Kid/Family friendly

Visit the Fall Home & Garden Show during one of the afternoons to attend our free presentations about Native Plants (10/17 at 2pm), Putting Your Garden to Bed (10/18 at 2pm), Winter Sowing (10/18 at 3pm), Compost (10/19 at 2pm), and Growing Herbs Indoors (10/19 at 3pm). Winter sowing demonstrations 10/18 at the 15th minute of each hour. Find us at booth 809 to learn the tips and techniques for this easy, cheap and reliable way of growing native plants and early season vegetables.

Visit the Baltimore County Master Gardeners' Demonstration Gardens to learn about the strategies to increase deer resistance in your landscape. Free to attend, no registration required.

Visit the Baltimore County Master Gardeners' Demonstration Garden and see their Monarch Waystation. Learn about the plants that attract monarchs and other beneficial, pollinating insects, some of which migrate like monarchs do.

Eligibility
4-H youth members must:

Have enrolled in Maryland 4-H before July 1, 2025
Be enrolled in the Shooting Sports Smallbore Rifle or Shooting Sports General project

Be recommended by their 4-H Shooting Sports Smallbore Rifle Instructor as proficient enough to participate safely in the contest.
Adult Coaches must be enrolled UME 4-H Volunteers who are currently certified as 4-H Shooting Sports Smallbore Rifle Instructors.

How to Register
Registration for this event is through the 4-H Online State 4-H Rifle Match event. To access the registration:

Log in to your 4-H Online family profile. https://v2.4honline.com
Click on the Events tab on the left sidebar menu.
Click the blue Register button under the event graphic and follow the registration steps.

You can find a step-by-step 4-H Online Event Registration help guide on the Maryland 4-H website. Please feel free to also contact your local 4-H office if you have questions or need help with event registration.

There is no limit to the number of youth or three-person teams that can enter this contest in each age group. The 4-H Educator will designate teams when reviewing and verifying the registrations. Coaches should work with their local 4-H office to determine team membership.

There is a $25.00 entry fee for each 4-H youth participant in this state contest. There is no registration fee for adult volunteer coaches. Families may pay the entry fee by credit card at the time of registration, or county/city 4-H programs may sponsor the fee for their youth participants. Local 4-H programs should instruct youth participants/families on how to pay the registration fee.

Reminder: Each county must supply one target frame per shooter. The frame must meet AGC range specifications described in the attached contest information. Contact Amanda Wahle for more details regarding target frames.

The match will be sponsored again this year by Maryland 4-H, the Civilian Marksmanship Program, and the Associated Gun Clubs of Baltimore.

Direct questions about the Match to Amanda Wahle at awahle@umd.edu.

All event registrations must be submitted by September 1, 2025. Registrations will be verified and approved by local 4-H Educators.

Contest Details

Date: Saturday, September 27, 2025
Start Time: 8:00 am
Location: Carroll County Agriculture Center, 706 Agricultural Drive, Westminster, Maryland
Registration dates: August 25 - September 19, 2025

Eligibility
This contest is open to 4-H youth members who have an approved enrollment before July 1, 2025, and are enrolled in one of the following 4-H Shooting Sports projects:

Shooting Sports - Archery
Shooting Sports - General
4-H members who are not enrolled in one of these Shooting Sports projects may not compete.

Each 4-H youth contestant may participate in ONE of the following matches:

Recurve Bow
Compound Bow

Eligible 4-H members must be recommended by their Shooting Sports Instructor as having sufficient proficiency at Archery to compete in this contest at the distances listed safely. The local 4-H Educator must approve 4-H youth member registrations before they will be forwarded to the State 4-H Office.

Junior Contestant, Senior Contestant, Adult Coach, Intermediate Contestant

Adult Coaches must be enrolled UME 4-H Volunteers who are currently certified as 4-H Shooting Sports Archery Instructors.

Complete contest information and rules can be found in the Event Information Button below.

How to Register

Registration for this event is through the 4-H Online State 4-H Archery Match event. To access the registration:

Log in to your 4-H Online family profile. https://v2.4honline.com/
Click on the Events tab on the left sidebar menu.
Click the blue Register button under the event graphic and follow the registration steps.

