Have your kid make art about plants, win a cool 1K

One of the many class acts in St. Louis is sponsoring an important new youth art contest with something approaching real prize money attached to it.

Meet the Missouri Botanical Garden’s "Power of Plants" contest, which is open to individuals and groups in kindergarten through twelfth grades who reside in Missouri or Illinois.

Students are challenged to pick a plant that does great things for people and tell its story through a two- or three-dimensional work of art. Creativity is highly encouraged, but entries must also include factual information about the chosen plant and its super powers.

Participants can visit www.mobot.org/power for a list of recommended websites and books that may help with their project. The Garden’s Kemper Center for Home Gardening also provides plant resource materials.

Entry artwork can include, but is not limited to, cartoons, comic strips, news articles, models, action figures, posters, stories, pamphlets, and flyers. Two-dimensional entries must be able to hang on a wall and no larger than 18-by-24-inches. Three-dimensional entries must be no larger than 12-inches-wide, 24-inches-tall, and 12-inches-deep.

All participants must submit a completed Entry Form with their project, which is due in its entirety by Friday, Jan. 31 at 4 p.m.

Mail entries to the Power of Plants Contest at P. O. Box 299, St. Louis, Missouri, 63166-0299, or drop them off in person at the Garden’s Commerce Bank Education Center, 4651 Shaw Blvd. Office hours are Tuesdays through Saturdays, Jan. 5 through 31, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Entries will be divided into elementary, middle and high school age groups. Each will be judged on botanical accuracy, creativity and quality by members of St. Louis’s botany, art and literature communities. All elementary contestants will be competing with the early favorite, Leyla Fern King, my daughter.

Awards will be given for first, second, third place and honorable mention winners in each category and age group. First prize is $1,000. Leyla plans to spend it on her daddy's beer cellar.

To view details and complete contest rules, or to download an official Entry Form, visit www.mobot.org/power. For more information, e-mail powerofplants@mobot.org.

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Pic of A misty autumn morning in the Japanese Garden by Jack Jennings, courtesy of Missouri Botanical Garden. I would have posted one of Leyla's drawings, but we are concerned about other contestants copping technique with months to go before the contest deadline.