The 2026 Jo Daviess County 4-H Fun Day will be held on Monday, April 6, 2026, at the Elizabeth Community Building, 402 West St., Elizabeth, IL. Sponsored by the University of Illinois Extension, this event will include hands-on learning activities with kids DOING, THINKING, and CREATING! 4-H Fun Day is open to any child currently in Kindergarten through 12th grade. This event will be offered at no cost to families. Everyone is welcome, so grab a friend! Participants do NOT need to be a 4-H member to participate. Participants will enjoy rotating between two workshops before coming together for the final workshop.
Our participants in the 3rd-12th grade will have fun in the following workshops. "Cooked" is a Chopped‑style workshop that lets kids cook with a basket of ingredients and a surprise mystery item while learning basic kitchen skills, safety, and creativity. At the "Twisted Creations" workshop, youth will twist, bend, and shape colorful pipe cleaners into flowers, creatures, sculptures, and anything their creativity can dream up! With a playful twist and endless possibilities, this session encourages exploration and artistic expression. In the "Jr. Sprint Car" workshop, youth will design and build mini sprint cars powered by solar energy, exploring speed, aerodynamics, and how sunlight can fuel motion. It’s a fun blend of creativity, engineering, and renewable energy in action.
Kindergarten-2nd graders will enjoy a fun experience created just for them! Participants will explore art, play games, make simple snacks, and dive into hands‑on STEM activities. Youth will build domino chains, make kaleidoscopes, try pool‑noodle games, create art projects, and enjoy many more engaging, age‑friendly challenges.
"Our annual 4-H Fun Day is one of my favorite events of the year, and we are thrilled to be able to offer this to youth once again," says Angela Miller, 4-H Youth Development Program Coordinator. "Participants will leave this event with new skills and something to take home that they can be proud of."
The schedule for the day is as follows:
8:30-8:50 a.m. Check-in begins
9:00 a.m. Workshops begin
noon Dismiss
noon-12:15 pm Checkout
Interested youth may register and review each workshop’s details by visiting our website at https://go.illinois.edu/JDC4-HFunDay or by calling the Extension Office at 815-858-2273. Pre-registration is required, and spots are limited. Registration will be on a “first-come, first-served” basis. Registration closes on April 1.
University of Illinois Extension develops educational programs, extends knowledge, and builds partnerships to support people, communities, and their environments as part of the state's land-grant institution. Extension serves as the leading public outreach effort for University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences in all 102 Illinois counties through a network of 27 multi-county units and over 500 staff statewide. Extension’s mission is responsive to eight strategic priorities — community, economy, environment, food and agriculture, health, partnerships, technology and discovery, and workforce excellence — that are served through five program areas — 4-H youth development, agriculture and agribusiness, community and economic development, health and community wellness, and natural resources, environment, and energy.