Contest To Celebrate Wonders Of Chemistry (NAPSA)—If your kids have ever watched a movie or TV show and asked, “Wow, how did they do that?” they may be interested to learn that many seemingly magical special effects are really chemistry at work. You can help children learn more about chemistry and special effects by participating in National Chemistry Week (NCW) 2010. As part of this year’s cele- bration, the American Chemical Society (ACS) is hosting a national poster contest for kids from kindergarten to 12th grade. Invite students to create a poster that celebrates the theme “Behind the Scenes with Chemistry.” The poster should be fun, motivational and inspire students to learn how costume designers, makeup artists, graphic artists and special effects technicians use chemistry to create the special effects that make movies and TV shows so much fun to enjoy! First- and second-place prizes for the best posters will be awarded in the following categories: grades to 2, 3 to 5, 6 to 8, and 9 to 12. Thefirst-place prize is $100 and second-placeis $50. Contest Rules All entries must be original works without aid from others and must be no larger than 14 x 22 inches. Entries must be hand drawn using crayons, paint, colored pencils or markers. Judging Entries will be evaluated based on artistic merit (use of color, quality of drawing, poster design and layout), poster message (should be fun, motivational and A poster contest invites children to celebrate the role chemistry plays in television and movie special effects. promote chemistry’s important role in life), originality, creativity and neatness. Anyone can join in the celebration of NCW 2010 and get ready to celebrate the International Year of Chemistry 2011 (IYC 2011) byvisiting www.acs.org/iyc2011. Here are some simple things children can do at homeor in the classroom. Using household chemicals, they can create: Fake snow or fog that will fool their friends Paper that changes color before their eyes Fake blood that looksreal. To find out how to make these special effects, go to www.acs.org/ new. Families can also attend a Science Caf to learn more about the wonders of chemistry and how they are used to produce movies and TV shows. Go to www.acs.org/new to find a Science Caf event near you.
