As part of the Chemists Celebrate Earth Day activities, the American Chemical Society is sponsoring an illustrated poem contest for students in Kindergarten through 12 grades. Students are asked to write and illustrate a poem using the Chemists Celebrate Earth Week 2021 theme, “Reducing Our Footprint with Chemistry.” This year’s theme looks at how chemistry protects and affects the planet. Our environmental footprint includes the energy, food, water, and materials we use or leave behind. By reducing our footprint, it means we are living more sustainably. Planet Earth provides humans with the natural resources we need to survive and thrive. Chemistry is the science that has helped us use both renewable and nonrenewable resources to transform our lives. Chemists invent and design many of the materials that make items we use every day, from electronics to medicine. Every day, our actions as humans have impacts on the earth and the environment. Some of these actions are beneficial, while others are not. We can each do our own part to protect the planet by making small changes in our lives, like switching to biodegradable plastics and buying less one-time-use stuff. Your illustrated poem should show some of the way’s chemistry is contributing to cleaning our water, reducing waste, and designing sustainable materials.
Detailed rules and guidelines are available on the Chemists Celebrate Earth Day website; https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/education/outreach/ccew/plan-an-event/illustrated-poem-contest.html. All Entries must provide the information that the ACS request via the entry form which is available via the ACS or CSW websites and adhere to the rules set by the ACS. Teachers at schools in the Chemical Society of Washington area are encouraged to have a contest at their school and then submit the winning entries from the school using the ACS online submission forms available on the ACS website (https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/education/outreach/ccew/plan-an-event/illustrated-poem-contest.html). All entries must be received by Sunday, May 2, 2021.
