What do a barbecue cookbook, a potato cannon, a hunter’s tree stand, and a knitted afghan all have in common? They are examples of things you can create as your Freestyle 4-H Showcase entry.

No two entries are alike because no two 4-H’ers are alike. You think differently, have different interests, and want to achieve different things.

Choose which 4-H activity you most enjoy and show what you have learned and achieved. You can consider dozens of 4-H subjects, from aerospace to woodworking.

You pick the project; you pick the learning activities; and you design your showcase entry.

What You Will Do

• Choose what you want to learn.
• Be creative.
• Celebrate your uniqueness.

What You Will Learn

• To set goals and make plans.
• To gather information and make decisions.
• To solve problems.
• To decide what it means to do a good job.

Levels of Competition

Junior Level I: 9 to 11 years old on December 31 of the current calendar year (compete only at local and regional levels).

Intermediate: 12 to 13 years old on December 31 of the current calendar year (compete only at local and regional levels).

Senior Level I: 14 to 15 years old on December 31 of the current calendar year.

Senior Level II: 16 to 18 years old on December 31 of the current calendar year.

Refer to Alabama 4-H Competitive Events on the Alabama Extension website (www.aces.edu) to review the Competitive Events General Policy and the Age & Eligibility Chart.

Disqualifications of Entry

1. Using a space larger than a 6-foot area without permission from the Extension staff.

2. Using live animals or endangered plants.

3. Using copyrighted materials.

4. Senior Level 4-H member not submitting a community service report.

Identification of Entry

Name, county, and level of participation should be displayed with each entry. An introduction at the beginning of your time would be appropriate.

Rules of Freestyle Showcase

Create a project from one of the six categories below:

1. Natural Resources

2. Consumer Science/Healthy Living

3. Creative Arts

4. Animal Science

5. Leadership/Community Service

6. STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math)

Each category will be judged individually. Example: Natural Resources will have a first, second, and third place winner.

• Compete by yourself or on a two-person team. Youth on teams should be the same 4-H age level (e.g., Senior Level II).
• Your entry could be as small as jewelry you made or as large as a porch swing you built. If your entry is larger than a 6-foot table space, talk with the Extension staff to make sure space is available.
• No live animals or endangered or threatened plants.
• Your work must be original. Do not use copyrighted images or other materials.
• Use safety in preparing and exhibiting your entry.
• Tables will be provided, but you must bring any other equipment.
• Your entry must be original and completed during the current 4-H year. Last year’s entry in another 4-H event cannot be this year’s Freestyle entry.
• Prepare for a 3-minute discussion with the judges about what you did and learned.

Your Event Entry

You decide! It’s freestyle; anything goes (within the rules we listed). Most entries in the Freestyle 4-H Showcase will be one of two types:

1. An item: made, repaired, refinished, cleaned, prepared, created, finished, assembled, etc.

2. An exhibition of learning: a collection, display, scrapbook, report, poster, video, model, portfolio, collage, etc.

How to Get Started

Your Freestyle Showcase entry should be based on what you have learned and done yourself. Your learning probably starts with a goal. Consider these options on how to select a learning goal.

Idea 1: Your Family’s Needs

Talk with your parents about things that need to be done around your home or in your family. What new responsibility can you take on? What new skills or knowledge will you need? Could you learn to care for your younger brother or sister? Does someone need to organize the closets in your home? Learning to paint the outdoor furniture? How about repairing the lawn mower?

Idea 2: Your Hobbies

What special interest or hobby do you have? Think of something new to do or learn about your hobby. If you like hunting, how about trying taxidermy? If you like gardening, try making jams and jellies. If you like computers, try designing your own web page.

Idea 3: Your 4-H Project Interests

Remember that the highest awards in Alabama 4-H are project achievement awards for seniors. These are based on learning, leadership, and community service in a project area. Freestyle Showcase is a great way to show off your 4-H work each year. For example, if you show cattle, you might learn to vaccinate them. If you are entering the public speaking event, maybe you’ve created a 4-H promotional skit and performed for youth audiences.

Idea 4: Your Wants

Have you ever been inspired by a television makeover show? Maybe you’ve thought of what your room could look like, or maybe you are a gearhead who wants to design cars or trucks. Perhaps you have a friend who wants a style makeover. Your project could be based on what you want to learn and do.

Freestyle Ideas

• Youth Art: sketches and paintings, sculpture, mosaics, calligraphy
• Sewing and Needle Arts: knitting, cross-stitch, embroidery, heritage garments
• Life Skills: safety/emergency preparedness, communications, technology
• Wood Science: Carving, wood burning, furniture restorations
• Power: automotive, small engines, electronics, welding
• Natural Resources: environmental safety, water quality, air quality, radon, rocks, wildflowers
• Lost Arts: American heritage, handspun yarn, family records, history of local community
• Animal Science: pocket pets, livestock tending, veterinary science, companion animals
• Crafts: ceramics, cake decorating, porcelain, metal tooling
• Miscellaneous: creative writing, collections, model rocketry, model cars/airplanes

Community Service

Telling a great story, showcasing projects at a community library, speaking at a local nursing home, or organizing a community cooking or building blocks workshop are great opportunities to serve others. Serving others helps build your academic skills, learn civic responsibility, and develop leadership. It may also give you a good opportunity to meet new people, publicize 4-H, and practice your communication skills. Alabama 4-H is now requiring all Senior Level 4-H members to add a community service component to all 4-H Competitive Events. Each Senior Level 4-H member will have to complete the 4-H Community Service Report as a part of their project. 4-H members will be disqualified if the community service report is not included.

It is important that you decide what service you can provide, not have a parent or 4-H leader make this decision for you. Groups of young people are encouraged to work together to discover how they can serve their community.

Career Connections

Someone once said, “Choose a career doing what you love and you will never work a day in your life.” 4-H allows you to explore different project areas until you find one you love, then use your 4-H experiences to learn and do all you can in a 4-H project area. Ryan enjoys public speaking and wants to be a politician. Dustin participates in shooting sports and wants to be a game warden. What 4-H project area do you like best, and how is it preparing you for a career?

Score Sheet

View the score sheet for Freestyle Showcase in the corresponding PDF download below.

 

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Joy Scott, Extension Specialist, 4-H and Youth Development, Auburn University.

Revised August 2025, Freestyle Showcase, 4HYD-2241-H