Upcoming Events

Morris County 4-H Events + Deadlines:

4-H Science-Sational Day

Saturday, March 28, 2026 (10am-3pm)
Registration was due by March 16
Grades K-6

Dive into a day filled with engaging hands-on science activities designed to inspire curiosity and foster a love for learning. This 4-H event connects youth with the wonders of science, aligning with our 4-H mission to cultivate leadership and life skills. We believe in empowering young minds through practical experiences. 4-H Science-Sational Day will feature interactive stations and workshops that make STEM accessible and enjoyable for all participants. Don't miss this opportunity to explore and discover!

This popular event for youth in grades K-6 will take place on Saturday, March 28 from 10-3pm at the County College of Morris in Randolph, NJ. No 4-H membership required. Included are 3 hands-on workshops in small groups plus a planetarium show. The cost to attend this all-day event is $25 and an optional lunch ticket is offered for $10.

See the flyer for workshop details: https://go.rutgers.edu/vf7u3ksg

Registeration was due by March 16.
Once you have your ticket, please send one filled-out Permission Form per participant to morris4h@njaes.rutgers.edu

Unplugged & Unstressed - Workshop

Saturday, April 1, 2026, 6:15pm
Grades 6-12

Join 4-H Junior Council for a fun workshop on spotting stress and learning ways to kick it, presented by Mat Robinson, author of "Understanding Happiness - Pocket Companion Workbook" and host of the podcast "Infinite Bliss".

From the presenter:
We face stress from many areas of life, and failing to manage it properly can have a long-term impact on our health and wellbeing. Ranging from physiological issues to mental health problems. This hands-on mini workshop will help you understand stress through practical demonstrations and offer simple techniques to mitigate stress.

At the workshop we will diescuss::

Why we experience stress.
How stress impacts the body.
How to recognize a stress response.
Strategies to control and prevent stress.

The workshop focuses on practical skills for everyday stress, not diagnosis or mental health treatment.

Please sign up here by March 30 for this free event: https://forms.gle/amMe7VNRWEEPgiUB8

Springtime with Bunnies & Chicks

Saturday, April 4, 2026, 10:00-3:00

Hop into Spring with Morris County 4-H at Springtime with Bunnies and Chicks 2026. Meet gentle animals, chat with 4-H youth about how they care for them and enjoy hands-on learning in a beautiful farm setting. Choose morning or afternoon option for the egg hunt.

Your Ticket Includes:

Easter egg hunt, limit 5 eggs per child
Meet 4-H animals and local farm animals
Access to a beautiful farm setting
Hands-on activity/craft stations
Visit and photo opportunities with our life-size Easter Bunny
Ongoing activities — come anytime during your time slot and enjoy at your own pace

Support 4-H by visiting our vendors at the event and participate in these extra activities and shopping opportunities (their donations directly help our local 4-H clubs):

Make-your-own terrarium, offered by Roots & Rivers
Monster Truck Rides by NJ Monster Trucks
4-H club bake sales
Coffee and snacks from Greene’s Beans
Handmade items with a little extra magic from MagicbyMandi
Children's books from Cathie's PaperPie Books (www.cathiesbooks.com)
Morris County Mosquito Control
Face painting by June Paints

Get your ticket online now for $10 per child:
https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/springtime-with-bunnies-and-chicks--2026

This event is rain or shine, and we cannot offer refunds. Tickets will be available at the door for $15.00.

4-H Public Presentations - Workshop

Tuesday April 7, 2026 at 6:30pm @ Highview Farms

Doing a 4-H Public Presentation each year is a requirement for all 4-H'ers in grades 4-13th to maintain the status of Member in Good Standing and be eligible for awards and recognition. Cloverbud members (grades K-3) are invited and encouraged to participate in May and will receive a cloverbud ribbon and feedback from judges.

This public presentation workshop will be held on Tuesday, April 7th at 6:30pm at Highview Farms (416 Sandshore Road, Mt. Olive). It is designed to help you learn and practice the skills involved in public presentations. We’ll go over the judges’ score sheets and share tips to help you improve your scores.

You can come with an idea for your presentation, or let us help you develop one. Our goal is to create a friendly and supportive learning environment

Whether you’re confident already or feeling a little (or a lot) unsure, we hope this workshop will help you be more prepared.

Please RSVP so we can prepare the materials: https://forms.gle/dicQ9PVvKp8Ay98v7

4-H Public Presentations

Friday May 1, 2026 at 6pm @ CCM

All members are invited to give a presentation at the Morris County 4-H Public Presentation Day on May 1st 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 6pm. Presentations will begin at 6:30pm, followed by an awards ceremony after a short break.

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.

