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Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Fairchild Challenge?

How do I get my school involved?

How can I get more booklets?

I would like to participate. How do I get started?

How can I get more teachers involved at my school?

How do I submit a Challenge entry?

What happens to the option entries?

Can we see the judges' evaluation sheets?

Can we see other schools scores?

What is your goal?

How will I benefit from participating in the Fairchild Challenge?

Does Fairchild pay for transportation for Challenge events?

Can we submit more than the maximum number of entries?

Where should I send the forms?

Can I receive additional booklets to share with others?

How can I stay informed about important events, deadlines and other information for the Fairchild Challenge?

QUESTIONS ABOUT 2010 OPTIONS

What is the Fairchild Challenge?
Designed for students of diverse interests, abilities, talents and backgrounds, the Fairchild Challenge is Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden's environmental education outreach program. With separate but parallel programs for different grade levels 6 to 8 and 9 to 12, the Fairchild Challenge is composed of multidisciplinary competitions aligned with Sunshine State Standards.

The annual Fairchild Challenge options are intended to appeal to students' sense of play and creativity, to encourage them to experiment with ideas, projects and skills and to empower them to seek information and voice opinions. This free program is open to all schools in the greater Miami area. Last year over 45,000 students from 116 schools participated. Other sites are replicating the Fairchild Challenge model nationally and abroad.

How do I get my school involved?
A team of Fairchild Challenge coordinators at your school (consisting of at least 3 teachers in diverse disciplines plus a media center representative) submits one registration form. All administrators and faculty should be notified that your school is registered. Schools are encouraged to include as many students as possible in the various Challenge options and may accomplish this by entering any number of the Challenge options.

How can I get more booklets?
The program booklets can be downloaded from the middle school and high school websites or you can request copies of the booklets to be mailed to your school by filling out the online application and submitting it by email, fax, or mail.

I would like to participate. How do I get started?
Find out if your school is registered on the middle school and high school sites. Registered schools will receive a teacher participation sign-up sheet to hang in a common area. The teacher option sign-up sheet is a chart we are providing schools with that can help teachers find out who else is participating in the Fairchild Challenge. Any student or teacher at a school is eligible to participate. Teachers should use the sign up sheet to coordinate the judging of the entries at their school in order to send the best entry.

How can I get more teachers involved at my school?
Fairchild Challenge staff is available to visit schools to introduce the program at faculty meetings or student assemblies. School faculty can also request additional copies of the booklet to give to other teachers or administrators and/or a program DVD to show to other interested parties. A teacher option sign-up sheet will be provided at the information luncheon or upon request. This should be placed in a faculty common area to increase Fairchild Challenge communication among faculty.

How do I submit a Fairchild Challenge entry?
Following the stated policies and requirements, teachers submit the best entries with a completed entry form downloaded from the high school or middle school Fairchild Challenge websites. Each entry form contains a check list of required items for entry submission. Entries with the completed option entry form can be mailed or dropped off at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden between 9am and 5pm, or by appointment. Please make sure all items mailed or dropped off are clearly labeled with Attn: Challenge6-8 or Attn: Challenge9-12 and your school name.

What happens to the option entries?
Each student entry is judged by a panel of experts at Fairchild according to predetermined evaluation criteria. The evaluation criteria can be downloaded from the high school or middle school Challenge websites. Scores are emailed to all teachers on each school's contact list. You will only receive your own school's scores and we will not disclose schools' standing in the competition. Along with the points your school earns for each option you will be notified by e-mail of any first-place or honorable mention entries. Final results will be announced and prizes will be awarded at the awards ceremonies in May.

Can we see the judges' evaluation sheets?
Schools will be provided with their point value but the score sheets are not released.

Can we see other schools scores?
Schools are provided with their individual scores throughout the year, but the competition standings are not released until the awards ceremonies.

What is your goal?
All schools that earn the designated point totals for each year will be presented with the Fairchild Challenge Award at the awards ceremony in May. Schools receiving the Fairchild Challenge Award for five consecutive years will be honored as a Fairchild Challenge School of Excellence and will receive a banner for their school.

How will I benefit from participating in the Fairchild Challenge?
The Fairchild Challenge is designed to increase student's awareness, scholarship and stewardship. Ninety percent of students surveyed indicated that they enjoyed the program and would recommend it to other students. Ninety-seven percent of teachers surveyed indicated that they benefited from the Fairchild Challenge and will participate in the future.

In order to encourage students to be active members of the community, all students receive a family pass for four to Fairchild along with a program T-shirt or drawstring backpack. The top sixteen schools receive monetary awards of $250 (10 schools), $500 (5 schools), or $1000 (1 school) to be used towards their environmental programs.

Fairchild also offers grants and resources throughout the school year for participating schools.

Does Fairchild pay for transportation for Fairchild Challenge events?
Fairchild will accept applications for transportation from title 1 schools for Challenge events and/or field trips. Applications will be available on the website.

Can we submit more than the maximum number of entries?
In order to make the program available to all schools, the number of entries that can be submitted from each school must be limited. We cannot accept additional entries. Holding school events, such as your own school wide performance, can help teachers and students decide which entries to send to Fairchild for judging.

Where should I send the forms?
All forms must be mailed, faxed or delivered to:

FAIRCHILD CHALLENGE 6-8 or FAIRCHILD CHALLENGE 9-12
FAIRCHILD TROPICAL BOTANIC GARDEN
10901 Old Cutler Road, Coral Gables, FL 33156-4296
Fax 305.661.8953

Can I receive additional booklets to share with others?
We will be happy to mail additional booklets to you - applications are available on the website.

