Upcoming Events

Morris County 4-H Events + Deadlines:

Covering Local Events - Workshop with Photographer John Hester

Wednesday, April 2, 2025 @ 7:30

Curious about photographing events from club activities to town celebrations  - and maybe getting your photos in the newsletter, local paper, and beyond? Then this is for you!

The Morris County 4-H Shutterbugs and Somerset 4-H Photobombers clubs have invited photographer John Hester to speak about his experience as a photojournalist covering events and contributing to local publications.

WHERE: Morris County 4-H Office
550 West Hanover Ave, Morristown, NJ 07960

Bring your camera or phone for hands-on activities if time allows. Feel free to contact shutterbugs4hclub@gmail.com with any questions before the day of the event. 

Free. For ages 11-18. Open to all, you don't have to be in 4-H. All experience levels welcome.

Register here: https://forms.gle/HjZNHuqHgskQY3aT8

Dive into Ocean Exploration - Including Live Call with Marine Scientists

Thursday, April 3, 2025 from 6:00-7:30

Join us for a live call with Marine Scientists from the Sentinel Mission of the Rutgers University Center for Ocean Observing Leadership (RU COOL). 

Explore the ocean with interactive lessons. Participate in an exciting live Video Teleconference (VTC) with scientists and their undergraduate students in their robotic control center! This hands-on experience aligns perfectly with NGSS science practices, including planning and conducting investigations, data analysis, modeling, and asking testable questions.

WHERE:  North Jersey Homeschool Science Center
60 Midvale Road, Suite 201
Mountain Lakes, NJ 07046

Grades 4-13 (one year out of high school). You don't need to be in 4-H to participate. 

Free but registration required: https://forms.gle/Co8EunW4ZRJN6ZGu8

Promote 4-H at local events

4-H will have a table or booth at many events in Morris County in the coming months. All 4-H families are invited to participate (talk to visitors about 4-H and your club, offer an activity, hand out flyers, bring your friendly animal - if permitted at the event, and help with the set-up and take-down). It is a lot of fun! Please contact the group if you would like to be included: mc4hpromotions@gmail.com. Or simply support 4-H and the event by visiting and stopping by at the 4-H table to say Hi. 

Clickbait & Credibility: A Media Literacy Workshop

Monday, April 7, 2025 from 6:30-7:30

The internet is full of clickbait and an overload of information. How do you know what to trust? This hands-on workshop equips participants with essential skills to analyze sources, check claims, and understand how social media influences the spread of information. We'll explore real-life examples and learn practical strategies for becoming savvy media consumers.

WHEN: Monday, April 7, 6:30-7:30 (please arrive 15 minutes early so we may start on time)

WHERE:  Morris County Public Safety Training Academy, 500 W Hanover Ave, Morristown, NJ 07960

Free. For Ages: 11-18. You don't need to be in 4-H to participate.
Register here: https://forms.gle/ZvPDmTJC9KJDyVWw6

Meet with Rutgers' Student-run Newspaper Team

Wednesday, April 10, 2025 from 6-7

Join us for another Journalism Workshop. This time a team of the Rutgers' Student-run Newspaper "The Daily Targum" will show us what they do plus lead activities.

WHERE:  Morris County 4-H Office
550 West Hanover Ave, Morristown, NJ 07960

Free. For ages 11-18. You don't need to be in 4-H to participate.
Register here: https://forms.gle/VquAWHQADvVa1SxL6

Springtime with Bunnies & Chicks

Saturday, April 12, 2025, 10-12 or 12-2

This event for families with young children is hosted by Morris County Teen Council 4-H Club and High View Farms to support the Morris County 4-H small animal clubs. Two time slots are available (10am or 12pm). Both offer the same amount of time and prizes. Egg hunting zones will be divided by age (up to 3 years old & 4 and over).

You will enjoy:

WHERE: High View Farms, 416 Sand Shore Rd, Mt Olive, NJ
Get your tickets: $10 Online or $15 at the door. 

Partnership with BJ's provides fundraising for 4-H

Save money and help Morris County 4-H! If you want to join BJ's or renew your membership we hope you use our link (www.bjs.com/morriscty4h). 4-H is a 5013c nonprofit, and this is a great way for us to raise funds for our programs.

The earlier you sign up, the more bang for your buck you get!! 

