International artwork and letter writing competitions

SPACE MAIL DELIVERY SERVICE

Designed to represent student dreams and aspirations of a future environmentally friendly World. Winning artworks and letters will fly aboard NASA Space shuttle STS-120 and on their return be presented to the Prime Minister of Australia by Astronauts Commander Pamela Melroy and Dr Scott Parazynski and the winning students.

Theme: Our Future Our Earth

Aims

Space Mail aims are to give students the opportunity to participate in an education program that enables them to express their thoughts and feelings about environmental issues and a chance to show their interests and talents outside the traditional academic areas. Students will compete within three different grade levels; years 3-6, 7-9 and 10-12. The winners from each grade level in both the stamp artwork and letter writing competition will fly into space aboard STS-120 and on their return will be presented to the Prime Minister of Australia.

STAMP ARTWORK COMPETITION

Students in grades 3 to 6 will design a stamp with an International environmental theme and describe within 50 words what their artwork illustrates.

LETTER WRITING COMPETITION

Students from grades 7 to 12 will submit a single sided A4 letter that best describes their dreams and aspirations of a future environmentally friendly world. All letters are to be addressed to the Australian Prime Minister.

Our Future Our Earth provides students with the opportunity to:
 

• Select elements of nature that have visual appeal

• Search for symbols to represent the theme of space

• Develop skills in planning and capturing an image

• Initiate and perfect photographic skills

• Develop an idea into a completed work

• Improve the ability to evaluate their own work

Teachers and Parents

Have the opportunity to involve students in an exciting and educational program to:

• Stimulate their thinking in different ways of representing a particular theme

• Encourage students to explore art as a means of personal communication and expression

• Stimulate their interest in the use of sequences of drawings to convey a message

• Prompt students to investigate their contemporary world and imaginary dreams

• Encourage self-direction when students are making choices about their work

Overview

Competition commences on April 2nd and closes on July 27th 2007.
Send all entries to YASSA, PO Box 572, Winston Hills, NSW 2453

The program will run in six phases:

Phase one: Students to complete their work and submit work to their individual schools.

Phase Two: Individual schools to select the best in each category and submit to their State Science Teachers Association.

Phase Three: Each Science Teachers Association submits the best three entries in each grade level  to Young Astronauts Space Schools Australia (YASSA) for final judging.

Phase Four: YASSA expert selection panel will select the five best letters and five best stamps.

Phase Five: YASSA will submit the winning entries to NASA Astronauts, Commander Pamela Melroy and Dr Scott Parazynski who will then take them into space aboard STS-120.

Phase Six: On their return to earth the NASA Astronauts and the winning students will then present their entries to the Prime Minister of Australia.

Awards

• National winners will personally present their winning entries to the Prime Minister of Australia

• Each national winner will receive a unique NASA montage

• NASA Astronauts will visit winning students individual schools to personally present their montage

• All national winners will receive a personal invitation to witness their work launched into space aboard shuttle STS-120

• Best three winning state and territories entries will each receive an Authentic STS flight mission patch and specially signed photo’s of NASA Astronauts Commander Pamela Melroy and Dr Scott Parazynski

• All schools who enter the competition will automatically go into a draw to win a school visit from a Astronaut

• Winners to be announced during the AISS to be held in Canberra July 2007

2007 School Registration Form

Space Mail Registration form.doc