Enter by April 22 to Participate in the PBA’s 2022 Law Day Chalk Art Contest!
Last year’s chalk art contest was popular and those who participated told us how much fun they had getting outside and expressing their creativity, while also talking about the law and our judicial system. So, this year we are again launching the contest as part of the PBA’s 2022 Law Day celebration.
An addition to this year’s contest is that we are adding the opportunity to submit drawings on 8.5 x 11 paper. We realize not everyone can get outside and not everyone has easy access to chalk, so if you prefer to be creative and draw your Law Day 2022 message on paper, please do that! (details below).
The purpose of this contest is to celebrate and promote Law Day or the 2022 Law Day theme “Toward a More Perfect Union: The Constitution in Times of Change.” Students of any age can participate. The art project can be as simple as drawing the letters for “LAW DAY 2022” or “RULE of LAW.” Will it be written in cursive or with block letters that are filled in with stripes or polka dots? What colors will you use? Are you adding flowers, butterflies or more law-related symbols like a flag, stars, an eagle, a gavel, a judge on the bench, the scales of justice? Can the student imagine and then capture through art, what “a more perfect union” looks like or feels like?
This is a great opportunity to engage with young people and talk about the importance of our Constitution and the rule of law. These are meant to be conversations — not formal lessons — but they do provide a great opportunity to engage kids and make them think about their community and the real-life, day-to-day ways that the constitution and rule of law shows up, helping them understand what the rule of law means in a concrete way in their everyday life. Maybe the contest launches a follow-up conversation with students on the recent hearings to confirm a new supreme court justice?
Here are some more ideas to get you started…
This is an opportunity to talk in an age-appropriate way, about rules and laws, and that one of the reasons we have rules and laws is to keep people safe.
If you are doing chalk art outside, you can talk about rules on where you could draw, do you need to ask permission, what is trespassing, we cannot deface other people‘s property, what kind of speech or message would be appropriate to write in a place that is visible to others in the public; there are lots of opportunities for informal conversations about the law and rule of law. What other examples can the youth think of where there are rules?
You can talk about the purpose of rules and laws.
What are the consequences of breaking the rule or law?
Share your photos, tag the PBA and enter the contest
To be considered for one of the five $50 prizes, the supervising adult must send an email to [email protected] and include the adult’s contact information. A photo of the artwork without any children is required. You are invited to share up to three additional photos which may include the youth with the art. The PBA will not post photos of children without permission and we will not directly publish the names or other identifying information on our social media accounts.
Official entries must be received by April 22 to be considered for one of the prizes. It will be the responsibility of the adult that submitted the entry to disburse the prize among the group that participated with them if chosen as one of the winning entries.
We encourage you to share photos of the completed art project on Facebook or Twitter and tag the PBA. Use the hashtag #PBAlawday2022 so we can see your posts!
We hope you have fun, while also promoting the role of lawyers, judges, the courts, our judicial system, the Constitution and the rule of law.