How can I stay informed about important events, deadlines and other information for the Fairchild Challenge?
Please see the calendar for important dates and information. Fairchild Challenge staff primarily maintains contact with participating teachers by email. This is why it is critical that we have a current email address on file for each lead teacher coordinating the school's Challenge activities. Monthly, we will be producing an e-update that will provide important information about deadlines, grant applications, workshops and other Fairchild Challenge related information.

Questions About 2010 Options

MS & HS Option 1: Everglades: “River of Grass”

Does the spoken word or song have to be original?
The lyrics must be original; however, the title and the music accompaniment (if you choose to have one) do not have to be original.

Does the group of 10 performers include the teacher/administrator participating in the performance?
Yes, the maximum number of participants is 10.

Can the teacher/administrator be a lead performer?
No, the teacher/administrator must play a supporting role and not be the lead performer.

Will we have time to prepare the audience before our performance?
Yes, there will be 15-30 seconds between performances, in which you can set up the stage and prepare the audience on how you would like them to participate.

ES Option 1: Art: Fruit of the Tropics

What constitutes a "fruit of the tropics"?
A fruit is botanically defined as the ripened ovary of a flowering plant that contains the seed(s). A "tropical fruit" refers to any fruit that is native to a tropical region, which is the area of Earth centered on the equator and limited by the Tropic of Cancer (north) and the tropic of Capricorn (south).

Can we submit copies of the students’ original artwork?
No, only original artwork will be accepted.

What if we don’t agree to the Fairchild Challenge keeping our students’ artwork?
If you do not agree to the terms, please attach to the artwork, a letter to that effect when submitting the artwork.

MS Option 2A: Fairchild Challenge Design

Regarding the 2 color image, should it be marker or color pencil; solid colored in, just outline, or are gradations allowed?

Since there were no limitations placed on the option entry when the booklet was written, we will leave it to your discretion when you consider the best design to submit as an entry.

We would like to emphasize that this year the design will be selected based on the best eye catching image that depicts one of the mission statement phrases:

Appreciate the beauty and value of nature

Develop critical thinking skills

Understand the need for biodiversity and conservation

Tap community resources

Become actively engaged citizens

Recognize that individuals do indeed make a difference

To create this design your students will have to consider what will be the best use of the two colors - the choice of colors, the method of implementation (pencil vs. more vivid markers), and style of drawing (more vibrant solid drawing vs. a more subdued outline).

In the end, the graphic will be touched up to make it screen-printable on a piece of textile. All graphics will have to be touched up and computerized. Therefore, if a winning design was drawn in pencil, or marker for that matter, it will be made into a computer image to match the requirements of the screen-printing company.

MS Option 2B: Baynanza T-shirt Design

Can we submit a design made by 2 students who work as partners at the computer?
Yes, you may.

HS Option 2B: Footprint CD cover designs

Where can I learn more about the band Storey, and the lyrics to Footprints?
The introduction video by the band, Storey, is located here.

The lyrics are available on our website and on the BGCI website.

The song is available at www.storeymusic.com.

MS and HS Option 3: Botanical fashion show

Can the plant material be painted?
No, all plant materials must be used as is, without the use of dyes or paints.

MS Option 5A: Art: Local edible plants (drawing)

What is the word limit for each sign?
There is a 250 word limit for each invasive species explained in the poster for a total of 500 words. This does not include the reference section.

MS Option 6: Interpretive sign: Research poster on invasive species

Can the drawing be created using oil paint?
As long as the work submitted is a drawing (and not a painting), the drawing can be submitted using any medium as long as it is not chalk, pastels, or oil-pastels.

HS Option 6: Environmental debates

Does the Fairchild Challenge Environmental Debate follow the rules of the National Forensic League?
Yes, the Student Congress Debate is run in accordance with the rules of the NFL. Please see the link under the Resources section for Student Congress Debate Resources.

HS Option 7A: Art: local edible plants in watercolor

Where should the plant name and physical characteristics be written?
In the tradition of botanical art, the plant name and physical characteristics should be written in the watercolor itself and not on the bottom of the page or on a separate sheet. Encourage neat legible hand writing using pencil only once the watercolor has dried. View the links from the high school resources webpage for related art resources.

Can we submit copies of the students’ original artwork?
No, only original artwork will be accepted.

MS & HS Art Workshop

What do we need to bring to the artworkshop?
If registered to attend the art workshop on Saturday, December 5th, you and your students will need to bring the art materials necessary for the day and may choose to bring the following items: something to sit on, a hat, sunscreen, lunch and a water bottle. We will provide light snacks for participating students and water jugs for students/teachers to fill up their water bottles. We recommend bringing a camera as well as a notepad to take pictures and notes of plants of interest.

Note: Lunch will be provided to art mentors (as well as teachers acting as mentors to their students) only. We apologize for any inconvenience.

MS & HS School Garden / Habitat Restoration

How do we participate in the pine rockland school garden opportunity?
Schools can create a pine rockland garden on their own by using the online resources available or schools have the option to participate in a larger countywide effort to reestablish pine rocklands. Schools interested in participating in the countywide initiative should contact awalker@fairchildgarden.org for more information.

last updated 09/16/2009