You can find a step-by-step 4-H Online Event Registration help guide on the Maryland 4-H website. You can also contact your local 4-H office if you have questions or need assistance with event registration.

All event registrations must be submitted by September 19, 2025, by 11:59 pm. Registrations will be verified and approved by local 4-H Educators.

Join us as we celebrate the incredible diversity of insects through fun, hands-on learning for all ages. Whether you are fascinated by bugs or just a little curious, this event is designed to be welcoming and inclusive for everyone. We recognize that people have a wide range of experiences and comfort levels with insects—and that is okay! Our goal is to help you explore your personal connection with these animals and leave with a new appreciation for the vital role they play in our world.

This free, family-friendly event will take place indoors and outdoors at the Harriet Tubman Cultural Center in Columbia, MD. The event will feature the University of Maryland Insect Zoo, insect crafts and hands-on activities, educational displays, and local environmental education groups including the University of Maryland Extension Master Gardener Program, the Community Ecology Institute, and more!

A twilight tour at Wye Research and Education Center. Featuring an insecticide study on tomatoes, weed management on watermelon test plots, ginger production, and drone work in a sweet corn field. The event is free to attend.

Garden Discovery Days - Discover Vegetables! (9/28) - will meet requirements for Girl Scout Junior Gardener badge (Grades 4-5)

Visit the Montgomery County Agricultural History Farm Park in Derwood and learn the essentials of vegetable gardening and garden design, then plant your own!

See different types of plants, including how, when and where they grow best.

Experiment and closely examine the effects of sun, water, and soil types on plant growth.

Participate in an optional hike.

Program is approximately 1 hour 45 minutes long.

Suggested for grades 4 - 5.

Discover Vegetables! will meet the requirements for the Girl Scout Junior Garden Badge.

Come dressed for the weather. This program will take place outside in rain or shine. If the weather is extreme, the event may be postponed or cancelled.

This is not a drop-off program. We request 1 chaperone for every 6 children in your group. Tickets are $15 per child; adult chaperones are free and do not require a ticket.

Please bring a check to the event made out to the University of Maryland.

Discover Nature! (9/28) - will meet requirements for: Daisy Clover Petal & Eco Learner Badge and Cub Scout Tiger Into the Wild (Grades K-1)

Visit the Montgomery County Agricultural History Farm Park in Derwood and learn about nature from Master Gardener guides.

Learn how to prepare for, explore, and protect nature by using resources wisely, and to Leave No Trace.

Read about examples of resourcefulness and practice re-purposing with a craft.

Program is approximately 1 hour long.
Suggested for grades K - 1.

Discover Nature! will meet the requirements for the Girl Scout Daisy Clover Petal and Eco Learner Badge and Cub Scout Tiger in the Wild Adventure.

Come dressed for the weather. This program will take place outside in rain or shine. If the weather is extreme, the event may be postponed or cancelled.

This is not a drop-off program. We request 1 chaperone for every 3 children. Tickets are $12 per child; adult chaperones are free and do not require a ticket.

Please bring a check to the event made out to the University of Maryland.

September 28th PM - Discover Trees (will meet requirements for Girl Scout Cadette Trees & Cub Scout Arrow of the Light Into the Woods (Grades 5-8))

Visit the Montgomery County Agricultural History Farm Park in Derwood, explore the connection between trees and humans, and visit an orchard!

Study tree anatomy and learn to distinguish between them.

Have some fun and make art with leaves.

Program is approximately 2 hours 20 minutes long.

Suggested for grades 5 - 8.

Discover Trees! will meet the requirements for the Girl Scout Cadette Trees Badge and the Scouts BSA Arrow of Light Into the Woods Badge.

Come dressed for the weather. This program will take place outside in rain or shine. If the weather is extreme, the event may be postponed or cancelled.

This is not a drop-off program. We request 1 chaperone for every 10 children in your group. Tickets are $12 per child; adult chaperones are free and do not require a ticket.

Please bring a check to the event made out to the University of Maryland.