Lancaster County 4-H Offers Remote Learning, Adapts County Fair to Blended Format

This spring and summer, Lancaster County 4-H (Lancaster.unl.edu/4h) switched from offering in-person youth development experiences to remote learning. Many local, state, and national 4-H resources youth may use at home are compiled at lancaster.unl.edu/4Hathome. Youth do not need to be enrolled in 4-H to use these resources. The 4-H Embryology school enrichment program changed from hatching chicks in local classrooms to online video lessons and relying on the popular Lancaster County 4-H EGG Cam. Lancaster County 4-H staff has taught some of the statewide Nebraska 4-H live experiences, such as Living Room Learning (geared to 3rd–5th graders) and Boredom Buster Challenges (geared to ages 8–18). Several contests, including speech, were adapted to an online format, as well.

Each year, many 4-H members choose to showcase their completed projects at county and state fairs. This year’s Lancaster County Super Fair focused solely on 4-H and FFA youth participation, which includes a blend of virtual and in-person exhibits and events July 30–August 2 at the Lancaster Event Center. Many of the virtual exhibits have a public online showcase, and many of the in-person animal shows were live-streamed and archived on YouTube. For more information, go to lancaster.unl.edu/4h/fair.

Lancaster County 4-H is a youth development program committed to teaching practical and life skills. Learn more at Lancaster.unl.edu/4h.