AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY SEEKING ENTRIES
FOR 2010 YOUNG NATURALIST AWARDs COMPETITION
Museum Invites Students to Take an Expedition and Enter National Essay Contest
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(HealthNewsDigest.com) – The American Museum of Natural History invites students in grades 7 to 12 to tackle questions about the natural world just as a scientist would—by formulating hypotheses, planning investigations, gathering data—and writing about their findings for the 13th Annual Young Naturalist Awards, a nationwide essay contest for students presented by the Museum and supported by Alcoa Foundation.
The Young Naturalist Awards program was launched by the Museum in 1997 to promote active participation in the sciences and to recognize excellence in the natural sciences: biology, environmental science, Earth science, and astronomy.
Reflecting the Museum’s long history of expedition in pursuit of scientific understanding—from the Gobi Desert in Mongolia to the leaf litter of New York’s Central Park—the competition invites contestants to plan and conduct research about the natural world stemming from their personal interest. Entrants share their data, conclusions, and experiences in essays that describe their observations and findings. Last year’s winners’ research included such diverse topics as the feeding preferences of birds in the Red Oak Nature Center in Aurora, Illinois, the effects of controlled prairie fires on invasive plants in southern Michigan, and the microbes living in coral mucus collected in Hawaii. The 12 winners who demonstrate insight, originality, and accuracy in observation and research as well as creativity in writing and documentation through illustrations and photography will receive free trips to New York City, a behind-the-scenes tour at the Museum with working scientists, and cash awards ranging from $500 to $2,500. In addition, winning contestants will have their essays published on the Museum’s website. The deadline for submissions is March 1, 2010.
The Young Naturalist Awards is a program of the National Center for Science Literacy, Education and Technology (NCSLET), part of the Museum’s Education Department. Founded in 1997, the National Center is dedicated to capturing the Museum’s unparalleled resources—collections, scientific research, and exhibitions—and making them available to the broadest possible audience across the nation and around the world.
“The Young Naturalist Awards is a unique program offered by the Museum that acknowledges young people for their engagement in scientific research,” said Rosamond Kinzler, Director of NCSLET. “In addition to the recognition provided for the 12 winners, every student that enters the contest receives a letter with feedback from the Museum’s expert panel of scientists and educators about their work. And for teachers, the program is a powerful tool they can use to provide their students with direct experiences in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics areas that are essential for standards-based science education.”
The public can visit the Museum’s Young Naturalist Awards Web site, www.amnh.org/yna, to learn more about the program, to download the entry form, and to view winning essays from previous years. For more information, email [email protected], or call (212) 496-3498.
American Museum of Natural History
The American Museum of Natural History is one of the world’s preeminent scientific, educational, and cultural institutions. Since its founding in 1869, the Museum has advanced its global mission to explore and interpret human cultures and the natural world through a wide-reaching program of scientific research, education, and exhibitions. The Museum accomplishes this ambitious goal through its extensive facilities and resources. The institution houses 45 permanent exhibition halls, state-of-the-art research laboratories, one of the largest natural history libraries in the Western Hemisphere, and a permanent collection of more than 30 million specimens and cultural artifacts. With a scientific staff of more than 200, the Museum supports research divisions in Anthropology, Paleontology, Invertebrate and Vertebrate Zoology, and the Physical Sciences. The Museum shares its treasures and discoveries with approximately four million on-site visitors from around the world each year. Its exhibitions and Space Shows can currently be seen in venues on five continents reaching an audience of millions. In addition, the Museum’s website, www.amnh.org, extends its collections, exhibitions, and educational programs to millions more beyond the Museum’s walls.
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