2025 Onondaga County 4-H youth fair kicks off at New York State Fairgrounds

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) — From wildlife conservation strategies to experiments that could clean Central New York’s public lakes, the 2025 Onondaga County 4-H Youth Fair kicked off at the New York State Fairgrounds on Monday with over 200 projects put on display by local 4-H members.

The 4-H Youth Fair is an annual event where 4-H members ages 5-19 showcase their projects, animal science, and skills to the public. The mission of 4-H is to empower youth to reach their full potential, while fostering positive youth development through learning, leadership, and engagement. This is the 98th Onondaga County 4-H Youth Fair, dating back to the first 4-H Fair in 1927.

Onondaga County 4-H encourages its members to ultimately create positive change in their own communities. Members gain the necessary life skills to succeed in the real world, such as communication and public speaking, goal setting, problem solving, collaboration, teamwork, and social interaction.

4-H Youth and Family Development Leader Scott Hudson explains how the 4-H Fair provides youth members with an opportunity to enhance their skills and knowledge while gaining recognition for their hard work.

“It’s just one of our many opportunities for youth to work on some public speaking, getting a comfort level for talking to someone new, speaking with someone you’re passionate about, and they get to do that by sharing these projects,” said Hudson.

Projects included research on habitat conservation, local species protection, sustainable resource management, and ecosystem restoration. Additionally, there were presentations on cleaning up lake shorelines and managing stormwater runoff.

Livestock shows are also a major part of the fair, which allows members to demonstrate their animal care and handling skills. In addition, a new component of this year’s fair was allowing members to sit across from the judges while presenting their project so that they could have a more honest back-and-forth conversation about their work.

4-H member Auggie Niederhoff discusses how they came up with their project and what strategies went into devising and constructing a finished product.

“This year I was thinking of a project I could do over the summer for fun, and I started doing a 3-D map using foam, and I realized it could make for a great 4-H project,” said Niederhoff. “I started documenting the process a little bit more, and what started as a fun summer project turned into a submission project for the 4-H Fair.”

The projects were judged by experts on Monday, and the work will be presented for public viewing until Wednesday evening. The fair will also continue to put on various wildlife shows until its conclusion this Friday.

Whether members want to eventually work in higher education, STEM, or business, 4-H hopes this fair will equip youth with the skills and knowledge they need to succeed in the future in Central New York and beyond.