4-H Program Areas & Projects
By enrolling in a 4-H project, you are given the opportunity to explore a specific area of interest. Through local 4-H volunteer club leaders and county 4-H staff, you will be provided with the resources and support to develop skills and master knowledge related to that topic. Learning about a 4-H project is fun - it involves meeting others that share your interest, engaging in hands-on experiences that allow you to learn by doing, going on field trips, participating in events that test your skills, and much more. All projects also provide opportunities to develop your record keeping, community service, leadership, career options, and presentation skills.
Contact your local county office to find out more about programs that are offered in your area. Information about state-level opportunities you can get involved in is listed below!
Learn more about:
Agricultural & Animal Projects in 4-H
Youth who are involved with agriculture and/or animals become life long winners and models of success due to the variety of skills they learn. The following is a sample of possible projects.
Agriculture
The 4-H Agriculture Project covers a variety of themes including plants, insects, farm physics, and fast food agriculture. It is designed to increase agriculture literacy through fun hands-on activities.
Horse
Through the 4-H Horses and Ponies project youth can learn how to identify colors and breeds, selection, determining age, grooming, riding styles, anatomy, basic care and training, disease prevention, proper fitting, showing, and much more. Projects are available for both the horse owner and the horse lover (non-owner). Special Horse Opportunities
4-H Horsemanship Camp Information & Registration Form
Livestock
Raising an animal can have a profound impact on someone, young, old and every age in between. The 4-H Livestock Program gives youth the chance to experience raising, caring for, training, and showing livestock species. Or they can take part in livestock enthusiast programs that do not require ownership of livestock. Either way, our mission is to facilitate the development of life skills through animal agriculture experiences. Click the link above to find out more!
Youth may choose to focus on one of these specific areas of living a healthy lifestyle or they may incorporate a variety of areas into one club. A few of the most popular club are listed below. All of these clubs help youth prepare for the 4-H Healthy Lifestyles Challenge Event.
Fitness / Sports
The youth may design a personal fitness plan and track their progress. Through interviews and experiences, youth discover the benefits of being fit as they practice making decisions and managing their health.
Food / Nutrition
Youth learn how to prepare different foods, conduct fun kitchen experiments, and engage in fact-finding missions. Activities include healthy food selection, safety, purchasing, preservation, preparation, and careers.
Health
Designed to engage youth and adults as partners, these programs work to develop and implement community strategies to reduce tobacco, alcohol, and illegal drug usage among youth.
Safety
Youth practice first aid skills to treat cuts, scrapes, nosebleeds and bee stings. They learn how to respond to someone who is choking or has a broken bone. In addition, they will assemble their own first aid kit and interview members of the medical profession.
Citizenship & Leadership
Citizenship
This program is designed to engage youth in changing a piece of the public world, help them discover the possibilities of democratic citizenship, and build a commitment to taking action in new and exciting ways. Special Citizenship Opportunities.
Communications
The youth will practice and gain confidence in communicating in a variety of situations. They will learn to present oral reasons, plan and present speeches, communicate assertively, practice making a good first impression, critique information, and mentor one another. Special Communication Opportunities.
Leadership
Youth will share in the fun as they learn the dynamic process of leadership. Interactive activities teach relationship building, communication, group process, planning, and organizing. All activities teach a cross-cultural perspective. Special Leadership Opportunities.
Service Learning
Youth learn to identify community needs, plan, and execute a service project. Activities, like community mapping, engage youth in their communities while allowing them to reflect upon their experiences.
Workforce Preparation
This program sets the stage for youth to develop the skills they need for workplace success. Designed to help youth explore what it takes to get their first paying job. Activities reinforce and extend learning, emphasizing personal qualities, working with others, and thinking skills.
Personal Development Opportunities in 4-H
Arts and Crafts
Youth may choose from drawing, fiber, and sculpting to develop their artistic skills and talents. All the activities focus on exploring the elements and principles of design and encouraging the development of skills for a lifetime.
Babysitting / Child Care
Youth learn about self-care, rules, responsibility, how to handle their emotions, and safety. The babysitting topics of basic infant and childcare, educational games, nutritious snacks are covered along with business management tips.
Clothing / Textiles
The learning begins with the basics of sewing construction before moving on to teaching youth how to develop their fashion sense and the skills needed to create a unique style of their own.
Consumerism
Youth will experience what it means to be a consumer through saving, spending and sharing. Youth learn to understand the influence of peer pressure, the power of advertising, and the expanding Internet market as they learn to make smart shopping choices.
Performing Arts
Although acting is the primary subject matter, youth will create sound effects, make puppets, do improvisations, create disguises, and design costumes. The youth will learn how to express themselves clearly in an exaggerated manner that is seen on stage and screen.
Photography / Video
This fun and informative teaches everything from seeing the shot and choosing subjects to understanding picture composition, flashes, film types, concepts of lighting, focusing on careers, and digital photography and files.
Natural Resources
Several state-level projects are offered in the area of Natural Resources including wildlife, gardening, forestry, water, and shooting sports! Counties have a variety of Natural Resources programming available. The field of Natural Resources, including ecology and conservation biology, is becoming an increasingly important area of study as we learn more about the influences of human activities on ecosystems and seek to build a more sustainable society. The world is blessed with an abundance of natural resources, but the problems associated with their conservation are immense. Protecting rare and endangered species, preventing and controlling invasive species, preserving old-growth forests, restoring degraded ecosystems, and balancing the resource demands of industry and the public are just some of the environmental issues we face! As a 4-H'er involved in Natural Resources programs, you’ll learn methods for confronting some of the world’s most pressing problems, be an advocate for the environment, and understand the science behind the issues!
4-H2O is a youth education program that has been held annually across the state for more than 12 years. It is a water-based science camp that runs in more than 15 counties across South Carolina, allowing students an opportunity to learn and experience this state’s water resources first-hand. 4-H2O is a hands-on science inquiry program that provides children and adults with knowledge about their local water resources and teaches them the field, analytical and critical thinking skills they need to intelligently participate in making decisions that affect the quality of these aquatic systems. Most of all, the youth will have a FUN and enriching experience on South Carolina's scenic waterways!
The 4-H Forestry Project opens the world of forests to youth. At every age level, youth engage in activities to learn about trees, forests, forest ecology and human reliance on forests. Youth discover forest resources near home and around the world.
Shooting Sports
The major disciplines offered through the 4-H Shooting Sports Projects include archery, BB gun, hunting, muzzle loading, pistol, rifle, and shotgun. This project is flexible and adaptable to nearly any audience - rural or urban. Youth learn marksmanship, the safe and responsible use of firearms, career exploration, and much more.
The South Carolina 4-H Small Garden Project is an independent study project for youth interested in gardening. The purpose of the Small Garden Project is to educate the youth of South Carolina on where and how their food is grown using hands-on, in-the-garden experiences. Youth are provided a record book to complete, seed or seedlings for one edible crop, and informational resources to help them in the project.
Science, Engineering, & Technology
We have a lot of exciting opportunities for youth to get involved with science programs in 4-H! For science-related resources, check out our 4-H Science on the Move initiative, taking hands-on activities across the state. We also host an annual Engineering Challenge in April where youth get to compete in a variety of challenges to highlight their science talents!