4-H Wisconsin

4-H is a national youth organization that prepares young people to step up to the challenges in their workplace, community, and the world.

4-H Helps Youth

In a safe and enriching environment, 4-H brings youth and adults together to learn everyday skills with hands-on learning.  Working on activities from animal and plant sciences to robotics, 4-H’ers learn problem-solving skills that can make a positive impact upon their community. 4-H helps youth:

• meet the diverse challenges of today’s world
• build self-confidence
• learn responsibility
• make positive decisions.

Learn about the history of 4-H and how we work to generate positive change in the lives of America’s youth, through the partnerships with land-grant universities and the Cooperative Extension System.4-H Study of Positive Youth Development, 4-H youth are 1.6 times more likely to be at the highest levels of positive development. In a safe and enriching environment, 4-H brings youth and adults together to learn everyday skills for living.

Just for Youth

Interested in joining 4-H? We have all kinds of interactive, hands-on activities that develop leadership, citizenship, and life skills to help you reach your full potential.

• Grades K-2
• Elementary Age
• Middle School Age
• High School Age

What do 4-H members do?

4-H clubs have regular meetings and officers, but that is just the start. 4-H members get involved in their communities as volunteers and youth leaders. They learn new things by completing dozens of different kinds of projects, They go on trips, have parties, host international students, participate in local government, experiment with science, make art, go to camp, learn to canoe or take care of an animal.

The list seems almost endless. With so many choices, 4-H is what you want it to be. You can find a full list of Wisconsin 4-H projects on the Wisconsin 4-H Projects Page.

How do 4-H youth make a difference in their communities?

4-H offers lots of encouragement and support for kids who want to organize and carry out volunteer projects. They clean up river banks, adopt a stretch of highway to keep litter-free, work with older adults, mentor younger students or get involved in other kinds of volunteer and service learning. In some communities, older 4-H youth serve as youth representatives in city or county governments or as panelists on teen courts.

What does it cost to be in 4-H?

Some clubs have small annual fees to cover costs of postage and some materials. It’s usually less than $5 a year. In some counties, an additional fee is charged to offset costs for things like project literature, postage and insurance. Sometime clubs will hold fund-raising events to raise this money. To find out if 4-H clubs in your counties have dues or fees, just call the your county 4-H office and ask. Depending on the projects you choose, there could be some costs for materials. For example, if you do the photography project, you’ll need a camera and film, and you’ll have expenses for having your photos printed. If you raise an animal to show at the fair, you’ll have expenses, but you may also have some income if you sell your animal at auction.

Does it matter where I live?

4-H is everywhere. 4-H started out 100 years ago as an organization for kids who lived in the country, but that was a long time ago. Now 4-H is in big cities, in small towns and suburbs and in rural areas. 4-H clubs meet in community centers, members’ homes, Extension offices, afterschool program sites — just about anywhere.

Find a Club

Find out how you can engage with a 4-H club near you. Contact your local 4-H office to learn more about programs in your area.