4-H Programs
The goal of Arkansas 4-H is to provide meaningful opportunities for youth and adults to work together to create sustainable community, state, and even national change. This is accomplished within three primary content areas, or mission mandates:
1. Civic Engagement & Leadership
3. Science
The educational foundation of 4-H lies in these three mission mandates. These mandates reiterate the founding purposes of Extension - community leadership, quality of life, and technology transfer- in the context of 21st century challenges and opportunities.
Arkansas 4-H Annual Report
Check out the Arkansas 4-H 2023 Annual Report to view stories of success, examples of these programs in action, and showings of the 3 mission mandates! This book is also dedicated to our supporters and donors, Arkansas 4-H is successful because of these people who dedicate themselves to the 4-H youth in the Natural State.
4-H youth participate in a science experiment at the Arkansas 4-H Vines Center.
The Arkansas 4-H educational philosophy is "learn by doing," the mission mandate programs take advantage of this by creating experiences for 4-Her's. All Arkansas 4-H programs employ experiments, community service, civic dialogue, cooking classes, and so many more opportunities for youth.
Arkansas 4-H Civic Engagement and Leadership
Since its inception, 4-H has placed emphasis on the importance of young people being engaged, well-informed citizens. By connecting to their communities and leaders, youth understand their role in civic affairs and are able to expand their role in decision-making processes. It's clear that civic engagement provides the foundation that helps youth understand the big picture of life and learn the skill sets that will allow them to become wise leaders for the future.
Arkansas 4-H Healthy Living
A core belief of 4-H is Health, as evidenced by the four H's in the 4-H clover: Head, Heart, Hands, and Health. 4-H is committed to the physical, mental and emotional health of our nation's youth so they may lead healthy and productive lives into adulthood. 4-H has become a national leader in health-related educational issues including chemical health, mental and emotional health, foods and nutrition, physical health and safety.
Arkansas 4-H Science
For over 100 years, 4-H has engaged young people in cutting-edge science learning,
including areas such as animal science, food science, 
welding, electricity, and plant/crop science. More recent project areas include aerospace,
robotics, geospatial technologies, computer science, and multimedia. Recognizing that
the United States is falling dangerously behind other nations in developing its future
workforce of scientists, engineers, and technology experts, National 4-H has committed
to address our nation's critical challenge by preparing 1 million new young people
to excel in science, engineering, and technology.
