ages 9 and up
- Maximum 20 attendees
Would you like to make super fun and delicious snacks? Yogurt, cereal, and fruit oh my! Join us for our Fun Summer Snacks workshop. See what you can create using simple ingredients and no cooking! We will be making confetti yogurt pops and fruit and yogurt parfaits. A list of supplies and ingredients will be communicated to participants ahead of time so they can follow along to cook and taste at home. Register by July 20.
Getting Creative with Nature’s Canvas
- Thursdays, July 6 – August 3
- 1:30 – 3:00 pm
- Open to all Maine youth
- Maximum 12 attendees
Are you just itching to express some creative energy? In this workshop, youth will get to explore all the creativity the environment has to offer! By collecting and utilizing the nature found in your daily life, we’ll create marvelous bean mosaics, sun print cyanotypes, potato block print scenes, and pinecone gnome sculptures. Youth are encouraged to let their creative energy loose in every class! They’ll even have the opportunity to share their work and sit down for a Q&A session, with a real Maine artist. We can’t wait to get crafting! Register by June 21.
Learn to Love Pollinators
- Wednesdays, July 5 – August 2
- 11:00 am – Noon
- Open to all Maine youth ages 9 and up
- Maximum 12 attendees
Do you like insects that pollinate? Do you like to explore gardens, meadows, and plants that are native to our environment? Join this workshop series to learn more about pollinators, and how and why they are important. Each week we will explore something new related to Maine’s pollinators. Activities will include exploring bee anatomy, dissecting a flower, designing a virtual pollinator garden, exploring the area around you and discovering how it does or does not support pollinators and more. Materials will be provided and mailed to participants. Some gathering of items from outdoors will be required to participate. Register by June 23.
Nature Science Journaling
- Mondays, July 10 – August 7
- 10:00 – 11:00 am
- Open to Maine youth ages 9 and up
- Maximum 12 attendees
In this 5-week workshop series, we will become natural scientists as we observe, describe, and draw the patterns we find in nature. Combining scientific observations with drawing, we will work on developing our attention to detail as we explore the big and small natural patterns all around us. You do not need to be good at drawing to enjoy this workshop! Materials will be provided. Register by June 26.
Owl Pellet Detectives: Uncovering the Secrets of the Woods
- Tuesdays: July 11, 18, and 25
- 3:00 – 4:00 pm
- Open to all Maine youth ages 10 – 16
- Maximum 15 attendees
Join us to discover facts about owls native to Maine and what they eat. Participants will each receive an owl pellet to dissect. Materials will be provided and mailed to participants. Session three will feature a guest speaker to share more about owl pellets and how they can help with research. You will also learn how to be a citizen scientist and help collect data! Register by June 30.
Pack Your Wagons: We’re Going to Oregon
- Tuesdays: July 18, 25, August 1, and 8
- 1:00 – 2:30 pm
- Open to all Maine youth ages 9 and up
- Maximum 12 attendees
For five weeks we’ll step in it the shoes of those who traveled West on the Oregon Trail. What did they do, and why did they do it? We’re going to learn all about it while playing the classic educational game, The Oregon Trail. Together we’ll discuss the ins and outs of the Trail, travel it ourselves, and keep diary logs to share with others what happened to you and your wagon party. Participants will need the ability to download the app or play Oregon Trail online. Register by July 10.
Pequeños Einsteins (Little Einsteins)
- Tuesday, July 11
- 1:00 – 2:00 pm
- Open to all youth ages 5 – 8
- Maximum 12 attendees
On this one-day workshop, we will learn the basics of Spanish through group work, pictures, and possibly some videos. We will cover colors, numbers, introductions, family members, animals, and even practice rolling out R’s! By the end of the workshop, you will be un experto en Espanol! Register by July 10.
Seaweed Lava Lamps
- Friday, July 28
- 10:00 – 11:30 am
- Open to Maine youth ages 9 and up
- Maximum 10 attendees
Do you know all of the amazing properties of seaweed? In this workshop, you will learn about some of these wonders by harnessing seaweed’s “gelling” abilities to make Seaweed Lava Lamps right at home! This workshop will be led by 4-H Aquaculture Interns. Youth must register by July 17 for supplies to be mailed to attendees’ homes.
Squid Dissection
- Friday, August 4
- 10:00 – 11:30 am
- Open to Maine youth ages 9 and up
- Maximum 9 households (each youth will receive their own squid)
Youth will learn about the anatomy of a squid during this hands-on dissection, led by Melissa from UMaine Center for Cooperative Aquaculture Research (CCAR). Your frozen squid will be mailed to your home before the workshop along with some basic dissection tools. We’ll meet on zoom to do the dissection together as a group! Register by July 26.
