University of Nevada Cooperative Extension’s Radon Education Program has announced the winners of the Nevada Radon Poster Contest. Each winner receives a cash prize, and the first, second and third place winners won cash prizes for their teachers to use for classroom supplies.
Hannah Corgan, an eighth-grade student at Carson Valley Middle School in Minden, took first with her poster, “Radon Bites.” She won $75, and her teacher, Lin Falkner, will receive $60.
There was a tie for second: Taylor Sullivan, an eighth-grader at Carson Valley Middle School, with her poster, “Test Your Home for Radon,” and Ashlee Bengston, a sixth-grader grader at Kendyl Depoali Middle School, with her poster, “Are You Living with a Killer?” each won $60. Their teachers, Lin Falkner and Joana Wu, will each receive $45.
Suzannah Canderle, an eighth-grader from Carson Valley Middle School, took third with her poster, “Radon, It Is Not Good News.” She won $45, and her teacher, Lin Falkner, will receive $30.
Piper Bell, a sixth-grader at Roy Martin Middle School in Las Vegas, took fourth and won $25 with her poster, “It’s Never Too Late!”.
Kaya Wilson, an eighth-grader at Carson Valley Middle School, also won $25 and placed fifth with her poster, “Radon is a Monster.”
Poster-contest-winning students will receive award checks and certificates at awards ceremonies in their respective towns. The winning teachers will also receive their award checks at the ceremonies. An awards ceremony for the Reno student and her teacher will take place following the 6 p.m. radon presentation on Thursday, Jan. 2, at the Washoe County Cooperative Extension office, 4955 Energy Way.
The Minden students and their teacher will be recognized at an awards ceremony following the 6 p.m. radon presentation on Wednesday, Jan. 29, at the CVIC Hall, 1604 Esmeralda Ave. in Minden.
The Las Vegas student will be recognized following the radon presentation at 6 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 16, at the Clark County Library, 1401 E. Flamingo Road.
This is the fifth year that the Nevada Radon Education Program has participated in the Radon Poster Contest that is open to children, ages 9 to 14. The contest is part of the Nevada Radon Education Program and is sponsored by University of Nevada Cooperative Extension, the Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health, Kansas State University and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The goal of the contest is to raise awareness of the harmful effects of elevated levels of indoor radon gas in homes.
This year’s contest had 77 poster entries. Entrants chose from five poster topics: “What is radon?” “Where does radon come from?” “How does radon get into our homes?” “Radon can cause lung cancer,” and “Test your home for radon.” Posters were judged on content accuracy of the information presented in the poster, as well as the visual communication of the topic, reproducibility and originality.
Votes were compiled for the top nine posters submitted. Voting took place by several methods, including “Likes” on the Nevada Radon Education’s Facebook page, and by polling Cooperative Extension faculty and staff, representatives from the Radiation Control Program of the Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health, Nevada radon industry professionals and representatives from the Nevada Radon Education Program.
The top four Nevada posters were entered into the national poster contest, sponsored by Kansas State University and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The first-, second- and third-place national contest winners, as well as a special online winner, will receive cash prizes.
