In 1902, several individuals started an organization that emphasized the head, heart, hands and health. Those four H's are about to be joined by another — hundred.

4-H, the popular youth education program, is celebrating its centennial. Penn State's Special Collections Library is commemorating the occasion with a new exhibit, The Power of Youth: 100 Years of 4-H, on display through April 5.

The exhibit displays numerous publications and other memorabilia used by Pennsylvania 4-H clubs throughout the past century. Although many of the items are several decades old, they're in fantastic shape, said University Archivist Jackie Esposito.

"The archives store things in acid-free folders and acid-free boxes," Esposito said. "This slows down the deterioration process." What's included in the exhibit goes far beyond simple fliers, she said.

"The exhibit has a bit of everything," Esposito said. "There are photographs of 4-H members. There's a song written by Fred Waring for 4-H. The score is there."

The exhibit serves as an educational tool, not just in regard to 4-H, but also for Pennsylvania, Esposito said. "You learn lots of little things like the No. 1 cash crop in the state of Pennsylvania is mushrooms," Esposito said. "We wouldn't know that or necessarily expect that."

Esposito said the library's goal is to show not just 4-H's history but also its transition from a club with a rural focus to a club that today aims to serve all spectrums of society.

"What I think is interesting is to compare the program materials from the teens or '20s to the program materials of today," she said. "The progression from one era to another is fascinating. For instance, at the beginning of the (20th) century, there weren't a lot of automobiles, so automotive mechanics is different. On the other hand, the guides for food preparation or animal care really haven't changed much at all. Some of the animal care has changed. We have different methods for how they're bred or how they're cared for. But most of it has stayed the same. That's what's interesting — what's stayed the same and what's changed in 50, 60 years," Esposito said.

Blannie Bowen, professor of agricultural education and external education, said 4-H today is as relevant as ever. "It's timeless. It's priceless. The subject matter tends to go, but the skills . . . that's what's really important and what 4-H is really about," Bowen said. "It's youth development and teaching them life skills — how to organize, how to speak in public."

4-H is celebrating its centennial this weekend in Washington, D.C., with its National Conversation on Youth Development in the 21st Century, said Christie Phillips, 4-H's senior vice president and chief marketing officer.

"We have about 1,200 people — 50 percent youths, 50 percent adults — for a summit on communities and young people," Phillips said. "We organized earlier on a county and then a state level and now we'll develop an action plan on youth development, which we'll present to President Bush and his Cabinet on April 9."

Phillips said Penn State President Graham Spanier deserves credit for 4-H's presence. "Because Graham Spanier is president at a land-grant university, he's at the forefront of children's education in communities," she said. "He's made a huge commitment to young people."

Esposito said that whether people have been members or not, 4-H has meant something to everybody in Pennsylvania.

"4-H touched everyone's home, everyone's farm, everyone in the state," she said. "It's a great social history. It really does tell the history of Pennsylvania."