Get Creative: Enter the Maritime Aquarium's Contest for Best Lighthouse Model

An announcement from the Maritime Aquarium in Norwalk:

Let your creative light bulb pop on and design a model lighthouse for The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk’s upcoming “Festival of Lighthouses Contest.”

There’s $3,300 in prize money available in this 13th annual contest that decorates the Aquarium with large homemade hand-crafted lighthouses for the holiday season.

Reserve a limited spot in the contest by sending in an entry form now. Then start designing and building your entry. Anyone over age 14 as of Nov. 1 can enter – individually or as a team of up to four.

The Maritime Aquarium’s lighthouse exhibit/contest runs Nov. 22 through Jan. 19. Visitors to the popular Connecticut family attraction follow the beacons through the aquarium galleries and then cast a vote for their favorite. The builder of the lighthouse with the most visitor votes wins $1,500. Other prizes to be awarded at a Jan. 22 ceremony are: $750 for second, $375 for third; $300 for fourth; $225 for fifth; and $150 for sixth.

Plus, every exhibited lighthouse wins a one-year Family Membership to the Norwalk aquarium worth $150.

To qualify, lighthouses must be 3 to 6 feet tall and have a working light – beyond that, it’s pretty much up to the creators’ imaginations. Model yours after a real lighthouse. Or pick a design that’s highly artistic, comically imaginative or puzzlingly abstract.

Previous years’ entries have been crafted out of about every material imaginable, from the expected – wood, metal, stone, papier mache, plastic and glass – to the unexpected – string, candy, furnace filters, trash and even paper clips. Prohibited are animal remains, including shells.

Entry forms are due by Fri., Oct. 24. After 24 entry forms are received, all subsequent entrants will be placed on a waiting list. Lighthouses must be delivered to the Aquarium between Nov. 14 and 17.

Get an entry form and the official rules online here. (Click on “Exhibits & Animals.”) Or for more details, call The Maritime Aquarium at (203) 852-0700, ext. 2248.

Photo from Maritime Aquarium brochure online here (PDF).