2026 Sumter County 4-H Community Innovation Fair

Join Sumter County 4-H and Clemson Extension for a hands-on Community Innovation Fair celebrating youth creativity, literacy, & innovation.
About this Event

Community Innovation Fair

Advocating for Literacy Through Innovation
📅 Oct 3 9 am to 1 pm
📍 Hosted by Sumter County 4-H | Clemson Extension | Community Literacy Lab

The Community Innovation Fair is a countywide celebration of youth innovation, literacy, and problem-solving, bringing together STEM, creativity, and communication skills in one engaging event. Aligned with the South Carolina 4-H STEM Program – 2026, this fair highlights how literacy is essential to innovation, from coding and robotics to visual storytelling and advocacy.

Youth and adult participants will demonstrate their knowledge, creativity, and critical thinking through hands-on challenges and displays that connect reading, writing, and communication to real-world solutions.

Challenge Categories:
Team Challenge

(Teams of 2–4 youth)

• Robotics – Teams design, build, and program a robot to complete an engineering task, applying teamwork, problem-solving, and technical literacy skills.

Team Challenge

(Teams of 2–4 individuals including Family / Community / Nonprofit / Novice Adults 25+, fmailies, mixed-age teams, civic or community participants, and nonprofit organizations.)

• Literacy Posters – Advocacy-focused posters promoting literacy, reading, and learning as tools for innovation. Posters will be displayed throughout the fair as part of the analyzing literacy awareness showcase.

Individual Challenges

(1 youth per entry)

• Coding – Youth showcase computational thinking and digital literacy through a coding challenge or project.
• Visual Arts – Creative works that express innovation, problem-solving, or community impact through art. Youth do not need to be present to participate.
• Literacy Posters – Advocacy-focused posters promoting literacy, reading, and learning as tools for innovation. Posters will be displayed throughout the fair as part of the Sumter County 4-H Engineering Challenge Literacy Showcase.
• Why Participate?

• Builds literacy skills connected to STEM and creativity
• Encourages youth voice and advocacy
• Supports hands-on learning and innovation
• Connects families to Community Litearcy Lab, 4-H and Clemson Extension opportunities

Challenge Resources: https://clemson.box.com/s/2r39qzxlghh29wbc0ebyd99r0phzaoyh

Want to help as a volunteer: Sign up HERE:

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0444A5AC29A1FFC16-64947023-2026

The Community Innovation Fair is more than a competition, it’s a platform for youth to share ideas, tell stories, and inspire change through literacy and innovation.

Contact your local 4-H agent to learn more or if you are interested in forming or joining a team.)

Proceeds will support the local literacy programs with Community Literacy Lab and 4-H youth development.

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Refund statement: Full payment is due upon registration. No refunds will be issued within three weeks of the start of the event.

Current 4-H membership is not required for participation in this event, but you must preregister.

Custodial Care: Please note that this event and its coordinators do not assume custodial care of youth in attendance. Adults (parents, guardians, volunteers, coaches, or chaperones) must be present for the supervision of youth participants.

Civil Rights Statement