WILDLIFE and HOW THEY LIVE - DEPARTMENT D - DIVISION 340
Classes 1 - 4 are board or poster exhibits. Display may show any aspect of wildlife, wildlife habitat, or related conservation. No domestic livestock, pets, or insects are allowed. For more ideas, refer to project booklets. Examples: life history or other facts about one type of wildlife; how to manage wildlife on a farm or in town; managing habitat for one kind of wildlife; life requirements for one kind of wildlife during one season or through the year; wildlife behavior and habitats.
Class:
1. *MAMMAL DISPLAY - Choose one mammal from the wild and share on your display about the mammal. Examples include life history, behavior, habitat or other interesting facts.
2. *BIRD DISPLAY - Choose one bird from the wild and share on your display about the bird. Examples include life history, behavior, habitat or other interesting facts.
3. *FISH DISPLAY - Choose one fish from the wild and share on your display about the fish. Examples include life history, behavior, habitat or other interesting facts.
4. *REPTILE OR AMPHIBIAN DISPLAY - Choose one reptile or amphibian and share on your display about the reptile or amphibian. Examples include life history, behavior, habitat or other interesting facts.
5. *WILDLIFE CONNECTIONS - Board or poster exhibit. The purpose of this display is to show interconnections and related aspects among animals, plants, and other habitat components. All displays should show two or more interactions (connections) that occur between/among animals or between animals and their habitat. Displays might show how animals interact with other animals, with people, or with their habitat.
Examples: 1) Food chain display. Use pictures, drawings, or other items to illustrate the source of food energy and where it goes - who eats whom or what. Use arrows to show the direction of the energy (food) flow. 2) Show the role of predators, scavengers, insect eaters, or others in nature. 3) Show how wildlife numbers (populations) change through the year. 4) Show predation, competition, or other behavior interactions of wildlife. 5) Choose one kind of wildlife and make observations through a season or year, keep notes of interactions, then make a display of what you saw.
6. *WILDLIFE TRACKS - Board or diorama-type box exhibit. Make a display of animal tracks using casting plaster. There are 3 options. For all options, include a brief description of your experiences in making the tracks so the judges better understand what you did and learned. Positive casts (impressions as they would be in nature) are preferred, but not required.
1) Option 1 should show plaster tracks of 5 or more kinds of wildlife along with a picture or illustration of each kind of animal. (OR) 2) Option 2 should show 2 or more plaster tracks of one specific kind of wildlife and should include a picture or illustration of the animal, what the animal may eat, and what may eat the animal. (OR) 3) Option 3 should show 2 tracks and include the animal’s habitat needs including preferred food, shelter, water, and space in addition to picture or illustration of the animal.
7. *WILDLIFE KNOWLEDGE CHECK - Use electrical circuits, pictures, or other methods of teaching wildlife identification or other wildlife conservation or shooting sports related knowledge. Plan size and shape to fit transportation and display; maximum size 24 inchs X24 inches.
8. *WILDLIFE DIORAMA - Exhibit must be no larger than 24 inches x 24 inches. The exhibit might show a grassland, prairie, agricultural, woodland, riparian (stream or river corridor), wetland, and/or other area with wildlife habitat. Example: show an area interspersed with several habitats such as windbreaks, farm fields, woods, waste areas, ditches, and pastures for edge-adapted species such as white-tailed deer, Northern Bobwhite, Mourning Doves, Cottontail Rabbits, fox, squirrels, Northern Cardinals, or Bluejays. Label the habitats displayed and show at least 5 kinds of wildlife in their proper habitats. Remember to include supporting information about the wildlife and habitat that is on display.
9. *WILDLIFE ESSAY - Learn how to share educational information by writing. Choose a conservation or wildlife topic that interests you and write an essay about it. For example, write about a particular species of wildlife that you have observed or about the values of wildlife. You might write about wildlife on a farm, in town, in a backyard, at a backyard feeder, or at other places. You might write about ethics, proper behavior in the outdoors, hunting, or fishing. The essay is between 100 and 1000 words long and typed, double spaced on 8.5 inch x 11 inch paper. You might use books, magazines, or personal interviews as resources, but you must give credit to all sources by listing them.
10. *WILDLIFE VALUES SCRAPBOOK - Make a scrapbook about the values of wildlife. Value could include aesthetic, scientific, commercial, game, genetic and/or ecological topics.
11. *WILDLIFE ARTS - The purpose of this class is to allow artistic exhibits that contain educational information about conservation and wildlife. Examples might include paintings, photographs, wood carvings, painted duck decoys, or songs or poems written by the 4-H member. Entries must be appropriate for fair display and no larger than 24 inches x 24 inches. For example, paintings or photographs should be displayed in notebook format or mounted on a sturdy display panel.
All entries must include a title and brief explanation of the purpose or message (what is the exhibit meant to show).