Wednesday What-Nots 8/5

On behalf of the Nebraska Extension in Otoe County staff, a heartfelt THANK YOU to the Ag Society, Superintendents, Volunteers, Parents, and Exhibitors that made the 2026 Otoe County Fair a great experience for all attendees. We truly appreciate all your hard work throughout the year and especially during this past week. We're already looking forward to 2027.

Congrats to all the winners, and to those who learned a lot along the way. We'll send out more results out next week. And be on the lookout for a 2026 Otoe County Fair recap on our Facebook page with reflections, photos, results, and more!

Enter now if you plan to exhibit Livestock or in a Contest for the Nebraska State Fair. Due date is Monday at 8:00 pm CST. NO EXCEPTIONS. https://nebr.fairwire.com/

**Note that this does not include Static entries as these entries are not made by exhibitors. The Extension office enters Static exhibits and transports them to and from the State Fair.

Entries are open for Nebraska State Fair Livestock and Contest entries. See https://www.statefair.org/livestock-exhibitors/4-h-ffa-exhibitors/ for details and a link to the entry page.

Nebraska 4-H wants to celebrate your everyday scientific achievements!

Science is a process of discovering the world around you through experiments and observations. By definition this makes you a scientist. In fact, you probably use the scientific method every day without even knowing it. For example, it is Saturday morning, and your family is making pancakes but with too many people in the kitchen one of the ingredients gets added twice! Not only have the cooked pancakes puffed up twice their normal size, but they also taste funny (observation). You decide that someone added the baking soda twice (hypothesis). A family member suggests if you make the pancakes again without the extra baking soda breakfast will not be a total flop (prediction). You agree and make them again (experiment). The pancakes were delicious the second time around and it was decided that too much baking soda was the problem (conclusion).

Could this scenario be altered to an experience you had while working on a 4-H project? Maybe you experimented with different types of fabric for clothing projects, explored new ways of preserving fruit, tried three different paints to see what will work best for your glass lamp you designed or practiced using different photography techniques.

If you believe you used the scientific method or the engineering design process in one of your 4-H static projects, consider applying for the Premier 4-H Science Award. All static exhibits which qualify for the Nebraska State Fair can apply for Premier 4-H Science Award. All applicants will be recognized for their use of science within their project area and will be eligible for a Premier 4-H Science Top exhibitor awards which includes a cash award sponsored by the Nebraska 4-H Foundation.

How can you apply? Identify which exhibit you will enter in the Premier 4-H Science Award. Then, complete the Premier 4-H Science Award Application, found online at https://go.unl.edu/nsfpremierscienceapp. Deadline is Friday, August 21 at 12:00PM CT.

For more information about the Premier 4-H Science Award visit https://4h.unl.edu/4-h-fairbook-nebraska-state-fair/contests/premier-science-award/ or contact Sarah Polacek at spolacek2@unl.edu.

Orders can be placed online at https://go.unl.edu/2026nsf4htshirts and are due August 10, 2026

Back by Popular Demand! 4-H static exhibitor families are able to order discount passes directly from the Nebraska State Fair! Orders can be placed now until 11:59pm CT on August 27, 2026, and can be placed using the following link and password:

https://go.unl.edu/2026nsfstaticexhibitorpasses

Password: 20264h

Please DO NOT SHARE this link with others. The State 4-H Office will ensure that submitted discount tickets match a registered participant.

The Otoe County Achievement Application will go digital for Fall 2026!

We will utilize the state's achievement application as our base application. https://4h.unl.edu/statewide-events-opportunities/awards-recognition/achievement-application/ And then we'll use our own digital form to collect the applications for county judging.

In addition, there have been a few changes to our county-level categories and awards. Highlights include:

i. Clover Dollar awards have been discontinued. To attend camps related to their project area of interest, 4-H members are encouraged to utilize the 4-H Foundation's camp scholarship awards program. https://otoe4hfoundation.org/camp-scholarships/

ii. Community Service Awards will now award a first ($75) and second ($50) place entry in each age division.

iii. All other awards will increase their amounts given to winners, for a total of $50 per award, with the exception of Outstanding 4-H Member Awards ($50, $75, and $100).

Check out all changes via the NEW digital Achievement Application submission form: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/r/UFwFv4NaUS

i. We're still working on a detailed list of the awards and their criteria. We appreciate your patience as we work to get these details out as soon as we can. Please reach out with questions.

Tracy Ensor, 4-H Youth Development Associate Extension Educator, tensor2@unl.edu

Ben Jewell, Rural Prosperity Nebraska Associate Extension Educator, bmcshane-jewell2@unl.edu

Nathan Roth, 4-H Extension Assistant, nroth14@unl.edu

Megan Anderson, Office Manager, manderson230@unl.edu

Website: www.otoe.unl.edu

Location: 620 1st Street, Syracuse, NE, USA
Phone: (402) 269-2301
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Nebraska-Extension-in-Otoe-County