Museum announces sixth annual student writing competition
DAYTON, Ohio -- Teenagers will have a unique opportunity to earn scholarship funds while learning about military aviation history through the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force’s sixth annual Air Force Heritage and History Writing Competition.
The competition is open to public, private school or homeschooled students between the ages of 13-18, giving them a chance to showcase their writing talents while vying for scholarship funds. Entries must be submitted via U.S. mail or email by March 14, 2016. The competition will accept only the first 250 entrants. The requirements for this writing competition meet Common Core curriculum English Language Arts writing standards for grades 6-12.
The research questions for this year’s competition are as follows: In 1965, the U.S. Air Force and other American military organizations increased actions and troops in Southeast Asia (Vietnam). Twenty-five years later, the U.S. Air Force engaged in Operation Desert Storm. The media coverage of these wars was vastly different than in any other war or conflict in American history. Please provide a brief explanation as to why these were different from other wars. How did media coverage impact Air Force operations of these wars? What are the implications for media in future military operations?
A complete list of competition guidelines is available on the museum’s website at www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/Portals/7/documents/education/2015_writing_contest_guidelines.pdf.
Scholarship award money is provided through the generosity of the Air Force Museum Foundation, Inc. and Dayton Rotary Foundation. (No federal endorsement implied.) A $1,500 scholarship will be awarded to the first place winner, $1,000 to the second place winner and $500 to the third place winner.
Local educators will determine the finalists, and those submissions will be sent on to national-level judges to decide on the three winners.
The National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio, is the world’s largest military aviation museum. With free admission and parking, the museum features more than 360 aerospace vehicles and missiles and thousands of artifacts amid more than 19 acres of indoor exhibit space. Each year about one million visitors from around the world come to the museum. For more information, visit www.nationalmuseum.af.mil.
NOTE TO PUBLIC: For more information, please contact the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force Education Division at (937) 255-4652.
NOTE TO MEDIA: For more information, please contact Sarah Swan at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force Public Affairs Division at (937) 255-1283.