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To celebrate the 60th anniversary of the NASA Dryden Flight Research
Center, NASA education office is sponsoring a poster and essay contest
for students in grades 5-8 and 9-12. Participants will need to select a
research project, or a person who made a significant contribution, or a
technical advancement in NASA Dryden Flight Research Center's history.
Then write an essay and design a poster about this topic. Sample topics
can be found at
[[http://www.dfrc.nasa.gov/history]{.underline}](http://www.dfrc.nasa.gov/history).

## *Contest Rules*

All essays and posters must be delivered on Tuesday, October 24, or
Wednesday, October 25, to the NASA Aerospace Gallery, 38256 Sierra
Highway, Palmdale, between 8:00 am and 4:00 pm. No late entries will be
accepted.

## *Essay Guidelines*

Essays for 9th - 12th grade should be a minimum 1500 words, typed/word
processed, not to exceed 1750 words.

Essays for 5th - 8th grade should be a minimum 1000 words, typed/word
processed, not to exceed 1200 words.

Essays will be judged on the following categories:

Creativity of Topic Selection Focus on Selected Topic Language/Grammar
and Writing Skills

**Essays must include**

-   Cover Page including; name, grade, home address, phone number, word
    count, teacher, school, and school phone number.

-   Why the topic was selected.

-   5^th^ -- 8^th^ Grade Theme: Explain how the topic has had an impact
    on society.

-   9^th^ -- 12^th^ Grade Theme: Explain what technological advancements
    resulted from the subject matter and how those advancements have
    contributed to society.

## *Poster Guidelines*

Posters can be a drawing, painting, collage or any combination of these
or other art forms. Artwork is only limited by the student's
imagination. The posters should be on a standard foam board size of 20 x
30.

Artwork may be flat or 3 dimensional, but all items must be securely
attached to the foam poster board. Posters will be judged on the
following categories:

Creativity Focus on Selected Topic Neatness Originality

Contest Awards

First, second and third place prizes will be awarded for both 5^th^
-8^th^ and 9-12^th^ grade levels.

**First Place Prize** - 1 NASA Flight Jacket w/ personalized name tags,
1 Mahogany painted NASA aircraft model, and 1 NASA aircraft picture
autographed by a NASA Research Pilot.

**Second Place Prize** - 1 NASA Flight Jacket w/ personalized name tags
and 1 NASA aircraft picture autographed by a NASA Research Pilot.

**Third Place Prize** - 1 Mahogany painted NASA aircraft model and 1
NASA aircraft picture autographed by a NASA Research Pilot.

Contest Timeline

**Oct. 24-25 2006**

Essays and Posters should be submitted on October 24 or 25 at the
Aerospace Gallery located at 38256 Sierra Hwy, Suite A, Palmdale,
California, between the hours of 8 am and 4 pm.

**Oct. 26-27 2006**

October 26 and 27 a committee from the Aero Institute/NASA Office of
Academic Investments will screen all essays and posters. The top five
posters/essays from each grade groups will be selected to be on display
at the NASA Dryden Annual Employee Chili Cook-off. All
entries/participants will receive a certificate for participating.

**Oct. 31, 2006**

First, second and third place winners will be determined by employees at
the NASA Dryden Annual Employee Chili Cook-off.

**Nov. 3, 2006**

The Office of Academic Investments will announce winners. They will
notify the winners and their teachers by phone.

**Nov. 4, 2006**

The six winning essay/posters will be on display in the entrance of NASA
Dryden 60^th^ Anniversary Gala Celebration at the Essex House Convention
Center.

**Nov. 7, 2006**

A congratulatory ceremony will be held to publicly announce the winners
and award prizes at 6:30 p.m. in the NASA Aerospace Gallery.

Contact Information

For further questions contact Kimberly Irizarry 661.276.3563

Essay Scoring Rubric

  ------------- --------- ---- ------------------------------------------------------ ---
                                                                                      

                                                                                       

                Score                                                                 

                          \-   Thorough, well-organized beginning, middle, and ending 
                               (conclusion)                                           

  6                       \-   Beginning (introduction) uniquely captures reader\'s    
                               interest                                               

  Exceptional             \-   Middle (body) has specific and illustrative supporting  
                               details                                                

                          \-   Ending (conclusion) is an integral part of the writing  
                               and leaves a powerful or lasting impression            

                          \-   Writer\'s voice apparent in tone, sentence structure    
                               and word choice                                        

                          \-   Almost no errors in mechanics, spelling and usage       

                          \-   Clearly focused, well organized beginning, middle, and  
                               ending                                                 

  5                       \-   Beginning (introduction) creatively captures reader\'s  
                               interest                                               

  Commendable             \-   Middle (body) contains a variety of relevant            
                               supporting details                                     

                          \-   Ending (conclusion) is an integral part of the writing  
                               and provides strong closure                            

                          \-   Precision and variety in sentence structure and word    
                               choice                                                 

                          \-   Few errors in mechanics, spelling and usage             

                          \-   Coherent, focused, well-organized beginning, middle     
                               and ending                                             

  4                       \-   Beginning (introduction) captures reader\'s interest    

  Proficient              \-   Middle (body) contains appropriate, supporting details  

                          \-   Ending (conclusion) is an integral part of the writing  

                          \-   Exhibits appropriate sentence variety and word choice   
                               most of the time                                       

                          \-   Some errors in usage, mechanics, and spelling, but      
                               meaning is not obscured                                

                          \-   Inconsistent organization of beginning, middle and end  
                               (conclusion)                                           

  3                       \-   Beginning (introduction) [may]{.underline} capture the  
                               reader\'s interest                                     

  Basic                   \-   Middle (body) contains supporting details which may     
                               not be sufficiently developed                          

                          \-   Ending (conclusion) is weak or does not adequately      
                               provide closure                                        

                          \-   Limited sentence variety and word choice                

                          \-   Several errors in word usage, mechanics, and spelling   
                               that may obscure meaning                               

  2                       \-   Limited organization of beginning, middle and end       
                               (conclusion)                                           

  Limited                 \-   Beginning (introduction) does not capture the           
                               reader\'s interest                                     

                          \-   Middle (body) contains few supporting details which     
                               are not developed                                      

                          \-   Ending (conclusion) is absent or does not provide       
                               closure                                                

                          \-   Lacks sentence variety and word choice                  

                          \-   Frequent errors in mechanics, usage, and spelling that  
                               obscure meaning                                        

                          \-   Little or no organization                               

  1                       \-   No beginning                                            

  Minimal                 \-   Middle (body) contains no supporting detail             

                          \-   No ending                                               

                          \-   No sentence variety and minimal word choice             

                          \-   Numerous errors which obscure meaning                   

                                                                                      

                                                                                      

                                                                                      
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