Promote 4-H at local events

4-H will have a table or booth at many events in Morris County throughout the year. 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 events by visiting and stopping by at the 4-H table to say Hi.

Career Carnival for Kids at the Parsippany High School - March 31, 2026
Eco Fair with Master Gardeners at Lake Rickabear Girl Scout Camp - April 18, 2026
Rockaway Township Library's Spring Festival - April 26, 2026, 12-4
Community Day at the Lafayette Learning Center in Morristown - May 2, 2026, 11-2
Spring Blossom Festival at Riamede Farm - May 9, 2026, 10-3
Rockaway Township Day at Peterson Field - June 6, 2026, 2-8
Diversity Day Celebration on the Green in Morristown - Sunday, June 7, 2026

Morris County 4-H Fair

July 24-26, 2026 at High View Farms in Mt Olive

Help us get ready for our annual showcase and family-fun event. All details can be found on the Fair pages about:

Fair Sponsorship - Donate + share the link
Volunteer opportunities at the Fair - Starting now
What to expect at the Fair - So many fun things to do and see!

See you at the Fair!

Other 4-H Events and More:

Somerset 4-H Ag-Venture Days

Join Somerset 4-H for 3 full days of Spring Break and engage in agriculture workshops and farm tours. The workshops will include gardening, hands-on activities with farm animals, agriculture art, farm to table cooking, line dancing, and more. For the farms tours, the group will be visiting Morganics Family Farm, Hidden Spring Lavendar & Alpaka Farm, and Abma's Farm. The cost is $189 for 4-H members and $199 for non-members.

Rutgers 4-H Teen Café -

Unlocking the Brain’s Daily Rhythms: How Sleep, Injury, and Aging Shape Our Internal Clock

March 21, 2026 (11am - 2pm)
Grades 9-12

Dr. Annika Barber, Molecular Biologist and Biochemist, will lead students through hands-on laboratory activities on how organisms must make behavioral decisions based on an array of both internal cues (like hunger or time of day) and external environmental cues (like availability of food or temperature). She will discuss how her lab works to decode the biological basis of decision making using behavioral genetics in Drosophila melanogaster or fruit fly.

This event is Free and includes lunch. Registration is required and limited to 30 students in grades 9-12.

Ocean County 4-H STEM LEGO® Challenge

March 22, 2026 (12:30-3:30)

Ocean County 4-H is inviting you to their STEM LEGO® Challenge, held at the Ocean County Extension Office on March 22, 2026.

This event os open to all NJ Youth (you do not have to be a part of 4-H to participate!)

See the Flyer for more details and click on this link to register https://tinyurl.com/4HLEGO2026

CWF @ Ignite (Citizenship Washington Focus)

Event Dates: March 24-29, 2026
Registration was due: September 26, 2025

Grades 9-12

Our cornerstone leadership experience for teens passionate about civic engagement, public policy, and advocacy as pathways to community change makes its way to Ignite by 4-H. Participants will strengthen their understanding of the democratic process and cultivate leadership skills rooted in civic responsibility. With this foundation, they’ll discover how local action can spark impact on national and global levels.

During the CWF program week, delegates will:

Strengthen communication, leadership, and civic engagement skills, and adding CWF to Ignite will give teens access to even more career, life, and skill-building workshops than before!
Understand the importance of Youth Voice and the skills necessary to make change in their community, such as civil discourse and media literacy.
Exchange ideas, practice respect, and form friendships with other youth from diverse backgrounds.
Experience hands-on learning using the historical backdrop of our nation’s capital city, Washington, DC, as their classroom – visit monuments, memorials and museums to learn about important historical moments.
Create a Lead To Change plan and work with fellow delegates to develop the steps and carry out the plan upon their return home, to make a difference in their communities.
Visit with state representatives on Capitol Hill Day.

CWF will be a “track” at Ignite and will not be completely separated from the regular Ignite summit. Delegates will attend all the Ignite events and workshops, in addition to the CWF track workshops and experiences. There is a county and state process for members to go through to be selected into the NJ Delegation to CWF @ Ignite. Contact the office to find out more.

Applications were due by Friday, September 26, 2025

4-H Animal Science Video Contest / Film Festival 2026

Film Festival: March 28, 2026
Registeration was due by February 23, 2026
Video Submissions were due by March 2, 2026

Get ready to share your knowledge, fun facts, and fascinating stories about your animals in a video for the contest and to be shown at the Film Festival!

Youth 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. Youth must upload their video and media release(s) by the end of March 2 (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 28.

Youth of the 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. Youth are encouraged to have fun and be creative in designing their video entries!

Registration was due by February 23. Details are available on the Film Festival website at http://nj4h.rutgers.edu/animals/film-festival.

