Editor's note: this article was originally posted on Idaho National Laboratory's website.

Idaho National Laboratory’s K-12 Education Program is holding an art competition for local students in recognition of Earth Day. Celebrated on April 22 each year, Earth Day is a global initiative designed to drive change for the planet and to diversify, educate and activate the environmental movement worldwide.

As one aspect of INL’s digital participation in Earth Day, Idaho students are invited to create and submit their artwork to a statewide competition. Any prekindergarten through high school student is eligible to enter their work, and each entry will be displayed on INL’s website. A winner in each category will be recognized on the website and will be awarded a prize based on alignment with the theme and overall presentation.

The categories will be broadly divided by age category: ages 3-5, 6-10, 11-14 and 15-18. Students who prefer to work with friends or siblings may submit artwork to a separate team category. Please limit submissions to one per student or team.

Students may create artwork in any medium (digital, painting, sculpture, textile, etc.) and only submit one image of the final piece. The art should be inspired by Earth Day or by INL’s “creating change for a sustainable future” theme.

To submit, the student, parent or guardian should email the image to stem@inl.gov with the following information by 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, April 21:

• First name(s) of the student (to be displayed on the website)
• Age(s) of the student (to be displayed on the website and chosen category)
• Brief description of the artwork or inspiration, if applicable
• Photograph of the artwork, as high quality as possible

Winners will be announced through INL’s social media accounts by May 1. They will also be contacted directly through the email address provided in the original submission to arrange the delivery of prizes.

To further support families and students learning from home, INL is publishing a hands-on, curriculum aligned lesson plan using only items found around the house. From April 13 through April 24, these lessons will focus on sustainability, environmental science, and other Earth Day-friendly topics. To access these lessons as well as our archive of at-home learning selections, visit our resource library at stem.inl.gov.

For more information on Earth Day and other ways you can participate digitally – both globally and locally – visit earthday.org and http://www.ifearthday.com/.

INL is a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) national laboratory that performs work in each of DOE’s strategic goal areas: energy, national security, science and environment. INL is the nation’s center for nuclear energy research and development. Day-to-day management and operation of the laboratory is the responsibility of Battelle Energy Alliance.

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