These special prices are only available through the fundraiser. See the flyer for more details. And please share: www.bjs.com/morriscty4h

4-H Public Presentations

Saturday, May 17, 2025 at 2pm @ CCM

Register by May 9

All members are invited to give a presentation at the Morris County 4-H Public Presentation Day on May 17th at the County College of Morris. Public presentations are a big part of the 4-H experience. The topic can be on pretty much ANYTHING you are passionate about. It could be something you already did for school or other group, or something you want to learn about. Maybe a demonstration about your hobby, your pet, or favorite food, a performance, or an illustrated talk about a topic of your choice. Members in grades 8-12 who receive an excellent score at their county Public Presentation qualify to participate at the State Public Presentations event. 

Check-in will be at 2pm. Presentations will begin at 2:30pm, followed by an awards ceremony after a short break.

Register here by May 9: https://forms.gle/DZwkCcgaR8qaMo7i8

There is a Morris County 4-H video with tips for a successful presentation plus a NJ 4-H document with helpful details. Get more details on the Club Resource Page. 

State 4-H Presentations + Communications Day

Saturday, June 7, 2025 at Rutgers

On June 7th, the State Public Presentations will take place in the morning. 4-H'ers who receive an excellent score in their county presentation qualify to give their presentation on the state level. 

In addition there will be a trial run added in the afternoon this year of three contests: (1) Mock Interview; (2) Extemporaneous Speech; (3) Instructional Video. In 2026, both will be part of the 4-H Communications Day. 

4-H youth who qualify for State Presentations will be able to do their presentation in the morning and then participate in any or all of the contests in the afternoon. Look for more information to follow soon!

Other 4-H Events and More:

New 4-H Birding STEP Club

Wednesdays, March 26 - May 14, 2025, 4-5pm
For members in grades 6-10

Youth in grades 6-10 are invited to join Somerset County 4-H for a 10-week Youth Birding STEP club. Learn about unique features of birds, develop bird ID skills, & engage in participatory science through birding. Meetings will be based on the Cornell Lab of Ornithology curriculum and include outdoor birding sessions.This program will be held at the Somerset County Ted Blum 4-H Center in Bridgewater and offsite park locations on Wednesdays from 4-5pm, March 12 through May 14, 2025. Register at 4histops.org/birding-step

10th Annual 4-H Animal Science Video Contest and Film Festival 

Film Festival on March 29, 2025
Deadline to upload videos was March 3, 2025

4-H members may work individually or as a team to create short educational videos (3:30 minutes or less) about alpacas, cats, cattle (beef/dairy), dogs, goats, herpetology, horses, llamas, poultry, rabbits, sheep, small animals, and/or swine to enter in the 4-H Animal Science Video Contest.  Upload your video and media release(s) by the end of March 3 (see website for details).  The videos will then be shared at the film festival in the Round House of the Rutgers Cook Campus Farm during an afternoon session of the Junior Animal Science Symposium on Saturday, March 29.  Those with top scoring videos will receive awards, including gift cards.  Videos will be scored on educational value, creativity, clarity, pacing, and technical quality (sound, lighting, etc.) – 20 points each, total of 100.  A tip sheet and a description of the judging criteria are both available on the website, along with the top scoring videos from prior years. All participants are encouraged to have fun and be creative in designing their video entries! Details are available at http://nj4h.rutgers.edu/animals/film-festival. 

2025 Jr. Animal Science Symposium

Saturday, March 29, 2025

The 2025 Rutgers Junior Animal Science Symposium will be held at the Cook Campus Farm, Rutgers University, New Brunswick. The event includes hands-on workshops in equine, swine, sheep and goat, cattle, poultry, beekeeping, rabbit, cavy, small animals, and an animal science video contest. New for this year is Canine and Anthropology. 

Register here: https://tinyurl.com/2025AnimalSymposium

More details like the session listing etc. are available here: https://nj4h.rutgers.edu/smallanimals/junior-symposium/

Somerset County 4-H Small Animal Show

Sunday, March 30, 2025

Somerset County 4-H’s Furry Friends and Huggable Hares club is sponsoring a show this year to be held March 30th.  Email entries close on March 27th for the March 30th show. To enter and for more information please email: FurryFriendsEntry@yahoo.com or (908) 240-5116 cell. Day of show entries are accepted.

Cape May County 4-H Microplastics Sifter Workshop

Sunday, March 30, 2025 - Workshop
Saturday, April 12, 2025 - Beach Cleanup

Join Cape May County 4-H on March 30th for a Microplastics Sifter Workshop.  This is a great way to get some community service hours, and follow it up with a beach clean up on April 12th.  To register or for more information contact donna.griebau@rutgers.edu.

