Idaho Student Artwork To Be Displayed In Crapoâ??s D.C. Office

Washington, DC â?? Two Idaho student artists will have their artwork displayed in Idaho Senator Mike Crapoâ??s Washington D.C. office, after receiving Senatorâ??s Awards in the Idaho Space Grant Consortium â??Exploring Marsâ?? Art Contest. The works by Chase Wasden, Boise, and Dan Lawrence, Post Falls, were selected from a state-wide applicant pool and will remain on display for the duration of the year. â??The landing and successful mission of the Mars Rovers was truly a phenomenal event that focused the attention of the country on the accomplishments of our space programâ?? Crapo said. â??The â??Exploring Marsâ?? Contest provides an opportunity to present the importance and potential of future space exploration. Chase and Dan have created great pieces that memorialize our successes in space. These two Idahoans are representative of the talent that exists in our state.â??The theme of this yearâ??s contest was â??Exploring Marsâ??. The annual competition aims to highlight NASA programs and stimulate interest throughout the state of Idaho. For this yearâ??s contest, applicants had to be enrolled in primary or secondary school and submit artwork depicting personal interpretations of space exploration on Mars. Both of the students selected for this yearâ??s Senatorâ??s Awards currently attend Idaho high schools. Wasden attends Capital High School in Boise; Lawrence, Post Falls High School in Post Falls.The Idaho Space Grant Consortium (ISGC) is a division of NASA. It serves the people of Idaho with a flexible, broad based grant program that encourages NASA-related research, special projects and K-12 initiatives across the state. Nearly $140,000 is awarded each year to faculty, college students, and schoolteachers in Idaho. The annual Idaho TECH Art Contest is one of many activities conducted by the Consortium. For more information on the annual Idaho TECH Art Contest, visit http://www.uidaho.edu/idahotech/artcontest.html. Digital photos of the artwork are available by emailing Eric Rasmussen at eric_rasmussen@crapo.senate.gov. # # #