4-H December Newsletter 2020
Happy Birthday to all 4-Hers born in December
Alison S.
Aliya S.
Jazemine C.
Lydia B.
Phoebe F.
4-H Re-enrollment
The Aroostook 4-H staff has mailed out re-enrollment forms to club leaders or directly to 4-H members. If you have any questions on how to fill out your forms, or haven’t received your packet, please email emily.dow@maine.edu or mari.glatter@maine.edu or call the Houlton office at 532-6548. The deadline to send them back is December 31st.
Gifts From the Kitchen
Join University of Maine Cooperative Extension food and nutrition staff for a 1-hour demonstration on making holiday gifts from the kitchen. We’ll demonstrate how to make several food gifts, like baking mixes, soup mixes, and preserved products. Learn how to create gifts from scratch that everyone will enjoy!
Registration is required – Participants will receive the Zoom information after registering for this event. Register here!
12 Golden Comet Chickens available
Our office was contacted about finding someone with an interest in these chickens. The person lives in the Fort Fairfield area and is looking for a good home for them. They will be one year old this spring. If anyone is interested, please contact Emily at 532-6548 or emily.dow@maine.edu and I will give you their contact information.
Mars Base Camp
Do you want to go to Mars?
Are you curious about the Red Planet? Do you like LEGOs and adventures? Our Aroostook County 4-H program has partnered with the Maine 4-H Foundation to receive some of this year’s National 4-H STEM kits – all about Mars! The Mars Base Camp expedition will be an exciting opportunity for you to explore STEM through an expedition to Mars! Each activity in Mars Base Camp is named for a different mission to Mars as a way to celebrate and explore all that we have learned about the red planet. We will explore each of the 2020 4-H STEM Challenge activities: Landing Zone Surveyor, Red Planet Odyssey, Crop Curiosity!, and Insight from Mars.
If you would like to be a part of this asynchronous adventure please email Mari (mari.glatter@maine.edu) to indicate your interest and to receive your STEM materials.
Join a monthly birding club!
4-H Bird Chats: Do you like to watch your bird feeder? Observe the antics of various chickadees, nuthatches, blue jays, and more? You’re not alone! Join 4-H staff and birding enthusiasts for a statewide youth birding club. This is an exciting opportunity for youth ages 9 – 18! The birding club will meet virtually once a month, starting in December through April. Participants will observe birds, learn how to contribute their observations and data to Project FeederWatch, share and discuss their observations with their peers, and more. Please visit to register: https://extension.umaine.edu/hancock/4h/4h-bird-chats/
Teens + Science + UMaine faculty = WOW
There are two more 4-H Virtual Teen Science Cafes happening in 2020! On December 3, Shawn Laatsch will join us to talk about the Mars Rover Perseverance, and on December 9th Dr Pauline Kamath will teach about how to be a Genetic Detective tracing the source of an outbreak. The program will be running again in Spring of 2021, if you have ideas of new topics, please email Alice Philbrick. Register today at: https://extension.umaine.edu/4h/learn-at-home/teen-virtual-science-cafes/.
Every Wednesday, you have the opportunity to participate in The University of Vermont’s VTeen Science Exploration – these are a similar format and run from 3:30 – 4:45 pm. On their announcements page, scroll down to VTeen Science Exploration for details about the different offerings, and registration links: https://www.uvm.edu/extension/youth/announcements
To view spring session webinars, visit: https://extension.umaine.edu/4h/learn-at-home/recordings-teen-virtual-science-cafes-march-31-june-9-2020/.
Do you know 4-H?
Come join the fun and test your knowledge in a variety of topic areas, including your knowledge of 4-H and our land-grant university, the University of Maine!
When? Every Tuesday in December! Register to play and each Tuesday at 12:00 noon you will get an email with your link to the week’s trivia game. The quiz will close at 11:59 pm that night. Each game will have questions about 4-H, the University of Maine, and one of these themes : Disney, Winter, Animals, Star Wars, and the State of Maine.
Who Can Play? Any 4-H member, family, or volunteer can play. We will have four age categories: Cloverbuds (age 5-8), Juniors, (9-12), Seniors (13-18), and Adults (4-H volunteers, parents, and 4-H staff) In addition, you can invite your non-4-H friends to join the fun and play along too!
Does it cost anything? Nope, it’s free! AND, you can win prizes!
Did you say prizes? Yes! Prizes include t-shirts, 4-H swag, gift cards, and a 4-H Camp and Learning Center scholarship! Each week we will draw random winners. Top scores at the end of December in each age group will receive prizes. You can even receive an award for recruiting the most non-4-H friends to play! Each week youth play, their name will go into a drawing that will take place at the end of the month for a partial 4-H Camp and Learning Center scholarship up to a $150 value.
How do I sign up? Head to: https://extension.umaine.edu/4h/4-h-tuesday-trivia/ and click on the form. Then, each Tuesday in December, watch your email for your link to your trivia game. Submit your answers. Speed and accuracy count. Check back on the webpage to follow the leader board and see who the weekly prize winners are.
Maine 4-H Foundation Scholarships
Graduating seniors can apply for a 4-H scholarship from the Maine 4-H Foundation. Applications are due on March 1, 2021 to the local county office and on March 8, 2021 to the Maine 4-H Foundation. For more information please go to: https://extension.umaine.edu/4hfoundation/funding/.
Agri-Science and Healthy Living
Virtual National Youth Agri-Science and Healthy Living Summit Applications for 2021 are Available Now!
The National Youth Summits on Agri-Science and Healthy Living will be held virtually this year allowing us to add more youth to our teams. Attendees will learn more about their area of interest by attending interactive workshops, and pitching their own action plan ideas. The Summits were created to empower youth to be well-informed citizens, expand engineering and agriculture experience, and increase connections to living a healthy lifestyle, all while being actively engaged in their communities.
Healthy Living: February 11 – 14, 2021
Agri-Science: March 4 – 7, 2021
Eligibility: Youth ages 14-18, enrolled in 4-H by December 31, 2020 – this year youth may enroll in Maine 4-H solely in order to attend the Summits and participate on the team.
Cost: $75.00 – we are currently working on funding sources and expect the participant cost to be closer to $25.00 per youth.
Application: https://forms.gle/4wuEj2mzr4ZZWoXN9 – This is a combined application for both the Agri-Science and Healthy Living Summits. Please note that references are not required this year.
For more information about the National Youth Summits please visit: https://4hcenter.org/tours-programs/national-youth-summits/ or check out the application for more details. Email or call Sara, sara.conant@maine.edu, 207-781-6099, with any questions. Applications are due by December 11, 2020.