Poster Contest 2026

Math & Food

This poster competition is designed to offer an avenue for mathematics students to express their creativity and to discover the usefulness and pervasiveness of mathematics. The theme of this year’s poster contest is Mathematics and Food. Anything dealing with food can be used for your poster (e.g., nutrition, allergies, recipes, etc.).

Please read all instructions and guidelines below!

Rules:

Posters are to measure 16 to 30 inches wide and 20 to 30 inches high.
Any weight of paper is permitted but poster board is recommended.
Any layers of paper or props on the poster must be securely attached.
Posters must be original ideas by the entrants.
Front of poster should not contain any marks, names, or information that would identify the entrant(s)’s name, school, or district.

Grade Bands

Kindergarten - 2nd Grade
3rd Grade - 5th Grade
6th Grade - 8th Grade
9th Grade - 12th Grade

State Level Prizes

First place winner receives $100
Second place winner receives $50
Third place winner receives $25

Judging

Each school should select a winning poster in each of the four grade-level categories (K-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12) that they have available at their school. For example, a K-8 school could select up to 3 winning posters (a winning poster for K-2, a winning poster for 3-5, and a winning poster for 6-8). We suggest each school use the three criteria below for determining their winning posters, as these are the criteria we will be using to evaluate the submissions.
- - Originality & Creativity shown in the overall display
  - Mathematical Content & Accuracy

Ideas for Inspiration:

- - - - creating a math task that aligns with the ideas on your poster
        describing how your poster aligns with specific mathematical ideas connected to food
  - Clarity of Message in addressing the theme, Mathematics and Food
At the state level, a first, second and third place winning entry will be chosen in each of the four grade-level categories. The judges’ decisions are final. Entries will be judged on the the three criteria above.

Submission For State Level Competition (Not Open Yet)

We will accept only one submission per grade band per school. Any school that submits more than one poster per grade band will have all submissions of that grade band disqualified. For this reason we highly recommend having one contact person per school!
Submissions should be made by a teacher of the school. Deadline to be determined.

Frequently Asked Questions

If you have any questions about the poster contest that are not answered by either this page or this FAQ, please email tyler.whaley@mydctm.org. All questions asked will be answered via email and will be added to this page.

Question: Can students complete this in pairs?

Answer: Students can work as individuals or as pairs.

Question: Can students create the poster digitally?

Answer: Students can create posters digitally, but the submission at the school level should be printed out.

Question: When is the deadline for the school level contests?

Answer: We are not in charge of the school level contests. We highly encourage that the school level contests have a deadline close to the end of March or the beginning of April.

Question: Can the posters be double-sided?

Answer: Posters should be single-sided so any identifying information can be placed on the back.

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