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Cape May Court House – An impressive 126 youth members of the Cape May County 4-H Youth Development Program participated during 4-H Public Presentations Week March 11 through 15 in the classrooms of Atlantic Cape Community College. Up to 25 more 4-H members will present during the make-up period. 4-H’ers delivered their presentations before volunteer judges from the community, their fellow 4-H club members, family members and adult leaders.
4-H members are required to do a presentation each year. They may choose from four types of presentations: demonstration, illustrated talk, formal speech and performing arts. Even the youngest members of the 4-H family – Cloverbuds, kindergarten through third grade, are asked to try their hands at speaking in front of a group. This year’s presentations covered a diverse range of topics from Salamanders to a detailed explanation of the Big Bang Theory.
4-H Public Presentations have long been an integral part of the 4-H “Learning by Doing” approach to youth development. “It is always wonderful to see the pride on the faces of first-time presenters and to hear the encouragement they received from older 4-H members,” said Linda Horner, Cape May County 4-H Program Coordinator.
4-H members in the 8th – 13th grade who achieved a score of excellent from the judges are eligible to compete at the 4-H State Public Presentations Program in June. This state event offers qualified 4-H members an advanced Public Speaking experience. “More than 100 4-H members from throughout the state are expected to participate at State Public Presentations. We are excited that, to date, 22 of our 4-H members in 8th grade and above have qualified to go to state,” added Horner.
Cape May County 4-H wants to thank Atlantic Cape Community College for generously donating both their state-of-the-art classrooms and assistance from college technology professionals.
For more information about Public Presentations or the 4-H Youth Development Program, please call (609) 465-5115, ext. 3605, email linda.horner@co.cape-may.nj.us, or visit our website https://capemay.njaes.rutgers.edu/.
4-H Youth Development Program is part of the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station and Rutgers Cooperative Extension. 4-H educational programs are offered to all youth, grades K-13, on an age-appropriate basis, without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, or disability.