CLOVERLINE
Inside this Edition
Program Announcements 1-3
Upcoming Events & Opps 3-8
4-H Happenings..........................9
Upcoming Dates
May 9-10 Chester County Dairy Weekend
May 14 Deadline for Entering Engineering Design Challenge Registration and Videos in ZSuite
May 16-18 Animal Science Camps, University Park Campus
May 17 Champions Choice Lamb Camp, Chester County 4-H Center
May 26 Memorial Day - Extension Office Closed
May 30 Market Lamb/Kid Weigh-in and Tagging, Chester County 4-H Center
May 31 PA 4-H State Horse Bowl and Hippology Contests, University Park Campus
June 1 Livestock and Horse Project Animal Registrations Due
June 1 PA State Horse and Livestock Project Enrollment Deadline
June 1 Dairy and Dairy Goat Lease forms Due to Toni
GIVE US A FOLLOW!
Sometimes emails get missed!
Volunteers, parents, and members are encouraged to follow us on Facebook and Instagram to stay current on all upcoming opportunities and deadlines. Check updates on ZSuite too!
PROGRAM ANNOUNCEMENTS
ZSuite Enrollment
All 4-H members and volunteers MUST be enrolled in 4-H through ZSuite to participate in club meetings and activities. If members are not enrolled and paid, they should not be participating in clubs and are not eligible to participate in 4-H activities or show animals. Members must also have the appropriate projects listed in their ZSuite record. Please contact the Penn State Extension Chester County Office at 610-696-3500 or ChesterExt@psu.edu if you need help with enrollment fees or have any questions. Please remember all 4-H communications are sent to the family email address so parents are asked to be sure to share details with their children about clubs and other 4-H opportunities.
Club Meeting attendance
4-H meetings serve as a crucial platform for youth development, fostering learning, leadership, and community engagement. Club meetings and activities provide a safe space for members to participate in hands-on projects, develop skills, and build positive relationships with peers and adult mentors. 4-H members are required to attend at least 60% of club meetings. Some clubs may require more in order for members to complete their 4-H project(s).
2025 Chester County 4-H Fair
The 2025 Chester County 4-H Fair will run August 2, 4-9, 2025. Animal show paperwork has been sent to families enrolled in each project. General fair details and the 4-H Exhibitor’s Guide will be emailed by June 1st. If you are working on a project that does not have details included in the Exhibitor’s Guide please contact Toni ASAP. All still projects including cooking, sewing, woodworking, project posters, leadership, office books, etc. are due by noon on Monday August 4th
UPCOMING
4-H members can register here: https://4h.zsuite.org/event-registrations/38520
Registration closes June 9th.
Chester County 4-H Air Pistol Club Offers 8-Week Summer Session
This program emphasizes safe handling of firearms equipment while fostering self-confidence and leadership skills in a supportive environment designed for Positive Youth Development. Participants must be enrolled in 4-H to participate.
Please contact Audrey Reith with any questions at 610696-3500 or alr5762@psu.edu
4-H members can register here: https://4h.zsuite.org/event-registrations/37037
Non-4-H participants can register here: https://4h.zsuite.org/external-event-registration/37037.
Registration closes July 13th.
UPCOMING EVENTS & OPPORTUNITIES
2025 PA 4-H Engineering Design Challenge
Join us for the 2025 Engineering Design Challenge, Feed Your Animal(s). Turn simple machines into a whimsical contraption designed to complete an end task in a complicated way. Your challenge is to design and build a machine that can feed at least one animal. You can feed a pet or feed a livestock animal, that’s up to you. You may also water the animal but that is not a requirement. This counts as a State 4-H event for members working on Clover Awards.
There are two categories in which members may compete – individual or group. In addition, there are two age divisions junior and senior. Any 4-H youth (8-18 by January 1st of the current year) may participate in the Challenge and may choose to design and enter a machine individually or on a team comprised of two to four members. All entries must include a video of the machine in action as well as the engineering notebook.
Teams will submit videos of their machine in action with narration explaining their machine and the process, and a digital copy of their engineering notebook in ZSuite. The digital notebook can be a digital notebook, a scan of a paper notebook, or video of the pages in notebook with narration.