Summer Shake
- Monday, July 17
- 1:00 – 2:00 pm
- Open to youth of all ages
- Maximum 15 attendees
Shake your way to a sundae! Learn how to measure the right ingredients into a bag and see ice cream made right before your eyes. This class will instruct the basic way to make ice cream but, it is up to you to get creative with the flavors! A list of ingredients and supplies will be sent to everyone who registers ahead of the workshop so you can cook and taste at home as you follow along. Register by July 5.
Tick Trackers
- Tuesdays, July 13, 20, and August 10
- 10:00 – 11:15 am
- Open to Maine youth ages 9 and up
- Maximum 10 attendees
Join the mission to monitor and study ticks in your community! Join Farmer Kristin of Lone Spruce Farm and Carla from the 4-H Tick Project for an interactive exploration of ticks in Maine. This workshop will explore ticks by collecting and preserving your own, identifying species, investigating where ticks are found in Maine, taking safety precautions when outdoors, and more. Participants will conduct tick drags to collect tick specimens in their local area. Specimens are returned to Hancock County 4-H, and then submitted to the UMaine Diagnostic Research Laboratory Tick Lab for identification and disease testing, which contributes to the lab’s Tick Surveillance program. Youth data also contribute to a community science (aka “citizen science”) project called the Maine Forest Tick Survey (https://umaine.edu/forestticksurvey), which is a multiyear, multidisciplinary research project established to determine how forest land management practices impact tick populations and disease risk across Maine. The project provides youth an opportunity to explore ticks and tick-borne diseases, which is a connected story of climate, ecosystem change, and public health.
All materials will be provided and will be available for pick up at your local county Extension office prior to the first meeting. Register by June 26.
Virtual Touch Tank
- Friday, July 14
- 11:00 am – noon
- Open to youth of all ages
- Maximum 15 attendees
Melissa and interns from the UMaine Center for Cooperative Aquaculture Research (CCAR) will introduce participants to some of Maine’s common sea creatures! Youth will visually explore and learn about some of Maine’s sea creatures. Register by July 13.
Whimsical Watercolor
- Wednesday, July 5, 19, 26, and August 2
- 12:30 – 2:00 pm
- Open to Maine youth of all ages
- Maximum 10 attendees
In Whimsical Watercolor, learners will explore watercolor supplies and materials. In each class, artists will be shown various painting techniques. Exploration time will be given for learners to practice and get more comfortable. They can then use this as inspiration as they continue their watercolor journey outside of class. Register by June 12.
- Week 1: Intro
First steps will include learning to load the brush, control our water, and mixing colors. We will then continue with techniques like wet on dry, wet on wet, a wash, scumbling, lifting, splatter, layering, dry brushing, charging and blending, adding details, creating blooms, and painting silhouettes. We will learn how to paint water, sky, and sand and create a bookmark. - Week 2: Animals
We will continue using our new techniques to help us paint animals. We will be creating whimsical fish, jellyfish, and a turtle. Learning to control the paint and drying time will be our focus this week. - Week 3: Items Found at Sea
We will be sketching a sand dollar, shell, and palm tree. Learning to paint items found in nature can be daunting since we need to learn how to show details on something that is mainly one color. - Week 4: Aquatic Scene
Artists will compile the techniques practiced previously to create a scene complete with water, the sky, a palm tree, rocks, and small turtles crawling toward the water.
Winged Wonders: Birds in Your Backyard and Beyond
- Monday, July 10, 17, 24, 31, and August 7
- 11:30 am – 12:30 pm
- Open to youth ages 12 and up
- Maximum 15 attendees
In this series, youth will learn what birds and dinosaurs have in common, learn to identify birds around them, explore bird flight, and learn about feeding birds in their backyard. We will meet weekly to get to know each other, share and reflect on what we have learned, and to introduce new topics. This series will require about an hour of independent work between sessions with materials accessed through our virtual classroom. Register by June 26.
Woven World: A Creative Weaving Adventure
- July 11, 13, and 18
- 10:30 – 11:45 am
- Open to Maine youth ages 9 and up
- Maximum 12 attendees
Attention young artisans aged 9 and up! Join us for an extraordinary weaving workshop where we will embark on a journey into the enchanting world of textile art. Get ready to explore the rich heritage of weaving as we create stunning tapestries, mixed media woven trees, and delve into the intricate art of straw weaving. This immersive workshop spans three sessions, allowing ample time for exploration and creativity to flourish. All of the supplies will be provided for hands-on fun and learning. Register by July 3.