Annie Velter » Things You Can Do

The Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes

Annie Velter — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 11:00:08 +0000

The Glacier Lily, the first plant to resurface after a destructive event high in the Rocky Mountains is the emblem of the Barron Prize. Photo by Wildphotons.

“The Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes is an annual award that honors outstanding young leaders who have made a significant positive difference to people and our planet. Each year, the Barron Prize selects ten winners nationwide. Half of the winners have focused on helping their communities and fellow human beings; half have focused on protecting the health and sustainability of the environment. Since its founding, the

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The State Fish Art Project

Gudrun — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 11:00:36 +0000

Wildlife Forever is a national conservation organization with grassroots projects in nearly every U.S. state. Its mission is “to conserve America’s wildlife heritage through conservation education, preservation of habitat and management of fish and wildlife,” and it is celebrating the 12th year of its conversation education program The State-Fish Art Project. The website offers a free lesson plan called Fish ON! for students in grades 4-12. You just have to email them to get your copy. Wildlife Forever recommends studying the lesson plan, then creating a piece of art for their national contest. The deadline is March 31st, so get

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Kids Are Authors

Annie Velter — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 11:00:56 +0000

Since I love writing, I thought I’m tell you about this annual writing contest for kids. It’s by Scholastic, and it’s open to grades K-8. The idea is to create a picture book, in a team of 3 kids, that’s 21-29 pages long. There has to be an adult Project Coordinator to help learn about other picture books and to help send everything in correctly, and the deadline is March 15, 2010. It may be too late to get your teacher to help you with it, but if you’re driven, maybe you ask a parent, or even a counselor at

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Kids’ Science Challenge

Annie Velter — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 11:00:47 +0000

photo by tux96

The Kids’ Science Challenge is a competition for 3rd to 6th graders put on by Pulse of the Planet. There are three contests, to come up with great new ideas in the fields of Sports on Mars, (forensic) Science, and Bio-Inspired Designs. You can work alone or in a team, and there are explanations of the contests and great resources on the Kids’ Science Challenge Website. You have to have your parents permission of course, and the deadline is February 28th, 2010! It’s amazing what can be done in four weeks, so don’t let the tight deadline

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Join Roots & Shoots

Annie Velter — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 11:00:50 +0000

Jane Goodall is a scientist who spent the better part of her life studying chimpanzees in Gombe National Park, which is a chimpanzee habitat not far from where Gam lives and studies her fish. In 1991, Jane Goodall founded the Roots & Shoots program with a group of 16 Tanzanian students, and it has been a great opportunity for kids to get involved ever since.

Roots & Shoots is a project based program for kids to learn about issues in their local communities and work to make them better. The projects are focused on helping people, animals, and nature. There’s a

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National Geographic Ocean Flag Design Contest

Annie Velter — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 14:30:34 +0000

Image by Hackshaven

This is a design contest open to 8-14 year old kids. Design a flag that represents ocean exploration and the protection of ocean ecosystems, then write an essay that describes your design, under 250 words (that’s like a page, double spaced). Then mail it to National Geographic in Washington D.C., the postmark on your entry must be no later than February 20, 2010. The winning design will become a real flag on the National Geographic Ocean Now expedition ship. The winner will also receive a patch of their design, and an assortment of National Geographic books and

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Lunch, Roar & Score

Annie Velter — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 11:00:26 +0000

photo by Brenden Delzer, brenden on flickr.com

Lunch, Roar & Score – Win an Animal Planet Adventure with TV personality Jeff Corwin!

If you eat Kraft Lunchables, you can find a number on the packaging to enter into the website and see if you’ve won. And of course there are directions on how to enter without buying their product as well, see the fine print at the bottom of the screen.

You have to be a kid to enter, age 6 – 17, and even the smaller prizes look fun. Even if you don’t want to enter, there’s a neat “Animal Mix-Up”

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