What does America mean to you?

You may answer this question with original artwork or a written response.

Submissions will be accepted until Wednesday, April 16, 2025 at 5:00 p.m. ET.

Submission Guidelines

• Elementary School (3rd to 5th Grade): Students may submit artwork, including physical or digital artwork (through a high-res photo) or a short written response (up to 100 words).
• Middle School (6th to 8th Grade): Students may submit artwork, including physical or digital artwork (through a high-res photo), or a written response (up to 250 words).
• High School (9th to 12th Grade): Students may submit artwork, including physical or digital artwork (through a high-res photo), or a written response (up to 500 words).

If you choose to submit artwork, your file attachment should not be larger than 30MB and in one of the following formats: PDF, JPG, PNG, or HEIC. See Official Rules for full details.

Unless you are 18 years of age or older, you must have a teacher, parent, or legal guardian upload your submission through the adjacent file submission portal.

Aplicación en español.

Do’s and Don’ts
DO:

• Be creative!
• Reflect on your own American story and that of your family and community.
• Talk to your teachers, parents, and community to get ideas for your entry.
• Let your personality shine through!

DON’T:

• Include your full name, address, e-mail address, telephone number, age or school name in your entry.
• Submit work you didn’t personally create entirely on your own. DO NOT USE AI TOOLS.
• Develop an entry as a group or team – each entry can only come from one student.
• Include names or images of your family members or friends.
• Include copyrighted materials (for example: celebrity names, names of sports teams, song lyrics written by others, photos, brand names or logos) in your entry. DO NOT PLAGIARIZE OR USE OTHER PERSONS’ WORK.
• Feel you have to only address our country’s past — you can talk about America’s future too.

You can view thought starters here.