It has been a busy month for our Dunn County 4-H’ers.

On Saturday, Dec 6, a group of 4-H’ers from Dunn County along with members from Chippewa and Eau Claire Counties participated in a Robotics Day at the UW-Stout at which, they were not only given a demonstration by the UW-Stout Robotics Team and a tour of the campus, but they had the opportunity to work in teams to build and program robots to compete against each other in a robotics challenge.

On Dec 7, Dunn County 4-H members and their families attended the musical White Christmas at the landmark Mabel Tainter Theater hosted by the Menomonie Theater Guild. Following the performance, these enthusiastic 4-H’ers were given a backstage tour along with a quick dance lesson on the stage by members of the cast.

Upcoming 4-H Activities

We are fortunate that we are able to partner with UW-Stout to provide unique opportunities for our 4-H members through their outreach programs. Our next partnership with them will be UW-Stout’s 4-H STEM Days on January 10 & 17 for 4-H members in grades 6-9 where they will learn about 3D printing, laser cutting, and soldering in the UW-Stout’s “Fab Lab” as they make a Lithophane Box.

We look forward to another event with UW-Stout in February called Art U. Art U is a collaboration with Dunn, Chippewa and Eau Claire County 4-H and UW-Stout’s Art Department which provides art lessons given by UW-Stout Art Education Students to all youth in grades K-12. Youth grades K-6 will have virtual instruction while youth 7-12th will attend classes on campus at UW-Stout. These sessions will be held on Thursday nights at 6:30 p.m. from February 12-March 12. There will be a nominal fee of $5 for enrolled 4-H members and $10 for those not enrolled in 4-H for the five classes. Registration closes January 13. To register, go to go.wisc.edu/artu2026.

Being able to speak in public and give presentations are valuable skills to learn. To provide our 4-H youth with motivation to research, plan and present topics that they find interesting, we have organized a Tri-County (Dunn, Chippewa and Eau Claire) 4-H Speaking and Demonstration Festival. The festival which will be on Saturday, Jan 31 at Elk Mound High School will give our 4-H youth a chance to practice their communication skills in a supportive environment while bolstering their self-confidence.

Featured Dunn County 4-H Group – Youth Activities Council

The Youth Activities Council (YAC) is a group of Dunn County 4-H members who are in the 6th grade or older that get together to do community service and fun activities. It is a great way to get involved in the community and to meet other 4-H members. It is easy to join. All you need to do is join 4-H, come to a meeting or an event and you too can be a part of the Youth Activities Council and its exciting activities such as the Battle of the Clubs.

The Battle of the Clubs is a county-wide event on February 21 where each club forms teams of 5-10 youth to compete for awards in a variety of activities chosen by the Youth Activities Council. The Youth Activities Council meets regularly on the fourth Tuesday of the month at the Dunn County Government Center in Menomonie at 6:30 p.m. If you want to learn more about the Youth Activities Council or Battle of the Clubs, please call our office at 715-232-1636.

Ann Lee is the Dunn County 4-H Assistant. She can be reached at 715-232-1636 to learn more about 4-H activities and how to get involved in 4-H.

The 4-H Youth Activities Council (YAC) met recently to prepare for the Battle of the Clubs event. Pictured are Conner and Cobie Styer. Photo: Zachary Rozmiarek