The ‘Preserve Our Past’ Art & Essay Invitational celebrates our local heritage across Audrain County. The goals of the Invitational strive for students to learn about local and state history, make connections about the role Audrain County plays in the world, and foster interest in preserving historic places. Winning entries will be exhibited at the ACHS museum. The Invitational is open to all Audrain County students in K through 8th grades. Submissions must relate to a historic Audrain County property that is 50 years old or older. Students are encouraged to research documents and interview community members.

General Guidelines

1. All students must be Audrain County residents.

2. All hard-copy work must be postmarked by Tuesday, January 20, 2026 to be considered.

3. All digital submissions must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. on the posted due date to be considered.

4. An entry form must be included with each student submission (30 submissions = 30 entry forms).

5. The Invitational has age/grade categories: K/1st/2nd grades, 3rd/4th grades, 5th/6th grades and 7th/8th grades.

6. Students may enter the essay or art contests individually, or they may enter both contests for their age /grade.

7. Students who are homeschooled or enrolled in an alternative educational arrangement are welcome to enter, and should enter by corresponding age/grade level categories.

8. Learning about how to conduct social science research using primary source materials is encouraged.

9. Submissions created with AI will be disqualified.

10. Review the evaluation scoring guide and check for entry completeness.

Essay Contest

Essays should be original, and no longer than 500 words. Each essay should focus on a historic site somewhere in Audrain County that is 50 years old or older. Essays do not have to be a typical five-paragraph enumeration or straight history of a property. Creativity and imagination are encouraged. However, this Invitational is focused on history and does not accept pieces that are pure fiction or refer to a fictional property. If students use sources in their work, it is customary to include a bibliography listing sources cited. Yes, spelling and grammar do count. Students may submit essays via hard copy or email.

Art Contest

Art pieces should be original. They must also focus on a historic site somewhere in Audrain County that is 50 years old or older. Art has slightly stricter guidelines:

• Pieces should be no larger or smaller than 11 X 14 inches in size.
• Pieces should be created on paper or cardstock, no stretched canvas.
• Pieces can be done in pencil, ink, charcoal, acrylic paint, pastels, or other mediums that work well on paper.
• No oil paints, please.
• Collage or other approaches are permitted, so long as all the parts of the piece are created by the student.
• It must be possible to frame all pieces in a standard 11 X 14 frame.
• Art pieces CANNOT be entered online.

Need More Info? Contact ACHS Director Jennifer Prior at (573) 581-3910 or director@audrain.org

DOWNLOAD ENTRY FORM HERE (PDF FILE FOR PRINTING)

STUDENT SPEAKING GUIDELINES

Speaking Guidelines for winning entries of the ACHS Art & Essay Invitational

Winning entries of the ACHS Art & Essay Invitational will be announced in March after the museum re-opens. The winners will be invited to deliver a lecture at the museum about their research and academic / artistic work. Each student will speak for about 5 minutes. These guidelines provide a checklist for winning recipients in preparation of their presentation remarks.

1. Create an outline that includes the following information and descriptive narrative:
(a) details about your historic location in Audrain County (e.g. where it is located, what it was used for initially and throughout time, who was associated with the location, when it was built, why/how was it used),
(b) why you chose the location of your entry,
(c) your research process and sources used,
(d) your research discoveries (e.g. what surprised you and other enlightenments),
(e) why you chose the essay or art format,
(f) how you approached creating your work,
(g) how you revised your work, and
(h) any other relevant or interesting details.

2. Consider how to begin with an interesting hook to catch the audience’s attention/interest.

3. Consider three historical points about the chosen location that should be remembered.

4. Practice delivering your remarks.

5. Time your speaking delivery to be less than FIVE minutes in length.

DOWNLOAD ENTRY FORM HERE (PDF FILE FOR PRINTING)