Kayaking, roller hockey, climbing and repelling.
They may not be the first things that come to mind when people think of 4-H, but that’s what nearly 3,000 students and chaperones are doing on campus to celebrate the agricultural organization’s 100th birthday.
The students will spend until Friday in Akers, Holmes and Hubbard halls for 4-H Exploration Days, an annual youth conference.
“Kids and chaperones come from all over the state,” said Judy Ratkof, conference coordinator for Michigan 4-H Youth Development, which is based at MSU. “Rural, urban and suburban; people come from all types of communities.”
Classes and events started Wednesday for chaperones and students from ages 12 to 18. Participants will have the option to participate in 170 different outdoor activities, classes and hobbies on and off campus.
“The general purpose of Exploration Days is to experience MSU while exploring new interest areas,” Ratkof said.
The Michigan 4-H Youth Development was created to promote safe environments for young people to learn, have fun and develop socially. The national 4-H organization is perhaps best known for its fairs and programs to encourage participation in agriculture.
As part of the organization’s 100th anniversary, a birthday party was held Wednesday night, and conference participants were scheduled to spell out “4-H 100” using dorm room lights in Hubbard Hall.
Events such as Exploration Days also give MSU the opportunity to attract students interested in agriculture, Michigan 4-H officials said.
“It’s my firm belief that quite a few students do return to go to the university,” chaperone Loren Finkbeiner said. “I know four people off the top of my head that have graduated from here.”
Finkbeiner, a fifth-year chaperone, said MSU is an important part of the 4-H club. “I don’t know anyone else, or any other place that has the facilities to accommodate so many students,” he said.
Students received registration in March and had until May to pick their classes, which range from climbing the outside of the Wharton Center parking structure to quilting.
Attending the badminton class in the IM-Sports West was Luke Skaggs’ first choice. Skaggs has been part of the club for about a year.
“I like badminton, and I’m taking a class about television production,” he said. “I am really looking forward to the climbing event, even though I have to pay extra for it because I didn’t sign up at the beginning.”
