Join Us for 4‑H Summer Camp!
Iowa, Portage, and Waupaca Counties are excited to host 4‑H Summer Camp at Upham Woods in Wisconsin Dells from June 15–17, 2026! Youth will enjoy three days of adventure, learning, and outdoor fun. Camp cost is $175 per youth, and registration is now open. Registration closes May 8, 2026. Only 6 spots left for Iowa County Youth!
New for 2026: The Iowa County 4‑H Leaders Association will reimburse families up to $50 per camper after camp. To qualify, campers simply attend, complete a short post‑camp form, and answer three reflection questions.
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Join Us for 4‑H Summer Camp as a Volunteer!
Special Volunteer Incentive:
If you volunteer as a camp chaperone you go to camp for FREE and one child from your family may attend camp for FREE!
Volunteer responsibilities may include:
Supervising and supporting campers
Assisting with activities and transitions
Helping ensure a positive and inclusive camp environment
No prior camp experience is required, just a willingness to help.
If you’re interested in volunteering or would like more information, please click the link below to register.
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*If YOU are signing up for the YQCA Training, you need to login online to register and pay $3 per person. Youth also need to complete the pre-survey when signing up. Please click below to register and learn more.
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All Iowa County 4-H members must participate in at least four (4) 4-H events or meetings by their club’s June meeting date in order to be considered a member in good standing with 4-H. A member in good standing has the opportunity to show at the Iowa County Fair that year.
Attendance may include:
Monthly club meetings (in-person or virtual)
County-wide 4-H events or workshops
4-H community service activities
4-H fundraisers or educational opportunities
Club or county-level leadership activities
Other determined at the club leader’s discretion
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The Iowa County Fair Book is now available on the fair’s website. This book is the official source for all rules and regulations, as well as department and class information for the Iowa County Fair. Exhibitors are encouraged to review it as they plan for the fair.
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Face to Face Judging
The following departments will be judged on Sunday, August 30th from 1-6pm
Scale Models (Dioramas)
Ceramics
Mechanical Sciences
Home Environment
Youth Leadership
What is face to face judging:
Youth talk one-on-one with the judge and have their items evaluated. Rather than being compared against other exhibitors, you are compared against a general standard of excellence. The judge will ask questions about the project and how it was done. The judge doesn’t have to follow Danish system with this judging so the youth will receive whatever placing the judge feels is appropriate.
How face to face judging works:
When you arrive at the fair house, go to the check-in table, there will be numbers available for each department being judged. Grab a number, as that will be the judging order. If you are doing a diorama, please don’t grab a number until your project is set up. Listen for your number to be called. We know this is an extremely busy time of year. If you can’t make judging day, please put everything you want the judge to know on an index card. This will then be handed over to the judge, and they will give you a placing based on your index card and project.
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Conference Judging
The following departments will be judged on Sunday, August 30th from 1-6pm
Scale Models (non-diorama classes)
Knitting/Crocheting
Child Development
Pets***new department
What is conference judging:
All youth who entered a class (ie scarf grades 3-5) will present their projects to the judge at the same time and the judge will evaluate all exhibits in that class. The judge will ask the youth questions about their project. The exhibitor is expected to answer some questions from the judge and also has the opportunity to ask questions to learn ways to improve on his/her skill or knowledge base. The judge must follow Danish system in these classes so only a certain amount of each placing can be given out based on how many are in the class.
How conference judging works:
Once entries have closed, we will work on creating an approximate timeline for when classes will be presented to the judge. This timeline will be emailed out. Plan to arrive early in case classes are running quicker than expected. We know this is an extremely busy time of year. If you can’t make judging day, please put everything you want the judge to know on an index card. This will then be handed over to the judge, and they will give you a placing based on your index card and project.
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Get ready to celebrate summer with a fun, hands‑on craft! Join us for the Iowa County Patriotic Door Hanger Class on Wednesday, June 10, from 4:00–6:00 pm at the HHS Building in Dodgeville. This free class is open to any 4‑H member or family. Youth (and parents!) will paint and decorate a charming red, white, and blue wooden door hanger featuring stars, stripes, they are perfect for porches, walls, and holidays like the Fourth of July. No experience needed—just bring your creativity! Space is limited to 20 participants, so be sure to register by Monday, June 1.
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Iowa County 4‑H is excited to launch a monthly LEGO League!
