4-H August and September Newsletter 2021
Happy Birthday to all 4-H’ers born in August and September
| August | September |
| Chantelle B. | Jonah B. |
| Delaney L. | Ben C. |
| Rachel M. | Johanna F. |
| Samuel M. | Landin L. |
| Brody S. | Isabella M. |
| Amanda W. | Olivia M. |
| Mikala L. | Aubrie P. |
| Michael L. |
Northern Maine 
Fair Results
It was so wonderful to be able to gather again on the Northern Maine Fairgrounds with family and friends! Aroostook County 4-H hosted a number of animal shows throughout the four days of the fair. Here are the results of those competitions:
4-H Beef Show
Grand Champion: Rachel M.
Reserve Champion: Amanda W.
4-H Baby Beef Show
Grand Champion: Isabella M.
Reserve Champion: Olivia M.
4-H Sheep Show
Grand Champion: Amanda W
4-H Horse Show
4-H Senior English Grand Champion: Ella S.
Reserve Champion: Izabelle H.
4-H Junior English Grand Champion: Molly S.
4-H Senior Western Grand Champion: Ella S.
Reserve Champion: Izabelle H.
4-H Junior Western Grand Champion: Molly S.
4-H Senior Games Grand Champion: Mia C.
Reserve Champion: Baileigh M.
4-H Western Walk Trot Grand Champion: Hannah F.
4-H English Walk Trot Grand Champion: Hannah F.
Exhibit Hall
We had a great 4-H Exhibit Hall filled with many different projects, photos, artwork and STEM investigations. Check out the photos below to get inspired even now for next year’s fair. If you are wondering about categories please reference the 4-H Contests and Exhibit Hall Project Guide.
Tribute to Sydney Smith
The AV Dairy Club had a beautiful tribute to their long-time volunteer, Sydney Smith.
“ You might know of him as ‘that guy’ with the blue tractor – helping everyone with the 4-H Livestock. Syd was involved with the Aroostook Valley Dairy Club for 50 years. He volunteered as a 4-H Assistant Leader with the Aroostook Valley Dairy Club and a volunteer at the Northern Maine Fair. Syd will be missed by all.”
September Har
vest of the Month- Tomato
Maine Agriculture in the Classroom has a wonderful Tomato Resource Guide (PDF) which has lots of great activities and websites where you can learn all about tomatoes. If you are interested in resources for other crops please check out their website, Maine Agriculture in the Classroom.
4-H Public Speaking
On Saturday, August 7th, four 4-Hers gave their Public Speaking presentations to judges, friends, and family members. First place went to Abe Han for his Illustrated Talk on Turtles. Second place went to Lydia Han for her Illustrated Talk on Horses and third place went to Rachel for her Illustrated Talk on Dogs. Grace Han did a Cloverbud Demonstration on Making Kimbap.
4-H Baby Beef Auction
The Aroostook Valley Baby Beef Club held an incredibly successful auction, raising a total of $54,029.90! The eleven members of the AV Baby Beef Club received an average overall price per pound of $4.45. The eleven steers weighed in for a combined 12,145 pounds. You can read about some of the financial donations in this County News report.
Preserving Your Harvest
You have had a bountiful garden crop, now what? Ever wonder how to preserve all your hard work from your garden or how to use all of that great locally-grown produce? University of Maine Cooperative Extension’s food preservation workshops will teach you the basics of canning and freezing, including how to use pressure canners and water bath canners to preserve pickles, jam, and vegetables. Workshops are taught by UMaine Extension staff and Master Food Preserver volunteers.
K-12 Planetarium Field Trips at the Versant Power Astronomy Center
The Versant Power Astronomy Center (formerly Emera Astronomy Center) would like to share the news that they have over 50 different programs that cover not just astronomy and space exploration, but also biology, chemistry, climate science, earth science, engineering, history and more! We have programs for all age levels which match with the Next Generation Science Standards, so do explore our offerings.Here is a full list of their offerings and for general information see https://astro.umaine.edu/ which has a variety of online resources and our full public program schedule. If you have any questions about our programs, feel free to contact me directly at planetarium@maine.edu or laatsch@maine.edu.
The Art of Math: Maine 4-H STEM Toolkit of the Month
Each month we will be highlighting a different 4-H STEM Toolkit available from UMaine Cooperative Extension 4-H Program!The Art of Math activities include sessions on Patterns and the Fibonacci Sequence, Symmetry, Shapes, Geometry, and end with a building challenge! This kit can be used with upper elementary aged youth (4th – 6th or so). It was used virtually last spring for the 4-H STEM Ambassador program, and most of the activities worked well.Learn more about this, and other 4-H STEM Toolkits online, where you can see what is available for different age groups or topic areas.