Judgment Day for Washington County 4-Hers at the Fairgrounds

With projects housed in eight of the 11 buildings, the 4-H program plays a big role in the fair each year.

Kids and teens in the program showed off their projects for judges Tuesday—the day before the fair opened to the public—in subject areas that ranged from horses to clothing to rocketry to robotics.

The youth organization, based at the University of Minnesota, has plenty of project options for both rural and city dwellers, said parent Tim Warmka, of Oakdale.

“Everyone’s thinking cookies and cows or cupcakes and cows. If you look, there are a lot of city kids,” he said. “We do the dog projects—agility and obedience—aerospace, electrical … It’s whatever you want to make of it and you can do as much or as little as you want to.”

Students are judged on their project and how well they present the project to judges, said Ann Church, Washington County 4-H program coordinator.

Kids that participate pick up speaking, presentation and leadership skills in addition to the knowledge and skills they gain by putting their project together, she said.

“It’s all about learning,” Church said. “Would they be doing this stuff if they didn’t have (4-H)? … This just expands their knowledge—a lot of life skills—and they have fun doing it.”

Wide Variety of Projects from Oakdale Students

Oakdale’s Katelyn Warmka, 15, had so many different 4-H projects entered at the fair, that she lost count.

After reviewing her list, she counted 11.

She built a rocket and a picnic table that transforms into a bench, and she competes with her dog in the agility contest, she said, among lots of other projects.

Building the bench/table was probably her toughest project, she said.

“It just took a lot of time, a lot of space, a lot of math,” she said.

Katelyn has been to the Minnesota State Fair three times now, and is hoping to go again this year.

Her younger brother Josh Warmka, 11, isn’t old enough to go to the state fair yet, but that hasn’t stopped him from submitting quite a few projects for judging.

He had projects in shooting sports, fishing sports, photography, aerospace, shop and home environment.

“It’s kind of fun, because you get to make things,” he said.

He enjoyed making fishing lures and folding tray tables out of wood for two of his projects, he said.

Even younger sister Anna Warmka, 8, has gotten started doing 4-H projects, making a pen out of wood, participating in the pet show and doing a demonstration.

Another Oakdale student, Kristin Erf, 15, is showing six cows, five ducks and two chickens at the fair.

Erf said she lives on one of the last farms in Oakdale.

She has been in 4-H since kindergarten and she’s been to the state fair three times now, she said.

The fair experience is her favorite part of being in 4-H, she said.

“You get to see everyone for like five days and be with your friends the whole time,” she said.