Project Mockingbird Contests

Mockingbird Online Scavenger Hunt

Scout out The Big Read with the online scavenger hunt! Pick up a copy of The Reader at any library in Jefferson County. Use the Internet to answer the questions about To Kill a Mockingbird. Try using the Alabama Virtual Library and internet search engines. You could win an Mp3 player!


Project Mockingbird High School Art Contest

Deadline: Friday, February 8, 2007

The Birmingham Museum of Art and the Birmingham Public Library are proud to sponsor an exhibition highlighting the artistic achievement of students living in the Birmingham metro area. This competition is open to high school students who attend school in Jefferson County. Art works must be made in response to Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird. Entries will be judged. Finalists will be displayed at the Birmingham Museum of Art. A reception will be held honoring the students.

  1. Each teacher may submit student work but each entry must adhere to the following guidelines. Entries that do not meet regulations will be automatically disqualified.
  2. All works must be two-dimensional. Photography and works on paper are acceptable. Paintings are also acceptable.
  3. Late entries will not be accepted.

  4. The paper size must be one of the following:

    • Photographs should be printed on 8 x 10 paper.
    • Drawings should be on 12 x 18 or larger paper.
    • Paintings may be on stretched canvas or on standard sized canvas board.
  5. All entries must have a completed Student Information Form. Please print clearly and be sure the information is complete. Attach one entry form to the BACK of the work of art and submit one form in an envelope. Please write name of teacher and student on the front of the envelope. The Museum will produce wall labels for the exhibition using the information submitted on these forms. These forms will also help us inventory the works submitted.
  6. All artwork must be delivered to the Birmingham Museum of Art no later than Friday, February 8, 2008.
  7. When the exhibit ends, the teachers may pick up the artwork from the Museum. The frames will not be included.

Please note: Artwork will not be removed from the gallery before the show closes on April 30, 2008. If the artwork is scheduled to be in a portfolio review or another exhibition that falls within the dates of this show, please do not submit this piece.

The Big Read Art Contest Entry Form.pdf (Adobe Acrobat required)


Word Up!

The prize for first place is $150, second place is $100, and third place is $75.
All students who compete in their schools’ contests are eligible for a drawing to win an iPod.
We are launching an exciting project to bring back reading and literature to a place of prominence in people’s lives. The public libraries of Jefferson County, along with numerous partners, are working to get the whole county reading To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. As part of this initiative, we are holding Word Up!, a spoken word contest for high school students (grades 9-12). The students will write and perform an original work inspired by To Kill a Mockingbird.

The participants in the WORD UP! spoken word contest will be the winners from each school. Each school is responsible for holding its own contest, including lining up judges. The judges will select a winner and a runner-up. Depending on the number of schools that elect to participate, we may ask each school to send only the top winner OR the winner and runner-up to Word Up!.

The deadline for schools to declare their participation is January 15, 2007. Please designate a contact person for the contest and e-mail that person’s name, school, phone number, and e-mail address to Haruyo Miyagawa (hm@bham.lib.al.us).

The deadline for schools to submit their winners’ names is February 29, 2008. Please submit a registration form for each contestant.

HOMESCHOOLERS, NOTE!  A preliminary contest is being held for homeschoolers.  E-mail Irene Latham irenelatham@bellsouth.net for information by January 15, 2007.

Instructions

  • Contestants for WORD UP! must fill out the online registration form by clicking here.
  • Poetry must be the artist’s own creation and be inspired by To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.
  • The performance must be appropriate for all ages. No profanity allowed.
  • Contestants need to arrive at the Birmingham Museum of Art by 1:15 p.m. on the day of the contest.
  • Each poet will have three minutes to perform a poem or selection of poems. Time yourself! You will be penalized if you go over three minutes.
  • There are no limits to the number of poems being performed, as long as the contestant’s performance is no longer than three minutes.
  • Contestants will perform the poems from memory; they will not be allowed to have copies of their poems during the performance.
  • Contestants may rap the poem(s).
  • No instruments or props may be used.
  • Only individual/solo performances will be allowed. No groups or duos.
  • A panel of three judges will select the winners. Contestants will be judged on content and performance. The prize for first place is $150, second place is $100, and third place is $75.
  • The top winners will perform at Alabama Bound, the annual author fair which will be held at the Central Library of the Birmingham Public Library on Saturday, April 12, 2008.
  • All students who compete in their schools’ contests are eligible for a drawing to win an iPod.