Collections by Name | Collections by Region

Michigan 4-H History Collection

In celebration of the 2002 centennial of 4-H in the United States, the Michigan 4-H Foundation, Michigan 4-H Youth Development and the MSU Museum initiated the Michigan 4-H History Project under the direction of LuAnne Kozma, Asst. Curator of Folk Arts, MSU Museum and Coordinator, FOLKPATTERNS Project and Betsy Knox, 4-H Program Leader. The project's purpose is to document the history of Michigan 4-H, through collecting objects related to Michigan's 4-H history and through recorded oral history interviews with individuals who are or were connected to Michigan's 4-H youth program from the years 1908 to present. Topics covered by the project include Michigan 4-H organizational history, statewide events, conservation, community service, clothing and textiles, foods and nutrition, cultural heritage, arts, crafts, woodworking, entomology, gardening, forestry, international exchange, canning, television, technology, communications, agriculture, livestock, and animal projects.

To date the collections include handmade projects by 4-H youth including textiles (such as 4-H aprons, tea towels, clothing, and quilts that depict the group's history and interests), woodworking objects (such as bookends, wastebaskets), displays (on such topics as wildflower identification, insects, or electrical projects), and commercially- or mass-produced ephemera affiliated with 4-H (such as posters, mugs, buttons, trophies and ribbons). In addition, the collections contain photos, videos, audio tapes of interviews, field notes, tape indexes, 4-H bulletins, scrapbooks, handwritten materials, posters, letters, award certificates, 4-H record books, and other ephemera.

Donors and Fieldworkers

Current and retired Michigan 4-H staff members, MSU Museum staff, 4-H volunteer leaders, and 4-H youth members.

Exhibitions

"The Michigan 4-H History Project: Celebrating 100 Years of 4-H," Michigan State University Museum, East Lansing, Michigan, April 2002-February 2003 and 4-H Kettunen Center, Tustin, Michigan, dates TBD.