LGBTQ+ 4-H Club

April 10 - 2nd Thursday of the month

A safe space for all teens to meet virtually once a month and discuss topics relating to the LGBTQ+ community. This club will provide a safe and supportive space for teens to explore concerns within the LGBTQ+ community, connect with peers, and build a sense of community. By providing resources, education, and social opportunities, the club will empower teens to develop their self-confidence, resilience, and a positive sense of self. The first club meets on the 2nd Thursday a month at 7:00 pm on Zoom. Please fill out the form to receive the Zoom link and password: https:/go.rutgers.edu/zhhc8vi8

The Science of Addiction

Saturday, April 12, 2025, 11am-2pm

Grades 9-12

You might have heard that we are wired for social media. But what does that mean? How does it lead to us doomscrolling at 3 am? Our NJ 4-H STEM Ambassadors and the Rutgers Addiction Research Center will take you through the science behind addiction, why teens are at elevated risk to addiction, and how that plays out in our social media reality.

This workshop is geared to youth in grades 9-12 and will take place at the Rutgers Bush/Livingston Campus.

Interested? Sign up here: https://go.rutgers.edu/2dcvvw9g

4-H Ag-Venture Days - Spring Break 2025

April 14-17, 2025 (Register by April 4)

Grades 2-6

Spring Break just got a whole lot more exciting! Somerset County 4-H is bringing you 4 full days of animal science fun designed especially for grades 2-6. Whether you're a future farmer or just curious about how animals are part of our world, this is the adventure for you!

Over four days of hands-on workshops, farm tours, and fun activities, youth will dive into the world of agriculture and sustainability. Learn about raising animals, discover where your food comes from, and get your hands dirty in ways you’ve never imagined before. 

Why join?

It's Spring Break—let's make it an adventure you'll never forget!

See flyer for details.
Register by April 4th: https://4histops.org/events/ag-spring-break

New Jersey State 4-H Foods Day

Saturday, April 5, 2025

The NJ State 4-H Foods Day will be held on April 5th at the Ted Blum 4-H Center in Bridgewater. There will be a program of workshops (including a cooking session) for Cloverbud members (in grades K-3) from 9:00 – 12:30. Members of standard clubs (grade 4-13) will participate in the all-day program of workshops and competitions from 9:00 – 4:00. A flyer with more information will be available soon. 

Registration is required and can be completed at: https://go.rutgers.edu/FoodsDay2025. Questions can be directed to Harry Brochinsky at hb479@njaes.rutgers.edu.

National 4-H Conference

April 11-16, 2025 - Event Dates
Registration was due to the office by December 10, 2024
 Grades 10-12

The 2025 National 4-H Conference will be held April 11-16 at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City Hotel, located in Crystal City, VA (just outside of Washington D.C.). National 4-H Conference is the flagship youth development opportunity of USDA, hosted by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA). The nationally recognized event is developing the next generation of leaders. Delegates will experience unparalleled discovery, learning, professional development, and networking with 4-H’ers from around the world.

During the Conference, delegates will become familiar with the government and future career opportunities and share their voice with federal agencies and congressional committees. In preparation for, during and after National 4-H Conference, youth participants learn, practice and apply new skills and use their voices, talent and ideas to make a difference. They are empowered to generalize what is learned to affect change in their own community. Those who participate in National 4-H Conference report increased leadership, civic engagement, agency, and social and cultural competence.

Interested 4-H members must complete an application form available from the Morris County 4-H office. All applications are due to the 4-H office by December 10, 2024. Group and individual interviews will be held on Saturday, January 11, 2025, in Martin Hall of the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences located at 88 Lipman Drive on the Cook Campus in New Brunswick.

Approximately 250 youth, volunteer leaders, and state and county Extension staff members from across the United States, the U.S. Territories, and the Canadian Provinces are expected to attend. New Jersey will be sending a delegation of four teen 4-H members and an adult chaperone. Teens must be in the 10-12 grades as of September 2024 in order to participate in the 2025 event. 4-H members interested in attending must work well in groups, have good communication skills and be leaders. They should also be interested in making a change in their community and be willing to work on a project upon their return.

Backyard Chicken Basics

Monday, April 14, 2025

Join Hunterdon County 4-H at this 1.5 hour family-friendly backyard chicken talk. This is geared towards beginners / families interested in raising chickens and those who already own chickens and want to learn more. See the flyer for details.

Spring Archery Day

April 26, 2025

The On Target Archery Club of Somerset County will be holding its annual Spring Archery Day on April 26. The event will take place at the Ted Blum 4-H Center in Bridgewater. There will be Archery Golf and an Indoor Faux Field Shoot. The event will be divided into Junior (grades 4-8) and Senior (Grades 8-13) Divisions. Any 4-H member currently enrolled in a NJ 4-H shooting sports club may participate.

