U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission

Carbon Monoxide

Poster Contest

Alert! Middle school students wanted! 

Create a cool poster. Warn people about dangers

of poisonous carbon monoxide (CO). 

Stop the invisible killer! Save lives! Win prize money!

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission 

(CPSC) is sponsoring a nationwide carbon 

monoxide safety poster contest to help warn 

people about the dangers of CO. 

Create a poster about the dangers of carbon 

monoxide. Possible topics include:

Facts about CO: You cannot see it or 

smell it. It is an invisible killer; 

What steps you can take to protect 

against CO poisoning;

How to recognize CO exposure 

and symptoms; 

How to install and test CO alarms 

and why they are important. 

Prizes!

Three 6th grade winners: $500 each

Three 7th grade winners: $500 each

Three 8th grade winners: $500 each

One public vote winner: $500

One grand prize winner: An extra 

$1,000 (chosen from the finalists)

Posters will be posted on CPSC’s website and 

social media sites! Vote for your favorite! 

Who Can Enter?

The contest is open to U.S. residents in grades 

six, seven, or eight. Posters must be created 

by the middle school student, on the student’s 

own, without help from family, friends or others.

Children of CPSC employees are not eligible 

to enter. 

Important: To enter your poster into the 

contest, we need your parent or guardian to fill 

out an application form and submit the Contest 

Submission and Parental Consent Form along 

with your poster. You can find this form at 

www.cpsc.gov/COcontest.

Note for Middle School Teachers:

The poster contest is a fun and educational 

science or art project for your students. If 

teachers wish to submit posters from 

students, teachers must have parents 

sign the Contest Submission and Parental 

Consent Form for their child and submit 

those forms with the posters.
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission

Carbon Monoxide Poster Contest

How to Enter: 

Ask your parent or guardian for permission 

to enter the poster contest. 

If your parent or guardian says “yes,” 

have your parent or guardian fill out the 

Contest Submission and Parental Consent 

Form. THIS IS IMPORTANT! You can find this 

form at www.cpsc.gov/COcontest.

Scan your (1) poster and your (2) 

Contest Submission and Parental Consent 

Form as jpg or pdfs. Jpgs are preferred. Each 

file must be no larger than 1MB, if possible. 

Submit your poster and Contest Submission 

and Parental Consent Form to the contest online at: 

www.cpsc.gov/COcontest. Only one entry per person, please.

Poster Guidelines: Artwork must be created solely by the 

student and must be original work by the child entering the contest. 

Artwork cannot have been submitted for a previous CPSC poster 

contest or previously published. Submitted artwork may not contain 

any elements that violate a third party’s copyright or trademark 

rights. To maintain privacy, entrants should not put their name 

or any personal information on the poster. If there is identifying 

information on the poster, CPSC will remove the information before 

posting. Do not use CPSC’s logo or seal on the poster.

Deadline for Entries: Participants may submit entries to CPSC 

between July 14, 2014 and February 27, 2015. Only one poster 

per child may be submitted, and all entries must be received no 

later than February 27, 2015.

Judging Criteria and Prizes: Posters will be evaluated on:

CO safety message clarity;

Visual appeal; 

Design originality

For each grade level, three finalists will be selected. One 

additional winner will be chosen by a public vote on CPSC’s 

website. One grand prize winner will be chosen from all 10 

finalists. The parents/guardians of the winners will be notified by 

telephone or by e-mail on or about May 1, 2015. All decisions by 

the judges are final.

For Students: Make sure to look at CPSC’s Web page on carbon 

monoxide dangers at: www.cpsc.gov/CO. Remember–this 

contest is about CO, which stands for carbon monoxide, which 

is dangerous. This contest is NOT about CO2

, which stands for 

carbon dioxide and which is in the air we breathe. In addition, 

take a look at the winning posters from our last contest at: 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRS04YjEdHQ. 

For Teachers: You can also submit posters to 

the contest that are created by your students. 

This would make a great classroom project. 

Just make sure to SUBMIT, along with the 

artwork, a completed Contest Submission 

and Parental Consent Form for each student 

from each student’s parent or guardian. 

Only one submission per student. All entries 

must be submitted online at our website:

www.cpsc.gov/COcontest. We are not

accepting hard copies of posters this year.

Legal Stuff: The complete contest 

rules and legal requirements are at: www.

cpsc.gov/COcontest. By submitting an entry to the Contest, 

each contestant, and each contestant’s parent or guardian, 

acknowledges reading the contest rules, confirms the contestant’s 

eligibility to participate in the contest, and acknowledges the 

contestant’s agreement to be bound by the contest rules. 

Contest Questions & Inquiries: 

For questions, contact CPSC at: COContest@cpsc.gov

Poster Submission Checklist:

Did you remember to....

Make sure your poster meets all contest rules.

Ask your parent or guardian if you can enter 

the contest.

Did your parent or guardian fill out and sign the 

Contest Submission and Parental Consent Form? 

You can find this form at www.cpsc.gov/COcontest.

Attach (1) your poster, and (2) your signed Contest 

Submission and Parental Consent Form to your 

entry form at: www.cpsc.gov/COcontest.

Make sure you do not include any identifying 

information about yourself on your poster. That 

means no name and no personal information to 

protect your privacy. 

Do not use CPSC’s logo or seal.

Scan your poster and save it as 

a jpg or pdf.

Submit your poster by the 

contest deadline of 

February 27, 2015.