Teams must include members of the same age group: Junior – ages 8-13, or Senior – ages 14-18. Junior age youth are allowed to advance in age division and compete on a senior team if needed. Members competing as a team will be asked during the registration process to designate a team name. Each individual member of the team must register to participate within ZSuite by the May 14th registration deadline. There is no cost for participation.
Participants will have the opportunity to demonstrate their machine during the Engineering Design Challenge Showcase, held virtually on May 28th at 6:00 p.m. Results will be announced during this live event.
Machine Specifications (Please review the 2025 PA Engineering Design Challenge Handbook for a detailed list.):
• Show a connection to the theme, Feed Your Animal
• Be safe for participants and observers
• Have all steps documented in an engineering notebook – digital copies must be submitted
• Not include animals, hazardous, toxic, or explosive materials
• Not include air compressors or power cords
• Include between 5-20 steps or transfers of energy
More detailed information, including the Engineering Design Challenge Handbook, judging rubrics, and worksheets can be found in the 2025 Engineering Design Challenge cloverlink folder
2025 PA 4-H State Presentation and Public Speaking Contests
Registration Open: 5/20/2025 through 7/1/2025 Please register at: https://4h.zsuite.org/events
These are two separate contests but will be offered on the same date. Youth may participate in both presentation and public speaking contests. Both contests have a junior and senior category. Junior contestants are youth between the 4-H ages of 8-12, and senior contestants between 4-H ages of 13-18.
The Presentations Contest is designed to challenge 4-Hers’ skills and knowledge of giving demonstrations and to recognize their abilities in giving public presentations. A presentation is on a project-related topic that is shared by teaching or physically demonstrating how to complete a certain phase of a project. Presentations can be given by an individual or a team of two members (in the same age division).
The Public Speaking Contest is designed to support the county public speaking program, challenge 4-Hers’ skills and knowledge in public speaking, instill an understanding of the need for communication skills, and improve speaking skills. Public speaking is a prepared speech with no props or visuals.
UPCOMING EVENTS & OPPORTUNITIES
Chester County 4-H Summer Day Camps, continued
2025 Chester County 4-H Candy Making Day Camp
July 30, 2025 | 10:00 a.m. 3:00 p.m. OR July 31, 2025 | 10:00 a.m. 3:00 p.m.
Chester County Government Services Building | 601 Westtown Road, Suite 370 | West Chester, PA 19382
Cost: $10
Description: Youth, ages 8-18 are invited to join us for the sweetest day camp in Chester County. Participants will be learning various candy-making technique, the science of candymaking and leave with various sweet samples of their work. A more detailed camp agenda will be shared with registrants closer to the time of camp.
Registration required by July 23, 2025: https://4h.zsuite.org/event-registrations/38042. Registration is limited to 15 registrants and is based on a first-come, first-serve basis. Once camp is filled, youth can register to be added to the camp waitlist.
2025 Chester County 4-H STEM Saturday Day Camp: Advanced Programming with SPIKE Prime Robots
Using Python
August 2, 2025 | 10:00 a.m. 3:00 p.m.
Chester County Government Services Building | 601 Westtown Road, Suite 149 | West Chester, PA 19382
Cost: $10
Description: Ready to take your robotics skills to the next level? In this advanced camp, participants ages 8-18 will work with LEGO SPIKE Prime robotics and dive deeper into coding using MicroPython a highly optimized version of the Python programming language designed for microcontrollers like the SPIKE Prime Hub.
Campers will program robots to complete a series of fun and challenging tasks, sharpening both their coding and problem-solving skills. Prior robotics experience (through our introductory camp or a 4-H club program) is required to participate.
This is the perfect opportunity for youth ready to expand their knowledge of robotics, coding, and real-world engineering!
Registration required by July 25, 2025: https://4h.zsuite.org/event-registrations/39244. Registration is limited to 12 registrants and is based on a first-come, first-serve basis. Once camp is filled, youth can register to be added to the camp waitlist.
2025 Chester County 4-H Expressive Arts Printmaking Day Camp
August 11, 2025 | 9:30 a.m. 12:00 p.m.
Chester County Government Services Building | 601 Westtown Road, Suite 370 | West Chester, PA 19382
Cost: $50
Description: Unleash your creativity and explore the exciting world of printmaking at our hands-on day camp! This camp is open to youth ages 8-18, providing an excellent opportunity to experiment with various printmaking techniques. Whether you're a beginner or have some experience, this camp will guide you through the art of creating beautiful prints. We will dive into a variety of printmaking methods, including relief printing, collagraph printing, stamp/linocut printing, and more.
