Calling all artists – cartoonists, videographers, t-shirt designers, and everyone in between! We have the challenge… er, challenges… for you! The Art Challenges are officially open.

If you’ve participated in the Art Challenges in the past, we have some new features this year. First, all submissions will be entered online at onairschools.org. Just log into your OnAir account and invite students to OnAir so they can upload their submissions. If your students do not have email addresses, you can add them manually. To learn how to invite students, follow the instructions under “Invite Students” here.

The second new feature is that all submissions will be eligible for school-wide voting! OnAir is now open to students in grades K-12 across the USA, and every participant will be able to share their school’s submissions with friends and family to collect votes. The winner from each school will move onto the finals. The top three finalists selected by our panel of judges will be announced on April 11, 2016.

Challenges by Grade Level

If your students are in grades K-5, they qualify for the Cartoon Challenge! In this challenge, students create a Clean Air Hero and showcase the adventures she, he or it takes to save our air. Check out one of last year’s winners here.

To get started, encourage your students to brainstorm their story, and practice creating their hero or heroine before tackling their full cartoon. This video is a great intro to creating a cartoon character.

If you teach grades 6-8, your students qualify for the Video Challenge! In this challenge, students create a public service announcement (PSA) that illustrates how everyday people can be clean air heroes in our world. PSAs can take any form – a song, a skit, a rap, or a poem. The sky’s the limit! Videos should relate to one or more of the following actions: riding the bus, walking, biking, public transit, carpooling, combining car trips, or not idling.

See last year’s awesome winners here!

Finally, if you teach grades 9-12, your students qualify for the T-shirt Challenge! T-shirt designs can be hand-drawn or digitally-produced, or a combination of the two. All entries will need to be uploaded as an image via the OnAir website. This creative design won last year’s contest.

Dates to Remember for ALL Art Challenges:

Remember! All submissions must be received by February 29, 2016 to be eligible for voting. School voting will begin on March 1 and end on March 15, 2016.

Best of luck, and we can’t wait to see your students’ creativity shine!