Students Win Trip To State Archives To View Original Maine Constitution

Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap has announced the winners of the 2015 Maine Constitution Essay and Poster Contest.

Students from grades K through 12 are invited to participate in the annual event. Older students submit essays on the Maine Constitution, voting and democracy. The younger kids create posters that display Maine’s history.

This year’s essay winners are a pair of home-schooled students from Farmington, eighth-grader Carolyn Frank and tenth-grade student Dominick Frank.

In the poster contest, the winners were third-grader Mina Kazimierczak and fifth-grade student Nathan Cooper. Both students attend The Boxberry School in Oxford.

“The essay and poster contest is a great opportunity for students to reflect on the wide spectrum of Maine’s identity, from the rich traditions of our native tribes to the whimsy of whoopie pies as our state treat,” said Dunlap. “We congratulate the winners and hope that all of the students gained a deeper appreciation for their state through their participation.”

Winners and their fellow classmates are invited to view the original 1820 Maine Constitution, which is rarely removed from storage for viewings.

Judges for this year’s contest were Sen. Anne Haskell of Portland, Rep. Beth Turner of Burlington and Betsy Spekke, an archivist at the Maine State Archives.

Visit the state of Maine website to learn more about the contest and view this year's winning entries.