Welcome to Glow Life! We invite fifth grade classrooms and homeschool groups in counties near Great Smoky Mountains National Park to participate in this free science-based contest supported by free lesson plans. Make a creation of your own, in the medium of your choice, exploring and reflecting on what you’ve learned about bioluminescence and biofluorescence and their importance to living things in the Great Smokies.
Entering the Contest
Projects must be completed in coordination with a classroom teacher or homeschool leader, who can enter only one project per class or homeschool group. Projects must be entered by a teacher or leader rather than a student. Teachers and leaders are encouraged to work with the entire class but are also free to engage small groups or individual students within their class to create an entry to represent the class.
Entry Requirements
- All entries must be submitted digitally on Submittable.com by a teacher or homeschool leader.
- Only one entry per classroom/homeschool group can be entered to the contest.
- Any fifth-grade classroom from a public, private, or homeschool in 35 eligible Tennessee and North Carolina counties near Dollywood and Great Smoky Mountains National Park can participate. Eligible Tenn. Counties (25): Anderson, Blount, Campbell, Carter, Claiborne, Cocke, Cumberland, Grainger, Greene, Hamblen, Hancock, Hawkins, Jefferson, Johnson, Knox, Loudon, Monroe, Morgan, Roane, Scott, Sevier, Sullivan, Unicoi, Union, Washington. Eligible NC Counties (10): Buncombe, Cherokee, Graham, Haywood, Henderson, Jackson, Macon, Madison, Swain, Yancey
- Acceptable entry formats include .doc, .docx, .pdf, .gif, .png, .jpg, .tif, .mov, .mp4, .mp3, and .wav. If your entry takes a physical form (for instance, a sculpture, drawing, or diorama) submit a photo and/or video showing what you’ve made.
- Written submissions should contain no more than 500 words and be no longer than five pages. Audio or video submissions should not exceed five minutes in length.
- Entries may include an optional summary of no more than 250 words explaining what the project is and how it relates to the prompt.
- The deadline for entries is Friday, November 13, 2026. Winners will be announced Friday, January 8, 2026.
- Entries will be judged by Smokies Life and DLiA based on creativity, demonstrated understanding of the material, and quality of the end result.
- Five winning projects will be selected. Winning classes will receive one one-day Dollywood admission ticket per student in the class, one-day Dollywood admission ticket for the class teacher and required chaperones, and reimbursement for school bus transportation.
- See our FAQ at GlowLife.SmokiesLife.org or email glowlife@smokieslife.org with questions.
PLEASE NOTE: Use of generative AI is strictly prohibited. Any entries deemed to have been created using these tools will be discarded. Projects must be created only by the students whose names are listed on the entry form.