Do you love making art and using your imagination? So do we! Every NASA mission starts with a creative idea about how to explore something in a new way.
The art challenge:
In this new activity, we’d like to challenge young explorers to think about and draw a space-related situation each month. And after the month is over, we’ll select a few imaginative drawings to be featured on the NASA Space Place website!
So, get ready to exercise that creative brain of yours! Here’s what you’ll need:
- Paper
- Art supplies (pencils, markers, crayons, paints – whatever you like to use)
- A grownup helper with a camera or scanner and access to email
May’s drawing prompt:
Last fall, the spacecraft OSIRIS-REx scooped up a small container of rocks and dust from an asteroid called Bennu. On May 10, 2021, OSIRIS-REx and its special sample of space rocks will leave Bennu and head back to Earth! After a two and a half year journey, the sample container will land in the Utah desert in September 2023. Scientists will then collect the container and examine the dust and rocks for clues about how planets formed and life began.
This month’s prompt: What do you think scientists will find when they open OSIRIS-REx’s sample container? What color will the rocks and dust be? What are they made out of? Are there any surprises? Draw what you think is inside!
If you need some inspiration, check out our Space Place article on asteroids! Here’s a fun fact to get you started: Most asteroids are made of different kinds of rocks, but some have clays or metals, such as nickel and iron.
Submit your drawings between 5/1/21 and 5/31/21. Selected art submissions will appear on the website during the first week of June!
How to submit your art:
Once you’ve gotten your ideas on the page, have a grownup take a photo or scan of the drawing and email the following to NASAKidsArt@jpl.nasa.gov:
- Picture of drawing
- First name of artist
- Age of artist
- Completed release form (download here)*
That’s it! Have fun creating and we can’t wait to see your drawings!
April Art Challenge Selections
Use your imagination to draw your favorite view of Earth’s sky!
Aditi, 7
Alana
Arya
Aubrey, 8
Cici, 14
Emilianna, 8
Halyn, 8
Jackson, 6
Julieta, 10
Kimberly
Sandra, 15
Sawyer, 13
Serena, 9
Sienna, 10
Wyatt, 10
* AUTHORIZATION AND RELEASE FOR PHOTOS, AUDIO AND/OR VIDEO RECORDINGS OF, AND/OR ARTWORK FROM A MINOR CHILD
I hereby grant to the California Institute of Technology (Institute) and its Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) the right to make, use, create derivative works and/or display:
- photos, video and/or audio tape recordings of, my Child and/or
- artwork (in any media, including drawings, photos, music and video creations) created by my Child and submitted to JPL and/or
in any manner or form, and for any lawful purpose at any time. I also grant the Institute to use my Child’s name associated with such photos, recordings of my Child or with his/her artwork. I understand that my Child may be photographed and/or video or audio taped verbatim and that the Institute may allow persons external to the Institute to view the pictures or recordings in part or in their entirety. I also understand that any artwork submitted by my Child to the Institute for the Project may be edited, reproduced or displayed publicly at the Institute’s discretion. I am fully aware and agree that such use of my Child’s image or artwork and name may include posting on publicly available internet sites, including JPL sites and other publicly viewable social media sites. I waive any right that I may have to review or approve of any finished products, or the uses to which such products may be applied. I release and discharge the Institute, its employees, sponsors, and subcontractors from any liability to me by virtue of any representation that may occur in the creation, editing or use of said photos and/or video or audio tape recordings or the editing or use of my Child’s artwork.
