'Dear Aliens' Contest
April 01, 2011 5:00 pmTHANK YOU FOR YOUR INTEREST IN THE DEAR ALIENS CONTEST. THE CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED.
NOTE: YOU MUST FILL OUT AND SUBMIT THIS ENTRY FORM FOR YOUR SUBMISSION TO BE CONSIDERED.
Seeking students for an out-of-this-world experience!
The ASU Origins Project invites YOU to help decide what we should say when the aliens get in touch.
For many years, scientists have been looking across the universe for signs of intelligent life. But what would happen if we made contact with an alien civilization? What would we say if the aliens tuned into Earth and said ‘Hello?’
We’re asking YOU to write in and tell us: If you had to speak for humanity, what would you say?
EXPLANATION OF THE "MOONBOUNCE"
A Brief History of Searching for Aliens
For millenia, human beings have gazed up into the starry night skies and asked ‘Is there anyone out there?’ At one time humans thought there might be living beings on Mars, called Martians, which they imagined to be war-like creatures who hoped to take over our planet. But scientific research has shown us that Mars is an empty, cold, desert-like planet. The absence of intelligent life on Mars, though, doesn't mean that there aren't other civilizations somewhere out there in the vast expanse of our universe.
Using powerful optical and radio telescopes, we can now look and listen further and further across the universe to find habitats that might be suitable for life. We can see huge distances, and may one day find a far distant planet which doesn’t just have the perfect conditions for life – but life actually already thriving on it. Perhaps one day we’ll hear some alien music or eavesdrop on a conversation. And because we are a pretty noisy planet, with our radio and TV traffic leaking out into space--it just might be possible that aliens will one day pick up our signals and decide to investigate.
It is especially relevant to talk about communicating with aliens here at ASU because this is the place where the content of humanity’s response to the aliens would be decided. ASU professor, Paul Davies, is head of the SETI Post Detection Task Group. (SETI stands for Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence.) This means that if the aliens make contact, it is his job to decide what to say! This is a big task and a big responsibility! And Dr. Davies could really use your help! A signal or broadcast from ETi could come tomorrow or it could arrive decades from now--we should at least have some idea of what we would say for ourselves.
And it makes sense that YOU help us because young people are the very people who may, in the future, find themselves communicating with beings from another planet. So we’re asking for your help. Please join us in this extraordinary, extra-worldly competition and send us your ideas on what to say when the aliens speak up.
SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS:
Submissions will be reviewed by a panel of alien experts made up of writers, scientists, and scholars. Winning entries will be bounced off the moon! Winners will be announced in early April and at a special ceremony on April 9, 2011 at 1pm in Room 60 in the Center for Design North on the ASU Tempe campus. Attendance at the award ceremony is free, although contestants will need to provide their own transportation to the ASU Tempe campus.
- Submissions must be written in English and attached to the official entry form.
- Entries must not exceed the maximum word count for the entrant's age group (see below).
- A parental permission form must accompany each submission.
- Please do not include drawings or diagrams.
- Entry is open to Maricopa County students only and limited to the age range specified below.
- Materials submitted cannot be returned.
- ASU reserves the right to reject inappropriate submissions.
- SUBMISSION DEADLINE: APRIL 1, 2011
Word count per age group:
K-2: up to 50 words
Grades 3-5: up to 100 words
Grades 6-8: up to 200 words
Grades 9-12: up to 250 words
Mail entries to:
Dear Aliens
ASU Origins Project
Arizona State University
PO Box 871902
Tempe AZ 85287-1902