Don’t Mess with Texas Art Contest for Kids

What:

Texas elementary school students enrolled in kindergarten through fifth grade are invited to participate in the Texas Department of Transportation (“TxDOT”) and Keep Texas Beautiful (“KTB”) (collectively “Sponsors”) Don’t mess with Texas® Elementary School Art Contest (“Contest”) to create artwork for the 2016 Don’t mess with Texas Calendar.

Entries will promote the Don’t mess with Texas and/ or Keep Texas Beautiful litter prevention slogans in order to encourage the protection of our Texas roadways and environment. The purpose of the Contest is to inspire our future leaders to refrain from littering, advocate litter prevention, and keep Texas beautiful.

Designs will be judged based on creativity and uniqueness, inclusion of a litter prevention message and interpretation of theme, overall visual appeal, composition, and age appropriateness. Winners will be announced online in May 2015.

Students who create the top 13 winning designs will have their artwork assigned to a month, or placed on the cover of the 2016 Don’t mess with Texas Calendar. Each will also win an iDeaUSA 8 tablet donated by H-E-B and Central Market. All student winners and runners-up may be showcased on the Don’t mess with Texas and Keep Texas Beautiful websites and social media sites, at the 2015 Keep Texas Beautiful annual conference, in media announcements, and through other means, as appropriate.

Teachers representing students who produce the top 13 designs will each win a $100 H-E-B and Central Market gift card. See Contest Official Rules for details (PDF, 115 KB).

When:

The contest begins January 12, 2015. All entries must be submitted by April 18, 2015. Winners will be announced in early May 2015, and prizes will be distributed by May 22, 2015.

How:

Elementary school teachers across Texas should set aside class time for their students to create artwork appropriate for the 2016 Don’t mess with Texas Calendar. This project can be completed in one day or several days to give students enough time to finish their design. After the students’ artwork is submitted, it will be judged by Keep Texas Beautiful affiliates, teacher volunteers, and graphic design professionals.

Download the full Contest Official Rules (PDF, 115 KB) and Contest Entry Form and Agreement (PDF, 238 KB) for students and parents/guardians, and display a flyer (PDF, 2.5MB) in your classroom or school hallway to create buzz!

Why:

Did you know that Texans ages 16 to 34 are the most likely to litter? We need to do all we can to motivate young Texans to keep our environment free from trash. This contest is a great way to share the Don’t mess with Texas and Keep Texas Beautiful messages with your elementary school students so that they learn good habits from an early age.

The purpose of the contest is to encourage our future leaders to prevent littering, protect our roadways, and keep Texas beautiful. Download a Litter Fact Sheet (PDF, 124 KB) to use during class discussion.

Questions?

Call Keep Texas Beautiful at 1 (800) CLEAN-TX or email info@ktb.org.

Visit the Keep Texas Beautiful website.