2001 NORTHWEST REGIONAL MEETING  OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY JUNE 14-17, 2001 Hosted by Seattle University, Seattle, Washington

ACS letter of invitation to Chemagination 2025

March 9, 2001

Dear Chemistry Teacher,

Challenge your students to think about how chemistry can shape the future!  As part of the 56th Northwest Regional Meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS) that will be held in Seattle, Washington, the ACS Office of Community Activities invites your students to participate in Chemagination 2025.  This is a science essay and poster competition for area high school chemistry students.  We are asking students in grades 9-12 to look into the future and predict a chemistry-related breakthrough or innovation that will occur by 2025, which will have a significant effect on the lives of teenagers.

Entries for this contest will be written as articles that could appear in the October 2025 issue of ChemMatters magazine, the American Chemical Society’s flagship publication for high school students.  Students will have the opportunity to present their articles along with a visual representation of them to a blue ribbon panel of judges on Friday, June 15, 2001 from 1:30 PM to 3:30 PM at Seattle University in Washington, with awards ceremony immediately following.  The enclosed copy of ChemMatters magazine will help your students visualize the type of publication that would feature the articles.

This participation packet contains all the information necessary for your students to enter the contest.  We ask that you notify us of your intent to participate by filling out the enclosed form and returning it to us by April 30, 2001.  Completed articles will be due to the Office of Community Activities on May 18, 2001.  To be eligible for prizes, students must bring the visual display to the ACS Regional Meeting on June 15, 2001.

There will be one prize awarded in each of the four categories, and judges will select a Grand Prize winner. Each student on the Grand Prize winning team will receive a $250 Savings Bond.  The teacher of the Grand Prize winning students will receive $1000 from Zymogenetics to purchase biotechnology related science equipment for the classroom.  Prizes will be awarded to the students winning each category as well as the students’ teachers.  For an updated listing of the category prizes, please visit the website of the 56th Northwest Regional Meeting, http://www.chem.plu.edu/norm/  later this spring.

I hope you will be able to join us in this exciting opportunity for your students!

Sincerely,
 

Kathleen Thompson
Manager, Office of Community Activities

General Contest Information

Background

Chemagination 2025 is a science essay competition for high school chemistry students.  The competition will be held during the 56th Northwest Meeting at Seattle University, Washington.  The purpose of this initiative is to provide a forum for engaging and rewarding high school students who can envision significant contributions chemistry can make to the quality of life in 2025 and beyond.

Tie-In to National Standards

The Content Standards of the National Science Education Standards support a multidisciplinary perspective and encourage teachers to provide the opportunities for integrated approaches to science teaching.  In particular, the History and Nature of Science Standards support the need of students to understand that “science reflects its history and is an ongoing, changing enterprise.”  Engaging your students in this project will give them the opportunity to see that science is a human endeavor which incorporates the ability to ask questions, think critically and logically, make decisions based on data, and communicate scientific arguments.

Eligibility

Chemagination 2025 is open to all high schools in the area.  To compete, students in grades 9-12 work in teams of up to four persons to write a magazine article for the October 2025 issue of ChemMatters magazine. The topic of the article will be a chemistry breakthrough or innovation that will have a significant effect on a teenager’s life in the year 2025.   The focus of the innovation must be on one of the following: medicine/healthcare; biotechnology; new materials; or transportation/the environment. (See Contest Rules for more details.)

Entering the Contest

To participate in the region-wide competition, each school will send up to four articles (one in each category) to be judged at the upcoming 56th Northwest Regional Meeting.  An entry form is enclosed in this folder.

About the American Chemical Society

The American Chemical Society is the world’s largest scientific society, representing over 163,000 chemical scientists worldwide.  The Society is a leading source of chemistry curricula and activities for students, teachers, parents, and others.  Included in the Society’s services to members and the public are workshops, scholarly publishing, meetings, and community programs such as National Chemistry Week and Chemagination 2025.

Judging

Judging will take place during the 56th Northwest Regional Meeting on Friday, June 15, 2001 from approximately 1:30 PM to 3:30 PM at Seattle University, Washington.  Students may arrive at 11:30 am to set up their poster displays.  The awards ceremony will be held at 4:00 PM.  For presentation and judging, teams must create a poster that presents the cover of the October 2025 issue of ChemMatters along with all of the pages of the article.  At least one member of the team must accompany the poster and the article to the meeting in Seattle to be eligible for prizes. Poster should fit easily in a 4’ x 8’ space.  Team members will be interviewed and have an opportunity to describe their ideas to the judges.  Three-dimensional models cannot be accommodated.

Prizes

There will be one prize awarded in each of the four categories, and judges will select a Grand Prize winner.  Each student on the Grand Prize winning team will receive a $250 Savings Bond.  The teacher of the Grand Prize winning students will receive $1000 from Zymogenetics to purchase biotechnology related science equipment for the classroom.  Prizes will be awarded to the students winning each category as well as the student’s teachers.  For an updated listing of the category prizes, please visit the website of the 56th Northwest Regional Meeting, http://www.chem.plu.edu/norm/  this spring.

In addition, all articles entered in the contest will undergo editorial review for possible inclusion in ChemMatters magazine.

If you would like additional information please contact Marisa Burgener, at 800/227-5558, ext. 4458, or email m_burgener@acs.org.

How to Participate – Educator’s Guide

1. Reserve your place in Chemagination 2025.

Please complete the enclosed Intent to Participate form and send it by mail or fax no later than April 30, 2001 to:

American Chemical Society
Office of Community Activities – Chemagination 2025
1155 16th Street, NW
Washington DC  20036
Fax: 202-833-7722

2. Launch the contest in your school.

Alert other teachers, science club advisors, and students in grades 9-12 to the contest.  The poster included in this folder can help in encouraging widespread participation.  You may photocopy the Contest Rules and Judging Criteria forms for distribution to the students.

3. Select the four top entries from your school.

Oversee the formation of student teams and category selection.  Advise the students on their projects.  After all of the teams have written their articles select the best articles, one per category.  Review the rules to be certain all students meet the qualifications.  After your have decided which articles will represent your school, you are ready to complete the Entry Form and officially enter the contest.

4. Complete the Entry form and submit the articles you wish to enter.

Your completed Entry Form, accompanied by 2 copies of each article your school is submitting, must be received by the American Chemical Society at the above address not later than May 18, 2001.  Please send only the articles and entry form.  Students will bring the poster to Seattle for display and judging. Remember you need not enter every category, but you must provide all the information requested for each category you enter.

5. Attend the ACS Meeting on June 15, 2001.

In order to qualify for a prize, at least one member of each competing team must attend the judging at the ACS meeting in Seattle on June 15, 2001.  For presentation and judging, a poster that presents the cover of the October 2025 issue of ChemMatters and all of the pages of the article must accompany each entry.  The pages must accompany each entry.  The pages must fit a 4’ x 8’ presentation area on a standing poster display board.  Team members will be responsible for the set-up and teardown of their entries.  Winners will be announced on June 15, 2001 at a ceremony that will take place following the judging at Seattle University.

Important Dates to Remember:

April 30, 2001 Send Intent to Participate form to ACS.
May 18, 2001 Send Entry Form and four top articles to ACS.
June 15, 2001 Chemagination 2025 judging in Seattle.
 

UPDATED INFORMATION

The Regional ACS section is seeking additional funding to expand the awards so that we can offer Savings Bonds awards in all four categories of the Chemagination.   At this point (April 5, 2001) we have raised additional funding that allows us to provide a total of 3 team awards at $250/student – stay tuned.