K-12 California State Parks Week Poster Contest

Contest Guidelines

1. This contest is open to California residents currently enrolled in grades K-12. There are five grade categories for awards: K-1, 2-3, 4-6, 7-9, and 10-12. Each category will have a first, second, and third place winner selected. First place prizes will consist of a California Explorer Vehicle Day Use Annual Pass for California State Parks valued at $195, sponsored by the California State Park Foundation. Second place prizes will consist of one of two beautiful, limited-edition art prints inspired by the diverse and stunning nature of California’s parks valued at approximately $75, sponsored by Parks California. Third place prizes will consist of gift bags valued at approximately $25, sponsored by Save the Redwoods League. There will also be two honorable mentions awarded for each grade category. Honorable mention recipients will be awarded a certificate and will be featured, along with other winners and their selected artwork, on the California State Parks Week website, social media platforms, and sponsor sites. All prizes are awarded “as-is”. Prizes may not be substituted for cash. Prizes are non-transferable.
2. To be eligible, entries must have a California State Parks theme. A panel of judges from California State Parks, California State Parks Foundation, Parks California and Save the Redwoods League will evaluate entries in each of the five grade categories based upon the following criteria:(a) Creativity and originality; (b) Representation of California State Parks; (c) Artistic quality and visual impact; and (d) Alignment with contest theme.
3. Artwork must be the student’s original work. Artists should include a short statement of a paragraph or less describing their inspiration for the artwork. If needed, this can be dictated to or translated by the teacher, parent, or other helper. (Please make a note if that’s the case, also include the original text if translated.) Any art entry that has been traced from or is a digital alteration of an existing photo or image that was created by someone other than the student is a violation of the competition rules. AI-generated art submissions violate competition rules. If using an image created by someone else (of an animal, for example) as a model for an art entry, the student’s artwork must be significantly different to avoid plagiarism. The artwork must be an original work, created solely by the student, using their own abilities and creative expression.
4. Original artwork may not exceed 11 x 17 inches in size. Acceptable art media are paint, pencil, markers, ink, crayon, chalk or pastel (fixed), collage, and digital art. Three-dimensional pieces, photography, or art that uses glitter are not eligible.
5. Entries must be uploaded to the poster contest submission portal by 5:00 PM PST on May 9, 2025. A parent or guardian must approve and sign the online submission portal. Winners will be contacted directly and announced on the California State Parks Week website by early June 2025.  California State Parks shall have no liability for a winner’s failure to receive notices due to incorrect or non-functioning contact information. If the selected winner cannot be contacted, is ineligible, fails to claim the prize within 15 days from the time of award notification, or fails to timely return a completed declaration, or refuses to provide the license and art to California State Parks, prizes may be forfeited. The receipt by winners of the prizes offered are conditioned upon compliance with any and all federal, state laws and regulations. ANY VIOLATION OF THESE OFFICIAL RULES BY A WINNER (AT CALIFORNIA STATE PARKS SOLE DISCRETION) WILL RESULT IN SUCH WINNER’S DISQUALIFICATION AS WINNER OF THE CONTEST AND ALL PRIVILEGES AS WINNER WILL BE IMMEDIATELY TERMINATED.
6. Odds: The odds of winning depend on the number of eligible entries received.
7. No Reimbursement: Contestants will not be reimbursed for any costs incurred.
8. Compliance: By participating, contestants agree to comply with all contest rules, federal, state, and local laws and regulations. Contestants further agree to meet all eligibility requirements set forth herein. This contest is void where prohibited. You agree to accept the decisions of California State Parks as final and binding as they relate to this contest.
9. Liability: California State Parks is not responsible for any technical failures, unauthorized human intervention, or other issues that may affect the administration, security, fairness, or proper conduct of the contest. Any entries that are lost, late, fraudulent, incomplete, contain infringing material or otherwise ineligible or impossible to process, will not be considered at the sole discretion of California State Parks.
10. Termination: California State Parks reserves the right to cancel, terminate, or modify the contest if in its sole discretion the contest cannot be conducted as planned due to any reason beyond its control. Any attempt by a contestant to deliberately damage any website or undermine the legitimate operation of the contest may be a violation of criminal and civil laws.
11. Be sure to keep the original artwork. If the artwork is selected as a winner or honorable mention, the original artwork must be mailed to California State Parks by June 6, 2025, Attn: Interpretation and Education Division, PO Box 942896, Sacramento CA 94296-0001. Artwork will be kept by California State Parks to be used by graphic designers and displayed at the Natural Resources Agency headquarters building in Sacramento, CA.
12. Privacy: Other than as specified herein, any personal information collected will be used solely for the purposes of administering the contest and will be handled in accordance with California State Parks’ privacy policy stated on its website.
13. Please use the online submission portal if possible. If digital upload of entries causes a hardship (e.g. if you are a teacher who wants to submit your class’s entries, or you don’t have easy access to scan or photograph your entry), you can submit in one of the following two ways:

• Entries and completed paper Entry Form (English; Spanish) can be carefully photographed and emailed to interpretation.staff@parks.ca.gov by 5:00 PM on May 9, 2025. Be sure to keep the original artwork (see #5 above). Note: a parent or guardian must sign the paper Entry Form.

OR

• Entries can be mailed to California State Parks at PO Box 942896, Sacramento CA 94296-0001. Print out and complete a paper Entry Form in English or Spanish for each entry. Note: a parent or guardian must sign the paper Entry Form. Attach a completed Entry Form and a short Artist’s Statement about the inspiration for the artwork to the back of each piece of artwork with glue or tape. Please do not fold art or use paperclips or staples. Mailed entries must be postmarked no later than May 2, 2025. Multiple entries (whether from one student or from a group) can be sent in one package, but each entry must have its own entry form attached with separate parent or guardian signature where applicable. California State Parks is not responsible for entries that are late, damaged, or lost. ENTRIES WILL NOT BE RETURNED. If you have questions or would like to talk about mailing art, please email interpretation.staff@parks.ca.gov..

For more information, or to request to have an entry form emailed or mailed to you, contact the Interpretation and Education Division of California State Parks at interpretation.staff@parks.ca.gov.

How to Enter

For art entries not created digitally, scan your artwork at 300 dpi or take a photo of the art on a flat surface or wall with good lighting and no shadow, with the camera directly in front of it (not at an angle).

With your parent or guardian, complete the online submission portal, where you will upload your art. If you (the student) are 18 years or older, you can complete the online submission portal yourself. The online submission portal will ask for the following information:

• Your name, age, and grade
• Title of your poster
• The medium used (for example, watercolor, crayon, colored pencil, digital…)
• Measurements of your artwork; the maximum size allowed is 11″x17″
• A short artist’s statement of a paragraph or less.
• Your school’s name and teacher’s name if applicable
• School address, phone number, and teacher’s email if applicable
• Your parent or guardian’s name
• Your mailing address, phone number, and email address for your parent or for you. (Please don’t use a school email if it can’t receive outside messages or if it isn’t regularly checked.)

You must agree to allow California State Parks to use your name and grade level to identify your work. You will be asked whether you allow your city’s name to be publicly shared if you are a winner or honorable mention.

A parent or guardian will digitally sign on your behalf to agree to the following:

Pledge of Originality and Grant of Rights: The artwork (“art”) I am submitting to California State Parks Week is my child’s original work. My child did not trace other artwork or photography, or digitally alter an existing photo or image that was created by someone else. Their art is not AI-generated. If my child used an image created by someone else (a photo of an animal, for example) as a model for the art, my child’s art is significantly different to avoid plagiarism. The art has been created solely by my child, using their own abilities and creative expression. I am digitally signing the online submission portal hereby releasing California State Parks from liability and granting non-exclusive rights to the contest entry/art submitted herewith, meaning that California State Parks may use this art for its own purposes. However, my child shall retain the copyright and is still free to use the art as well. By entering this contest, on behalf of my child, California State Parks, and its respective licensees, are hereby granted a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide, perpetual, irrevocable license to use, display, broadcast, publish, distribute, reproduce and create derivative works from the art on its social media platforms, website, publications, and other promotional materials in any media now known or hereafter developed in connection with California State Parks Week and/or other California State Parks purposes. In the event the art is selected as a winning entry, ownership of the original art will be transferred and delivered to California State Parks but my child will retain copyrights to the art.

Please enter online through the submission portal if possible. If you are not able to do so, you may print out a paper Entry Form and mail it in with your artwork. See #13 of the Contest Guidelines for instructions on how to do that. California State Parks supports equal access. For accommodation requests related to this contest, including alternative format requests, please contact interpretation.staff@parks.ca.gov.