Hannah Meiergerd had a deal with her parents.
They’d get her a hamster if the poster she made about proper care of these animals earned a purple ribbon at the Nebraska State Fair.
So in 2022, the Fremont girl made a detailed poster.
She earned a purple ribbon and Hannah — a member of the DC Clovers 4-H Club — got a teddy bear hamster named Ziggy.
“He’s really cute and he does really cute things,” she said.
On Thursday, Hannah was among other youth who helped judges of the Static Exhibits at the Fremont 4-H Expo. The 93rd annual expo, which serves youth in a nine-county area, is underway at Christensen Field in Fremont. It continues through Saturday and is expected to draw between 400 and 500 exhibitors.
Jamie Poppe, coordinator of Static Exhibits for the expo, said this year’s event has about 600 entries, which include homemade food and clothing, photography, artwork, horticulture and science and technology projects.
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Poppe said 4-H’ers ages 5 to 18 are participating in the event, which showcases their work and helps them prepare for their own county’s fair.
By having their works evaluated, the 4-H’ers can earn awards and learn via the judge’s comments how to make their projects better.
Poppe has good memories of her times as a 4-H’er. She was 16 when she made a sensory table with little boats and sand shovels. Her project was selected to go to the Nebraska State Fair, where she earned a purple ribbon for it.
Now a kindergarten teacher at Trinity Lutheran School in Fremont, Poppe has incorporated that sensory table in her classroom.
“The best part is that it is something I can use again,” she said.
Poppe also said she learned leadership and problem-solving skills through 4-H.
“If a project doesn’t work out, you learn how you can problem solve to make it the best it can be,” Poppe said.
As she looked back, Hannah said she enjoyed making her prize-winning poster about hamsters. The 11-year-old girl appreciates the opportunities it gave her to learn about these animals and to share that knowledge.
“You learn a bunch of facts about them and then you can teach others,” she said.
Hannah said she’d like to be a teacher or a nurse when she grows up.
“I’m really good at teaching kids and I really want to be a nurse, because I love helping people,” she said.
In the meantime, Hannah has entered a diagram of a tree in the 2023 expo competition. She also entered photos she took at a botanical garden. She hopes to do well.
“I hope I get ‘Grand Champion’ or something really good,” Hannah said.
Hannah spent Thursday morning taking recently judged entries from the Fremont Friendship Center to the multipurpose room for display.
In the Friendship Center, Mary Loftis, a retired 4-H associate from Burt County, was busy judging home environment projects. She describes these projects as “anything you would decorate your home with.”
When judging, Loftis looks for creativity, excellent workmanship and how well 4-H’ers completed their information forms.
“This catches my eye,” Loftis said while looking at a colorful string artwork. “For an 11-year-old to do string art, it is challenging.”
Loftis later said the quality of entries for the expo was good and that she enjoys judging.
“I like being able to see what 4-H’ers from other counties come up with for exhibits on a smaller scale than the state fair,” Loftis said. “It’s a good warmup for the county fair.”
The expo continues with various shows including: the 4-H Beef Show at 9 a.m. and Dairy Show, 4 p.m., Friday, July 14; and 4-H Swine Show, 8 a.m. Saturday, July 15 at Christensen Field.