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Welcome to the high school challenge page for Challenge 4 of the Fairchild Challenge! Read below to find challenge information, entry requirements, resources and more for the challenge.

Challenge 4: Fine Arts 

Title: Starry Gardens 

Due: Friday, February 16, 2024 by 5:00 PM

For indivduals or groups

Download the Challenge 4 Rubric 

Your Challenge:

Did you know that the sacred Brahma Kamal, a night-blooming flower from the Himalayas, blooms only once a year and is believed to bring luck to those who witness it? While most of us are fast asleep, there's a secret symphony of life and beauty unfolding. Night-blooming plants, also known as nocturnal bloomers, are a rare and enchanting group of flora that have evolved unique strategies to thrive under the light of the moon. These plants have adapted to the challenges of the night, revealing their vibrant blossoms when the sun is set. But why do they choose to bloom at night? It's a mystery we invite you to explore.

In this challenge, you'll delve into the world of night-blooming plants and their secrets. Discover how these botanical wonders have forged remarkable partnerships with their nocturnal pollinators. From moths and bats to specialized insects, night-blooming plants have developed an extraordinary array of adaptations to attract and secure their vital pollinators.

Your challenge is to pick a night-blooming plant from anywhere in the world that you find interesting and create artwork of it. It should be either 8.5” x 11” or 16” x 20” inches. Accompanying the artwork, you should submit a 500 word description of the night-blooming plant that you chose. Describe its unique characteristics, its structure and how that relates to its function, its habitat and its role in its ecosystem, the relationship it had/has with nocturnal pollinators, and why/how it has adapted to bloom in the night. Include a Works Cited of your resources. 

Entry Requirements: Deliver to the high school programs coordinator Alyssa Mulé at Phipps in person or via certified mail (electronic submission is not accepted for this challenge):

  • Challenge Entry Form
  • Original artwork of a night-blooming plant (Include the school name and the participating students’ names on the back of the artwork).
    • Artwork should be either 8.5” x 11” or 16” x 20”.
  • Typed description (500 words) of your chosen plant (including traits, relationships, habitat, and structure/function).
  • Works Cited with at least 2 sources.

Please deliver to:

ATTN: Research & Science Education Department
Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens
c/o The Fairchild Challenge Coordinator
One Schenley Park
Pittsburgh, PA 15213

Resources: The following list of online resources may be used when preparing your entry:

  • Grades Nine - Twelve

    9 th and 10th Grade:

    CC.3.5.9-10.A Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of science and technical texts, attending to the precise details of explanations or descriptions.

    CC.3.6.9-10.C Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.

    CC.3.6.9-10.D Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on addressing what is most significant for a specific purpose and audience.

    CC.3.6.9-10.F Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question) or solve a problem; narrow or broaden the inquiry when appropriate; synthesize multiple sources on the subject, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.

    CC.3.6.9-10.G Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources, using advanced searches effectively; assess the usefulness of each source in answering the research question; integrate information into the text selectively to maintain the flow of ideas, avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation.

    CC.3.6.9-10.H Draw evidence from informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

    3.1.10.A8 Investigate the spatial relationships of organisms’ anatomical features using specimens, models, or computer programs.

    3.1.10.B1 Describe how genetic information is inherited and expressed.

    3.1.10.C3 CONSTANCY AND CHANGE • Interpret data from fossil records, anatomy and physiology, and DNA studies relevant to the theory of evolution.

    4.1.10.C Evaluate the efficiency of energy flow within a food web. Describe how energy is converted from one form to another as it moves through a food web (photosynthetic, geothermal).

    4.1.10.D Research practices that impact biodiversity in specific ecosystems.
    Analyze the relationship between habitat changes to plant and animal population fluctuations.

    11th and 12th Grade:

    CC.3.5.11-12.G Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in diverse formats and media (e.g., quantitative data, video, multimedia) in order to address a question or solve a problem.

    CC.3.5.11-12.J By the end of grade 12, read and comprehend science/technical texts in the grades 11–12 text complexity band independently and proficiently.

    CC.3.6.11-12.C Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.

    CC.3.6.11-12.D Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on addressing what is most significant for a specific purpose and audience.

    CC.3.6.11-12.E Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products in response to ongoing feedback, including new arguments or information.

    CC.3.6.11-12.F Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question) or solve a problem; narrow or broaden the inquiry when appropriate; synthesize multiple sources on the subject, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.

    CC.3.6.11-12.G Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources, using advanced searches effectively; assess the strengths and limitations of each source in terms of the specific task, purpose, and audience; integrate information into the text selectively to maintain the flow of ideas, avoiding plagiarism and overreliance on any one source and following a standard format for citation.

    CC.3.6.11-12.H Draw evidence from informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

    CC.3.6.11-12.I Write routinely over extended time frames (time for reflection and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences

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