Conducted in cooperation with the People’s Republic of China, the Michigan 4-H China Project is a global education program that allows youth to explore another culture while communicating with their peers across the globe through visual letters.

The Michigan 4-H Children' WechatIMG846.jpegs Art Exchange China Project, conducted in cooperation with the People’s Republic of China, is a global education program that often uses the arts for both in-school and after-school learning experiences. More than 300,000 Michigan youth have participated in this project. Michigan Kindergarteners-to-sixth-graders can:

  • Learn of the many similarities between their lives and the lives of their counterparts halfway around the world
  • Gain a sense of being part of one world, whether they live in a Michigan county or in province of China.
  • Have significant learning experience that includes language, social studies, natural science and the arts.

Why should Michigan youth be involved?

  • To develop awareness, understanding and appreciation of other cultures that will last a lifetime.
  • China is an important country with one-fifth of the world’s population; it is the third largest country in the world.
  • Chinese culture is more than 3,500 years old—the oldest in the world—rich in the arts, science, and philosophy.
  • China is home to the fastest-growing economy in the world.

4-H Children’s Art Exchange and Teaching Kits

Program participants are invited to send “visual letters” to children their own ages in China. Teaching kits are available to facilitate teaching about China and about making art. Each teaching kit is unique and consists of nine or ten original pictures by Chinese children, a study guide and a description of the pictures that come with the kit. A selection of Michigan artwork is then sent to China as a gift to the children of China. An announcement about the art exchange is sent to county MSU Extension offices in the fall. The deadline for submitting artwork to the State 4-H International Exchange Programs Coordinator is in the spring. The 4-H Children’s Art Exchange kits are available for year-round use. Contact your county MSU Extension office to borrow materials and learn more.

Discover Chinese Dance Activity Kit for K-6th graders

This kit is filled with silk dance costumes, papier-mâché masks, rice straw hats, ribbon sticks and music for the Chinese Children’s Ribbon Dance. The materials help young people learn about classical and folk dance in China. This kit has been retired and only available per special request to State Program Coordinator Jan Brinn brinn@msu.edu.

Contact

For more information on how to get involved as a youth or volunteer, contact your county MSU Extension office or

Jan Brinn
Phone: 269-673-0370
Fax 269-673-7005
Email: brinn@msu.edu

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