BGE invites local public and private schools to submit a Captain Mercaptan comic strip now for a chance to win up to $10,000!
Natural Gas Safety Hero Challenge
Baltimore Gas and Electric (BGE) challenges public and private elementary school students at schools with students in Kindergarten through 5th grade in BGE’s service area to illustrate gas safety messages featuring Captain Mercaptan, BGE’s fictional natural gas safety superhero, with the chance to win $10,000. Schools simply need to read the Marvel® comic book featuring Captain Mercaptan on the main page of the contest website, download the online entry kit, then develop a safety message and hand-drawn comic strip featuring supplied images of Captain Mercaptan and his two sidekicks, Sunny and Piper that relate to natural gas safety.
Illustrations should not include the likenesses of any Marvel characters, such as IRON MAN, Pepper Potts or Killjoy. Additional disqualifications can be found in the official rules.
In the comic book, Captain Mercaptan teaches kids how to recognize a natural gas leak and what steps to take when they smell gas. Captain Mercaptan’s name is derived from “mercaptan,” a safety additive that BGE and other utilities put in natural gas to give it a distinctive rotten egg odor that makes gas easier to detect. The superhero and his safety sidekicks were originally designed by elementary school students through a previous BGE contest.
Entries can be submitted through November 13th, with public voting open from November 20th to December 3rd. A judges panel will score the entries from December 11th to 15th with one grand prize winner, and one additional winner for each grade, Kindergarten through 5th grade awarded $5000 each. Entries will be judges on creativity, artistry, and understanding of natural gas safety. Winners will be notified in January.
