Adler, ComEd Challenge Students to Shoot for the Moon With Essay Contest

CHICAGO, Feb. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- ComEd and the Adler Planetarium today announced the second annual Shoot for the Moon essay contest to expose eighth graders to space exploration careers. The winner will receive a week-long trip to Space Camp in Alabama.

ComEd sponsors the Adler's permanent exhibition, Shoot for the Moon, which features the Gemini 12 spacecraft and tells the thrilling stories of American space exploration. As an extension of the sponsorship, ComEd is encouraging eighth grade students throughout its service territory to consider the variety of jobs it takes to complete a space mission, and draft a 200-word essay about how their lessons in science classes and everyday life would help them with a career in space exploration. NBC 5 Chicago is the media sponsor for Shoot for the Moon.

"At ComEd, we are passionate about math and science education for young people, and our long-time partnership with the Adler Planetarium has helped us fulfill that concern," said Frank M. Clark, ComEd chairman and CEO and chairman of the board of trustees for the Adler Planetarium. "Space exploration is embedded in the fabric of American culture, and the Shoot for the Moon essay contest is a great way to promote young people's interest in science."

Participants in the essay contest can win: -- Grand Prize: A six-day trip to Space Camp in Huntsville, Ala. this summer, paid for by ComEd; -- First Runner Up: Attendance at the Adler's summer camp; -- Second Runner Up: A VIP party at the Adler for ten people.

The grand-prize winner and the two runners-up will win family memberships to the Adler Planetarium. Students can sign up for the contest by visiting http://www.comed.com/moon. Entries mailed through the U.S. Postal Service must be postmarked by March 15, 2008.

"The Shoot for the Moon exhibition inspires young people to dream big and imagine their own futures in space," said Paul H. Knappenberger Jr., Ph.D, president of the Adler Planetarium. "This contest will open kids' minds to the numerous career opportunities associated with future space travel, and we're grateful to ComEd for their commitment to our next generation of explorers."

Legendary Captain James Lovell, one of two NASA astronauts featured in the Shoot for the Moon exhibit, will serve on the panel of judges, along with Clark, Knappenberger and:

-- State Senator Kimberly A. Lightford, chairperson of the Illinois Senate Committee on Education; -- Lula Ford, commissioner of the Illinois Commerce Commission; -- Tamara L. O'Shaughnessy, editor of Chicago Parent magazine; -- LeAnn Trotter, reporter at NBC 5; -- Stella Foster, columnist at the Chicago Sun-Times; and -- Kayla Ladner, last year's grand prize winner and freshman at St. Joseph High School in Westchester.

"I had a wonderful experience at space camp and got to meet lots of people of different ethnicities," said Ladner. "I learned what it takes to be an astronaut and how to land a shuttle via computer. Other kids should enter the essay contest because it's a good experience to learn about space, and it teaches you how to write better and speak in front of groups of people."

Employees, officers, and directors (and their immediate family members, and members of the same households, whether related or not) of ComEd and its affiliates, subsidiaries, advertising and promotional agencies are not eligible to participate.

Commonwealth Edison Company (ComEd) is a unit of Chicago-based Exelon Corporation , one of the nation's largest electric utilities with approximately 5.4 million customers. ComEd provides service to approximately 3.8 million customers across Northern Illinois, or 70 percent of the state's population.

The Adler Planetarium & Astronomy Museum -- America's First Planetarium -- was founded in 1930 by Chicago business leader Max Adler. The museum has announced a new vision to be the world's leading space science center. The museum will inspire the next generation of explorers by sharing the stories of human space exploration and America's space heroes. The Adler is a recognized leader in science education, with a focus on inspiring young people, particularly women and minorities, to pursue careers in science.