Link to Information and Registration for Spring Archery Day

Any questions: email 4hontargetarcheryclub@gmail.com

Rutgers Day

April 26, 2025

Rutgers Day is set for Saturday, April 26, 2025, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. on the Busch Campus in Piscataway and the College Avenue and Cook/Douglass campuses in New Brunswick. Join us for this ultimate celebration of everything Rutgers, featuring hundreds of programs, exhibits, hands-on activities, live entertainment, and more. 

For the latest update, visit the Rutgers Day website: https://www.rutgers.edu/event/rutgers-day-2025 

Rutgers 12th Personal Bioblitz 2025

March 1 - May 15, 2025

The annual Personal Bioblitz runs from March 1 until May 15. It is a global event for anyone who wants to explore, learn, and share the wild species that lives around us wherever we are.  It is easy to join on iNaturalist, a wonderful website and app for biodiversity exploration, and beginners and experts are all very welcome. You can report every squirrel, Canada geese, and dandelion in your area – but also go out and look for the unexpected and unusual. It is all up to you if, when, and how you want to participate, every observation and species counts.

How many species can you find? How many birds are in your backyard?  What new weeds can you learn about that you always saw but didn’t know the name for?  What is that bird song?  Be ready with the iNaturalist app on your phone and join the Personal Bioblitz.

Find out more and sign up for free here:

4-H New Jersey Youth Food Council (NJYFC)

Apply by May 2, 2025

Grades 9-12 (don't need to be in 4-H)

We are excited to share that applications for the 4-H New Jersey Youth Food Council (NJYFC) are now open! This program was created by an amazing high school junior from Edison High School. Visit the website she created https://nj-youth-food-council-nprlo.wstd.io/. This program will empower young people to become changemakers in their communities. It is a statewide 4-H initiative that provides high school students in grades 9th-12th with a platform to engage in food policy, advocacy, and action. The program includes a one-year commitment with virtual bi-weekly meetings, where students will work in groups led by professional mentors to create capstone projects. 

This is an opportunity for students to:

Applications are now open through May 2nd: https://rutgers.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_cSKLzc0CyZdBreu.

State 4-H Avian Bowl

May 17, 2025

Hold the date for the State 4-H Avian Bowl to be held on May 17th. Registration information will be available in March. Contact amelia.minervini@rutgers.edu for more information.

Citizenship Washington Focus (CWF) 2025

June 21-27, 2025 - event dates
Registrations were due by February 10, 2025

Grades 9-12

CWF 2025 will be held from June 21-27 this year! Rooted in legacy, but reimagined for today, Citizenship Washington Focus is THE event for teens to learn leadership and communication skills through history, democracy, and our amendments. For 6 days, teens from around the nation will gather to have meaningful discussions and learn the skills they need to lead their local communities and become change agents to build a brighter future. New Jersey 4-H will send a delegation of approximately 10 4-H members, along with 2 chaperones. 

4-H members in grades 9-12 (14-19 years old) are invited to apply. The cost per participant is $1,850.00. Applications were due to your County 4-H Office by Monday, February 10th.

Dog Discovery Day

Saturday, June 28, 2025

Join the 4-H dog project members on Saturday, June 28 from 10am-3pm to have a howling good time at the 4-H Dog Discovery Day!

This is open to all 4-H youth members from all project areas in grades K-13.

Learn from expert guest speakers, test your canine knowledge, and have fun with new friends.

It will be held at the Passaic County Community College, Public Safety Academy

L.G. Cook 4-H Summer Camp - Registration is open!

Registration is Open!

It's that time of year! Registration for 4-H Camp is open for both our classic overnight program, and our day camp, 4-H camp at Rutgers Gardens. More information can be found on our website at https://nj4hcamp.rutgers.edu Also check out our new overview video on or website at https://nj4hcamp.rutgers.edu/videos.html

Not a 4-H member yet?

Visit the 4-H Clubs page to see what is available - then email or call the 4-H office to get connected with the club leaders and get you started. Many clubs let you try a club meeting to see if it is the right fit for you before you enroll. Email:  morris4h@njaes.rutgers.edu, Phone:  973-285-8301

Want to support Morris County 4-H?

Find out more about the many ways to get involved and support 4-H on our "Support 4-H Page". Or click on the button below and make a tax-deductible donation to the Morris County 4-H Association. Don't forget to write your name or that of your organization in the comments so we know who to thank! We appreciate your support!