Middle School - Challenges at a Glance - Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden

GRADES 6 to 8 | 2023-2024

Challenges at a Glance

Challenges	Due to Fairchild by 5:00 pm	Maximum Points	Maximum Number of Entries
Educator Challenge: A Year of Service	Monday, March 4 to Sunday, March 10, 2024	50 bonus points	1 entry
1. Miami, My Garden: Greetings from a Greener Miami	Monday, November 27 to Sunday, December 3, 2023	200 (100/entry)	2 entries
2. Giving a Voice to Fairchild’s Plants *OPTIONAL Student Workshop: Tuesday, October 24; Time TBD	Monday, December 18 to Sunday, December 23, 2023	200 (100/entry)	2 audio tours
3. Growing Beyond Earth REQUIRED Virtual Teacher Workshop: Saturday, September 9 (1:00 pm – 4:00 pm), Wednesday, September 13 in English (5:00 pm – 8:00 pm), or Thursday, September 14 in Spanish (5:00 pm-8:00 pm) OPTIONAL Student Research Symposium: Saturday, April 20, Time TBD	Trial 1 Data due Friday, November 17, 2023; Optional Trial 2 proposal due Friday, December 15, 2023 Trial 1 Poster due: Monday January 8 to Sunday, January 14, 2024 Optional Trial 2 Data due Friday, April 5, 2024 and Trial 2 Presentation Due: Wednesday, April 17, 2024	300 (50 trial 1 data/100 poster/50 trial 2 proposal/50 trial 2 data) 50 bonus points for Symposium presentation	1 poster
4. Cultivating Connections	Monday, February 5 to Sunday, February 11, 2024	200 (100/entry)	2 photos with descriptions
5. School Garden – Native Plant Network *REQUIRED Teacher Workshop: Monday, September 25, 10:00 am to 3:00 pm	Monday, February 26 to Sunday, March 3, 2024	200	1 presentation

AWARDS and PRIZES

The Fairchild Challenge Awards Ceremony is Saturday, May 18, 2024. At this time, the following awards and prizes will be distributed:

Each middle school that earns more than 900 points will receive The Fairchild Challenge Award.
Each school that receives The Fairchild Challenge Award for five consecutive years will become a Fairchild Challenge School of Excellence.
The top-scoring schools will receive cash prizes, up to $1,500, to support their environmental programs.
Top-placing students will receive Fairchild Challenge medals and/or certificates. Special Merit winners will also be recognized.
All participating schools receive a limited quantity of four-person family passes to Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden to distribute to actively participating students and teachers.