Thursday, February 26, 2015

2015 Exploration Days

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Registration Books and Forms are now available online (see "Forms" below).  They will also be available at the MSU Extension office on Friday, March 6th. Please read the information below carefully so you don't miss anything.

About 4-H Exploration Days
More than 2,500 students and adult chaperons will be on the Michigan State University campus June 24-26 for the 45th annual 4-H Exploration Days. Participants stay in residence halls and attend sessions in their areas of interest such as veterinary medicine, Web design, performing arts, how to start their own business, organic farming, and many more. 214 hands-on classroom and field trip sessions are offered this year. Participants from Marquette County must have turned 12 years old by January 1, 2015 in order to participate in the event. The Marquette County Delegation will leave on Tuesday, June 23rd for this event.

Cost and Scholarship Information

Option #1
Option #2
Option #3
Option #4
Current 4-H Members
$260
$220
$147
$107
New and Returning 4-H Members
$270
$230
$157
$117
Full cost with no scholarships
Cost with $40 State 4-H Scholarship applied
Cost with $113 Marquette County 4-H Council Scholarship applied
Cost with $40 State 4-H Scholarship AND $113 Marquette County 4-H Council Scholarship applied



The options above show the cost for youth to participate in the event. The costs include a $165.00 Exploration Days Registration Fee, a $25.00 early arrival fee, a $70.00 bus fee, and (for youth not currently enrolled in 4-H) a $10.00 Participation Fee. In addition to these fees, participants are also responsible for 3 meals while traveling to and from East Lansing. Some sessions also require that participants pay a "session fee". See registration booklet for more info (these session fees are due along with any balance at the orientation meeting in June).


The Marquette County 4-H Council and the State 4-H Office provide financial assistance to support the participation of Marquette County youth in this event. Youth must complete scholarship applications in order to receive financial assistance. 

Marquette County 4-H Council Scholarship
The Marquette County 4-H Council will provide $113.00 scholarships to youth who complete a Marquette County 4-H Council - Exploration Days Scholarship Application Form. The form must be received by the Marquette County MSU Extension office by April 17, 2015 in order for youth to get this scholarship.

State 4-H Scholarship
Each year the State 4-H office awards each county a limited number of Exploration Days Scholarships. These $40 scholarships are to support participation of financially limited youths who would otherwise not attend and to encourage and support youth who have not participated in Exploration Days in the past. If you are new to Exploration Days, please fill out an application. If you have multiple children attending, please fill out an application. These forms are due April 17th, as well.


Registration Instructions and Deadlines
Please note: All participants MUST include 8 session choices on their registration form. You will not be registered unless your form has all 8 session choice lines completed and the $80 registration fee is paid. Please make your checks out to MSU. Please be sure to include an email address on your registration form as well. 

** Sessions are assigned in the order that registrations are received, so early registration is highly encouraged! **

The deadline for registration is April 23rd. Scholarship applications are due April 17, 2015. 


Orientation Information 

Orientation Meetings
Mark your calendar and save the date!  ALL youth participants and a parent, are required to attend one of these meetings.  I also ask that the chaperons and CCAs attend at least one of these meetings. 
mandatory Exploration Days Orientation meeting will be held at 5:30 pm on Tuesday, June 2nd.  This meeting will be a shorter version of the orientation meeting for individuals who have attended Exploration Days in the past. A mandatory Exploration Days orientation meeting will be held at 6:30 pm on Thursday, June 4th. This is the standard orientation meeting, for youth who have not yet been to Exploration Days. Location of both meetings will be determined at a later date. Please put this on your calendars now.

Identification Portfolios
Personal Data Sheet with a current photo will be needed for each youth and adult participant. These sheets will help county conference assistants (CCAs) and chaperones put names and faces together, put all pertinent information in one place and assist with identification and tracking if someone is missing. I encourage you to fill this information out now and submit it with your photo when you hand in your registration forms. You can have both the form and photo ready to hand in at the Orientation Meeting in June as well.

Forms

Registration Checklist










Personal Data Sheet


For More Information about 4-H Exploration Days please go to The Michigan 4-H Web Page

Friday, February 6, 2015

Marquette County H T-Shirt Logo Contest

The 4-H Council is looking to print a new Logo for 4-H Camp and Exploration Days tee shirts this summer. We are inviting our 4-H youth members to participate in a contest to have their logo printed on our tee shirts. If you are interested in submitting a logo idea, we have a few requests:
 1.  Please submit your document to me by 4pm on Sunday, February 15th. You can email them in a .pdf or .jpeg format to deisenro@anr.msu.edu.
 2.  We will use this logo for several years, so please don’t put specific dates on it.
 3. Please have Marquette County and a 4-H Clover on the design somewhere. Here are the proper 4-H clovers. Outlined Clover          Black Clover
 4. National 4-H has regulations about the 4-H Emblem. Below is a link to the guidelines for the use of the clover.

We had some awesome designs last time! We hope to have great participation again!