Using a Poster Contest to Promote Chemistry Dan M. Sullivan University of Nebraska, Omaha, NE 68182 We often overlook the potential of reaching out to the community around us. We dream of having bright, enthusiastic students, but we expect them to march right into our classrooms each term. Seldom do we believe that we actually need to recruit them. Many of our best students remain unaware of the quality of our offerings until they visit the department. In addition, we often recruit excellent students from among those who come to study biology and physics and only incidentally learn that chemistry is a n interesting and rewarding field of study. In short, prospective students can't use our programs if they are not aware of us. But once in our classrooms, many become fascinated with the beauty of chemistry.
Promoting Chemistry with a Poster Contest Our annual poster contest has been a very popular tool for promotion of chemistry. Each fall, we send a flier describing the contest to high school chemistry teachers, enclosing a poster from the previous year's competition. A portion of this material was presented at the American Chemical Society meeting in Washington, DC. August 29, 1990.
Chemistry Is a Modern Miracle by Melissa Doro, age 14, of Millard North High School, Omaha, NE; teacher: Kay Griffith. Original in green, purple and red.
Teachers welcome the use of a free colorful poster and many keep them from year to year. We enjoy two pieces of advertising: the poster contest itself and the posters that are on display in offices and classrooms. Rules of the contest are simple, but important.
Conducting - a Poster Contest It's often u good idrn to rprelfy a theme for the contest. Smce ours is held i n conjunctwn with Nntmnal Chemistry Weck. l &en use the thmw choren for the week hv the A C S , Specifythe size and type of paper to be used. (Printersaren't working in metric yet, so you might specify 18 in. x 24 in.). Determine the number of colors. Aposter with blue ink on a white background is a two-color poster; red and green on a white background would be a three-color poster. Printing costs rise with the number of colon. Specify that lines be at least 1.5 mm (0.059 in.) wide. Thinner lines are difficultfor printers to separate. Extra colors and thinner lines cost more. M a k e certain that each poster is clearly marked on the back with the artist'sname, telephone number, and address along with the name of the teacher and school. Desimate a location to which ~osterswill he delivered. Pick a set uljudgrs ineludmg some chemists and some aher rndivid~nlswho appreciate science, art, prmtmg, and puhlir relations.
Poster by Shanda Marr, age 14, of Lyons-Decatur Hlgh School. Lyons. NE; teacher: Mary Jane Bell. Original wlth red continents and black background.
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Poster by Ann Nelson, age 15, Millard North High School, Omaha, NE; teacher: Kay Griflith.Grey areas were red in the orignal.
Financing a Poster Contest
Poster by Hoa Vu, age 15, Creighton Prep High School, Omaha. NE; teacher, David Dow. Original in red and black on white. Most students will be happy to have you keep their posters. Some will want them back for other eam~etitions,so it's a ~~~good idea to offerto return them, but charge n one or twu-dolInr handhng fee torovrr expenses. Indicate whert and how the results will he announced. We drrplay all posters and announw the winners at our high school upen hoosc. Many students nnend m order to support their cl&smates or to see the contest results and become interested in the open house. Teachers often support open house activities by giving extra credit for attendance. Include some language to the effect that winning entries will become the property of the Chemistly Department and that the winning posters may be duplicated and distributed. Even in those cases in which, due to high costs or technical difficulties,it is not possible to print posters, the prestige of participation is important to students, and having a winning entry means as much to schools as to student artists. Offer cash prizes for first and second places, but include several "honorable mentiand'. Printed posters should carry a credit to the student, school, and teacher as well as a credit to your department. Some companies will print at law cost as an advertisement. In this case, a credit should be given to the printing company. ~~~
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We offer prizes ranging from $25 to $50 for the runnerup and winner of the contest. The prestige of winning is probably more important than the size of the prize.
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Journal of Chemical Education
Now, here's the part you've probably been wondering about. How is a poster contest financed? There are some incidental costs such as printing and mailing fliers. We stuff our own envelopes and provide postage from departmental funds. We also provide the prize money (typically, a total of $75).Printing costs range from $150 for 500 copies of a n 11 in. x 14 in. two-color to $600 for a three-color 18 in. x 24 in. Once layout and color separation are done, additional copies cost very little. Most colleges and universities have public relations and printing departments. These agencies are usually enthusiastic about helping with projects that make the school look good, and they will often negotiate with printers, who may quote lower rates if they are credited on the poster. Sometimes alumni or the local section of the American Chemical Society will help with funding. In my opinion, it isn't really a s hard to find a way to print the posters a s it is to plan and conduct the contest, and even if you don't print and distribute posters, you can get a great deal of good publicity for a few dollars a s well as having beautiful posters to display.
Seeing Your Department in a New Light
As educators, we're all interested in promoting chemistry. We want to attract high quality students and to encourage them to study chemistry I believe that publicity and outreach are our responsibility as surely as teaching. And guess what happens as we begin to tell students how good our departments are? Individual faculty members rise to the occasion and begin to look closely a t the quality of their service as well a s ways in which programs can be improved. A chemistry poster contest can go a long way toward making prospective students, the public, and your administration see your department in a new light.