Youth are invited to join us every 4th Wednesday of the month to explore creativity, engineering, and problem‑solving through hands‑on LEGO activities in a fun, supportive environment. This program is open to all skill levels. All we ask is you just bring your imagination!
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Youth in grades K–12 are invited to take part in the America 250 Art & Innovation Contest!
Participants can submit their entries online by Monday, June 1st. This is a great opportunity for young creators to showcase their skills and celebrate America’s 250th anniversary.
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Seventeen 4-H members from Iowa County recently competed at the State Livestock Quiz Bowl and Skillathon Contest held at the UW-Madison campus on Saturday March 21st. Livestock Quiz Bowl is a quiz competition where all the questions are about beef, sheep, swine, and meat goat topics, and students use a buzzer in order to answer the questions.
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Iowa County 4-H was proud to celebrate Volunteer Appreciation Week, April 19-25, 2026, a time to honor the devoted individuals who generously give their time and talent to support Iowa County 4-H. Iowa County 4-H relies heavily on volunteers in the 4-H program. This year, 101 volunteers have served as 4-H club leaders, project leaders, 4-H Council members and various other volunteer roles.
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Wisconsin Pork Association runs the Pork Schoppe at the Wisconsin State Fair where they sell delicious pork products to fair goers. They rely on volunteer groups to staff our stand. They currently have two open shifts and are looking for an interested group to volunteer.
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Growing You, Growing Youth is a professional development series created for 4‑H volunteers, designed to strengthen skills, confidence, and impact. Each sheet highlights a practical topic—such as learning objectives, volunteer roles, youth engagement, policies, and experiential learning—while connecting volunteer growth to positive youth development. These bite‑sized resources support volunteers as they grow in their roles and, in turn, help youth build life skills through meaningful 4‑H experiences.
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The Iowa County 4-H Leaders Association is committed to helping make 4-H accessible to all youth. Families may request reimbursement for a portion of the registration fees they pay for an experience in 4-H.
The Leaders Association may reimburse up to 1/3 of the total cost of the experience. Reimbursement amounts are subject to approval and available funds.
A short reflection (3 questions below) is required as part of the reimbursement process to help us share the impact of the program with our supporters.
Reimbursement requests may be submitted for participation in approved educational livestock events, including but not limited to Show Clinic, Area Animal Science Days, Animal Judging, Arts Camp, Art Classes, etc.
If you have any questions, please contact the Extension Office. 608-930-9850.
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Regional animal science educational opportunities are available to Wisconsin 4-H members. Specifically, Area Animal Science Days is a series of day-long events held around the state in June where youth in the beef, dairy, horse, sheep, and swine projects increase their decision-making skills and knowledge of animals through judging and grading experiences. Events include dairy cattle evaluation; livestock (beef, sheep, swine, & meat goats) evaluation; oral reasons contests for senior members; and dairy showmanship contests . In addition, each site may offer a variety of workshops like poster and photography contests or horse judging activities.
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Sharing on behalf of our friends at Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences and the Dairy Innovation Hub - questions about this great upcoming activity are best directed to: Megan Lauber directly at (262) 902-3156 or badgerdairycamp@ansci@wisc.edu. This would be a great opportunity for dairy project members!
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| May, 13 |
YQCA Training, HHS Building, Dodgeville, WI | | May, 27 | LEGO League, HHS Building, Dodgeville, WI |
| June, 1 | Iowa County Fair Entry Opens | | June, 14-18 | Summer Academy, Madison, WI | | June, 15-17 | 4-H Summer Camp, Upham Woods, WI Dells | | June, 19 | Area Animal Science Days, Grant County | | June, 19-28 | American Spirit East, East Coast | | June, 30 | Area Animal Science Days, Clark County | | July, 3-12 | American Spirit East, East Coast | | July, 16 | Cloverbud Day, HHS Building, Dodgeville, WI |
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Feedback, questions or accessibility issues: info@extension.wisc.edu | © 2023 The Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System
Requests for reasonable accommodations for disabilities or limitations should be made prior to the date of the program or activity for which it is needed. Please do so as early as possible prior to the program or activity so that proper arrangements can be made. Requests are kept confidential.
The University of Wisconsin–Madison Division of Extension provides equal opportunities in employment and programming in compliance with state and federal law.
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