4-H Animal Science Resource Blog

STEM Connections, know-how & Inspiration

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  • Alpaca/Llama
  • Dairy Cattle
  • Dog
  • Goat
  • Herpetology
  • Horse and Pony
  • Poultry
  • Rabbit/Cavy/Small Animal
  • Sheep
  • Swine

Virtual Zoos Offer Animal Science at Home

October 30, 2020

Otters visit us on zoom

Just because you and the kids are cooped up in the house doesn’t mean you can’t experience the fun of catching up with your favorite furry friends at your favorite zoo or animal conservatory. Zoos and animal habitats have also moved their program online during the COVID-19 pandemic. When visiting a zoo, online or in-person, you can confirm the organization is kind to and … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Club Programming Idea, Featured Resource, Field Trip, STEM Learning Tagged With: American Human Program, virtual field trip, virtual programming

Starting a Poultry Science Project at Your School

March 15, 2020

It isn’t uncommon to see a school or community garden in urban New Jersey, where residents come together to grow fresh food. Some people step it up a notch by introducing new members of the farm: chickens! As backyard chickens become more and more popular, some schools are considering the idea as well and are able to integrate Animal Science into their school day program.  In … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Club Programming Idea, Featured Resource, Poultry Tagged With: brooder, chicken, coop, poultry science

Five Essential Ag Safety Practices for Youth Programs

October 12, 2019

Kids working on the farm

4-H programs can happen anywhere - rural, suburban or urban areas. Often, these programs will interact with the agriculture industry - even if for a short time or day trip. While it is important for youth to learn more about agriculture, these settings can be a hazardous place for young people. Agriculture is the only industry where children of all ages may be present at any … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Alpaca/Llama, Animal Project Areas, Club Programming Idea, Dairy Cattle, Featured Resource, Goat, Horse and Pony, Poultry, Rabbit/Cavy/Small Animal, Sheep, Swine Tagged With: Agriculture Safety, animal health, Tractor Safety

New 4-H Turkey Project: Animal Science and Community Service

January 15, 2019

This year, New Jersey 4-H is introducing a Turkey project, offering the chance to engage families in poultry science and community service by raising turkeys for families in need for Thanksgiving. The 4-H Turkey Raising And Youth (TRAY) project is for families who wish to participate in a community service project while also learning how to raise turkeys that will be donated … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Animal Project Areas, Club Programming Idea, Poultry

No Animals, No Problem! Engaging urban and suburban youth in Animal Science projects

September 15, 2018

Last month we shared information about curriculum and resources available to lead urban livestock projects in urban and suburban areas. One reader came back to us with a great question: "If we don’t have bees, rabbits or chickens, can our youth still get involved with animal projects?" The answer is yes! If your family or club cannot commit to raising your own animals, there … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Alpaca/Llama, Animal Project Areas, Club Programming Idea, Dairy Cattle, Goat, Horse and Pony, Poultry, Rabbit/Cavy/Small Animal, Sheep, Swine

Opportunities for Urban and Suburban Livestock Experiences

August 15, 2018

  Many of our urban and suburban youth have limited interaction with livestock. 4-H livestock projects, although not typical to urban or suburban areas, are possible and are becoming quite popular. In addition to learning about animal science, there is a great opportunity to teach young people about entrepreneurship. Does this mean 4-Hers bring cows to the into city? … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Alpaca/Llama, Animal Project Areas, Club Programming Idea, Dairy Cattle, Goat, Horse and Pony, Poultry, Rabbit/Cavy/Small Animal, Sheep Tagged With: featured resource, Michigan State University, suburban youth, urban 4h, urban agriculture, urban livestock, urban youth development

7 Careers in Animal Science That May Surprise You

March 13, 2018

National 4-H

Do you love animals and want to dedicate your life to working with them? You have many career options ahead—probably more than you think! When young people imagine careers in animal science the first thing that comes to mind is usually a veterinarian. Working as an animal doctor is a great career, but did you know there are many more careers that involve helping animals? … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Career Profile

Your Animal Science and Agriculture Projects are STEM! Here are National Resources to Showcase the Connection

January 15, 2018

STEM learning animal science

You probably already know that STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. When people think of STEM, they picture a man in a lab coat mixing chemicals. Or perhaps a boy building a robot comes to mind. But as animal science educators, we know that STEM learning involves so much more! With every lesson we are connecting our youth to STEM. It's happening all the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Featured Resource, STEM Learning Tagged With: 4-H Animal Science, Marissa Staffen, New Jersey 4-H, STEM, STEM learning goals, youth STEM

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A Project of New Jersey 4-H Youth Development

New Jersey 4-H provides educational outreach programming for youth in grades K-13 (one year out of high school) through 4-H clubs, special interest programs, school enrichment, afterschool programs, and overnight camping.

Regardless of the subject matter – whether it be science, healthy living or citizenship, 4-H uses a learn-by-doing approach to help youth learn responsibility, community awareness and character development.

New Jersey 4-H Youth Development is a department of the Rutgers New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station.

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