Tuesday morning I'm heading over to the Burnsville Civic Center as a judge for the Junior Duck Stamp Contest. I had grand schemes of Twittering during the event, but I was reading over my rules as a judge and there will be no Twittering! Check them out:

Must have cell phones off throughout the judging process

Only the designated state coordinator & volunteers may touch the art work at anytime

No food or drink in the area for the judging

Maintain quiet while judging is taking place

There should be no comments about the art work; no pointing to a particular piece, no naming of the artist, etc. throughout the judging process

The public is welcomed to attend. In previous years we have had students, parents, teachers, & grandparents attend. They are invited to the judging floor to look at the art prior to the judging of each grade category.

When judges are not judging, they should be in the breakout room or sitting in designated area

From there all the judges are given poker chips and we look at the art and place poker chips next to artwork we want to keep in the show and whittle the group down and then do some scoring. I'm so excited to this tomorrow. I'm excited to be a judge (in a park ranger capacity), I'm excited to see what kids have come up with, I'm excited to just be part of the process.

This is open to the public, but I realize it's on a Tuesday and most people have to work. But if you have some free time, do come to the Burnsville Civic Center to check it out. There will be a second event with the winners at the Science Museum on April 23.