Registration required by August 4, 2025: https://4h.zsuite.org/eventregistrations/38535. Registration is limited to 14 registrants and is based on a firstcome, first-serve basis. Once camp is filled, youth can register to be added to the camp waitlist.
CLUB CORNER 4-H HAPPENINGS
Good Luck!
Wishing our Clover Rovers Vex Robotics Team all the best as they compete at Vex Worlds this weekend! We are so proud of the hard work of this team and their coaches.
Club Corner!
Please share your club meeting experiences with the Chester County 4-H Office! Email photos of projects, activities and guest speakers with a caption to ChesterExt@psu.edu and we will share it in this section of the newsletter!
The Wild Clover Rabbit & Cavy Club assembled grooming boxes. We can ’t wait to see these projects at fair!
Shooting Sports: 4-H
Shotgun Club member, Madeleine Cross, displays her talents on the range.
Sheep & Wool Day
Thank you to everyone who came out to make Chester County’s annual Sheep & Wool Day a success!
May 9-10
May 14
May 16-18
May 17
May 26
May 30
2024-2025 Calendar of Events*
Chester County Dairy Weekend, Chester County 4-H Center
Deadline for Entering Engineering Design Challenge Registration and Videos in ZSuite
Animal Science Camps, Penn State University Park Campus
Champions Choice Lamb Camp, Chester County 4-H Center
Memorial Day - Extension Office Closed
Market Lamb/Kid Weigh-in and Tagging, Chester County 4-H Center
May 31 PA 4-H State Horse Bowl and Hippology Contests, University Park Campus
June 1
June 1
Livestock Lease Forms Due to Audrey
Horse and Livestock Project Enrollment Deadline
June 1 PA State Horse and Livestock Project Enrollment Deadline
June 1
June 3
June 12
June 12
June 14
Dairy and Dairy Goat Lease forms Due to Toni
Shooting Sports: Air Pistol Club Summer Session Meeting (every Tuesday through July 22), Chester County 4-H Center
Program Development Committee, Chester County 4-H Center
Chester County Livestock Judging Contest, Chester County 4-H Center
Chester County Summer Beef Show & Showmanship Clinic
June 17 PA 4-H Animal Judging Contests, University Park Campus
June 18-20 PA 4-H Dressage Show and Horse Camp
June 19
Juneteenth – Extension Office Closed
June 26 PA Farm Show Jr Market Cattle Deadline
June 28
June TBD
June TBD
Nottingham Country Fair, Nottingham County Park
Market Sheep/Goat Tagging, Chester County 4-H Center
Chester County Summer Beef Show
June TBD Virtual Communication Contest Entries Due
June/July TBA State Council Applications Due
July 1
July 1
July 4
Dairy and Dairy Goat Entry Forms Due to Toni
Chester County 4-H Horse & Pony Show Fair Entry Forms Due
Independence Day - Extension Office Closed
July 7-11 4-H Camp Program - Camp Shehaqua- Hickory Run State Park
July 14
Regional Fashion Revue
July 23 Deadline for PA 4-H State Presentation and Public Speaking Contest Entries
July 29 Mandatory Fair Set-up for Beef, Sheep, Market Goat, and Swine Exhibitors, Chester County 4-H Center
July TBD Fair Entry Forms Due
August 2, 4-9
August 6
Chester County 4-H Fair, Honey Brook, PA
Chester County 4-H Livestock Sale
August 12-14 Ag Progress Days, Pennsylvania Furnace, PA
August 23
September 1
District Horse Show, Montgomery County Farm, Home and 4-H Center
Deadline for PA 4-H Diamond Clover Award Year 2 Final Submissions
September 1 Labor Day – Extension Office Closed
September 20 Chester County 4-H Center Annual Auction and Fundraiser
September 27
Warwick Fall Festival, Warwick County Park
September 30 Clover Award Applications Deadline – Due in the Chester County Extension Office
September 30 Farm Credit Award Application Deadline
September 30 Livestock Record Books & Award Application Deadline
October 15
PA Farm Show Jr Market Livestock Deadline
October 18 PA 4-H SLC Jr Conference
October 23-26 PA 4-H State Horse Show, PA Farm Show Complex
*Dates, events, and locations are subject to change.