What is National Chemistry Week?
National Chemistry Week (NCW) is an annual community based program of the American Chemical Society (ACS) with one common goal: to promote the value of chemistry in everyday life by communicating the importance of chemistry to our quality of life.
Celebrate National Chemistry Week 2020 October 18–24, 2020 with the theme, “Sticking with Chemistry.”
Please visit our EVENTS page for our sponsored local event information.
To find more National Chemistry Week Events, visit the ACS events finder.
Take Part in the NCW 2019 Illustrated Poem Contest!
HOW TO ENTER
All illustrated poems must first be judged at the local level in order to be considered for the national contest. Local coordinators carry out contests and judge the entries within their local sections. These local first-place winners can then advance to the national contest. Please contact the local section NCW Coordinator for local contest deadlines and submission information.
Our Local Section: Lehigh Valley (L318) Local Section
Section Coordinator: Dr. Lindsey A Welch
Judging is performed according to the following grade level categories:
- K-2
- 3-5
- 6-8
- 9-12
Schools, child care centers, youth clubs and scout troops, and other local organizations may sponsor a contest in addition to submitting entries as a group. Please contact the Local Section Coordinator above if you are interested in sponsoring a contest or submitting group entries.
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PRIZES
Local winners advance to the national contest for a chance to win cash prizes. ACS will award $300 to first-place and $150 to second-place national contest winners in each of the four grade categories!
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RULES
NOTE: The contest rules have been updated to include digitally created art and digital submissions. Please read the following rules carefully.
- All poems must be no more than 40 words, and in one of the following styles to be considered: Haiku, Limerick, Ode, ABC poem, Free verse, End rhyme, and Blank verse.
- Entries are judged based upon relevance to and incorporation of the NCW theme, word choice and imagery, colorful artwork, adherence to poem style, originality and creativity, and overall presentation.
- All entries must be original works without aid from others. Poems may be submitted by hand on an unlined sheet of paper not larger than 11” by 14” or scanned and sent via email. Illustrations may be created using crayons, watercolors, other types of paint, colored pencils, or markers. The illustration may also be electronically created by using a digital painting and drawing app on a computer, tablet, or mobile device. The text of the poem should be easy to read and may be typed before the hand-drawn or digital illustration is added, or the poem may be written on lined paper, which is cut out and pasted onto the unlined paper with the illustration. No clipart or unoriginal images can be used.
- Only one entry per student will be accepted; all entries must include an entry form. If the illustration is created using a digital painting or drawing app, the name of the program must be included on the entry form.
- All illustrated poems and/or digital representations of the poems become the property of the American Chemical Society.
- Acceptance of prizes constitutes consent to use winners’ names, likenesses, and entries for editorial, advertising, and publicity purposes.
For examples, please visit the NCW 2019 Illustrated Poetry Contest Winners’ page.