2026 Legislative Leadership Experience

The Legislative Leadership Experience will be held on Thursday, April 30, 2026, 9:30 AM - 4:00 PM at the NJ Farm Bureau in Trenton, NJ. This event is open to youth in grades 9-12 who are interested in learning about the legislative process, how a bill becomes a law, and how to create change in your local community. In addition to hands-on sessions focused on learning about NJ’s legislative process, friendly debate, and how to tackle issues that affect your community, there will also be guest speakers and a tour of the NJ State House.

The fee to participate is $51 and includes an Legislative Leadership Experience polo, light breakfast, lunch, and snacks, and all program supplies. Participants will need to provide their own transportation to and from the event.

Space is limited to 25 youth

NATIONAL 4-H CONFERENCE

Event Dates: April 10-15, 2026
Applications were due by January 12, 2026
Grades 10-12

National 4-H Conference will take place April 10-15, 2026 at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City Hotel in Arlington, Virginia. It brings hundreds of 4-H'ers to the nation's capitol each spring for the flagship youth development opportunity of the USDA, hosted by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA). By providing opportunites for young people to share their voices with the federal government, this nationally recognized event is developing the next generation of leaders.

NJ 4-H will send a delegation of 6 youth to this event. If you have not received an invitation email with the details and how to apply, contact the 4-H office. Applications were due by January 12, 2026

Rutgers 4-H Teen Café - Mars Rocks: Studying Minerals with the Curiosity Rover

April 11, 2026 (11am-2pm)
Grades 9-12

Kate Hendrickson is a Planetary Scientist who works on the Curiosity Rover science team and will teach students about how we perform science remotely through robotic spacecraft. She will discuss rover operations, rocks on Mars, and guide students through accessing and analyzing real mineral data from the Curiosity Rover's CheMin X-Ray Diffractometer.

This event is Free and includes lunch. Registration is required and limited to 25 students in grades 9-12.

2026 NJ 4-H Avian Bowl

The NJ State 4-H Avian Bowl will take place on May 16, 2026 at the Hunterdon County Senior Services Center in Flemington, NJ.

Click on this link for the entry packet with all details https://tinyurl.com/NJAVIAN2026

Registration deadline is April 25, 2026

New Jersey 4-H Golden Egg Contest

Sunday, April 26, 2026

4-H members in grades K-13

The NJ 4-H Golden Egg Contest challenges participants to produce, select, and present high-quality, uniform eggs. Winning entries will focus on ideal characteristics for the consumer market, such as uniform shell color, properly categorized weight/size, and interior/exterior quality according to USDA egg grading standards and the National 4-H Poultry Judging Manual.

This event is open to any registered 4-H member (grades K-13).

To register visit: https://forms.gle/4vbRLosJ6otq8CtZA

Rutgers' 13th Personal Bioblitz 2026

March 1 - May 15, 2026

On March 1, 2026, we start this year’s Rutgers' Personal Bioblitz, our 13th annual and global event run on iNaturalist, a website and app for biodiversity discovery by beginners to specialists alike.

The project runs March 1 to May 15, 2026 and you participate by joining our 2026 iNaturalist project online, and adding your observations to that project manually – the website will keep track of our totals and people around the world will help you identify what you photograph and report.

How many wild species can you find this spring, and what new species can you find for your life list, learn to recognize, or see in your backyard or park for the first time? Do you have a personal best to beat, or do you want to challenge your parent or teenager? Learn the most common birds and spring flowers? See if you can find more weird living things than your friend in United Kingdom or Ecuador? It doesn’t matter why, just join in and have fun. Everyone is welcome, and you absolutely do not need to be an expert on anything. All species observed as part of this iNaturalist project will be added to the fast-growing amount of community observations that is used for global biodiversity science and leading to new discoveries.

Find out more about the Personal Bioblitz: https://herbarium.rutgers.edu/projects/personal-bioblitz/

New Jersey 4-H License Plate

A group of civic minded 4-H teens who participated in the Legislative Leadership Experience have come together with the idea of having a 4-H clover specialty plate in NJ. Other states have done this and it’s time for NJ 4-H to join the movement!

We’re working on getting a legislative sponsor for a bill to make this happen, and the first step is to gauge interest from NJ motorists this summer. Please help us by adding your name, town, and county to this interest survey: https://go.rutgers.edu/nj4hplate

Click on the flyer to print / share. If you're interested in joining this movement, contact Warren County 4-H Agent, Alayne Torretta, at torretta@njaes.rutgers.edu.

L.G. Cook 4-H Summer Camp + 4-H Camp at Rutgers Garden

Register for 4-H Camp 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 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!

Make a donation to the Morris County 4-H Association

Google Sites

Report abuse