| Second Annual Goldfish Training Contest |
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What: A contest to show off your animal training skills! Who: Kids ages 10 to 14 Why: Have fun and win an all-expenses-paid trip to Mystic Aquarium to work with a beluga whale trainer for a day How: Create a 2-minute video showing how you trained a goldfish to perform a unique behavior When: Now! Deadline for submission of videos is May 1, 2011 Do you have what it takes to be a marine mammal trainer? Think you’ve mastered the bridging, shaping, and positive reinforcement techniques you learned in the Marine Mammals of the Arctic program? Prove it! Show us your skills by training a goldfish to perform a unique behavior. Videotape that behavior – and your training process – and send it to Immersion. A grand prize winner will be selected to join a beluga trainer at Mystic Aquarium for a day in the summer of 2011. Interested? Here are the details:1. Train your goldfish to perform a unique behavior using the techniques described in Marine Mammals of the Arctic Activity 5: Beluga Basic Training and in the Beluga University online game.Tip: Watch this video to see these training techniques used with puffer fish at Mystic Aquarium or watch the videos of last year's Goldfish Training Contest winners. There are also dozens of videos on YouTube showing trained goldfish behaviors that you can use for inspiration. But remember: we’re looking for unique and interesting behaviors that will make you stand out from the crowd! 2. Create a video that contains the following: Your goldfish performing the trained behavior. Be sure to get the camera as close to the action as possible so we can see everything your fish is doing! This section of the video should be no more than one minute in length. You on camera describing the training process. Tell us about the steps you took to train your goldfish, how long it took, how often you trained the goldfish, what obstacles you overcame, what you learned in the process, and any other interesting tidbits you think we’d like to know. This section of the video should be no more than one minute in length. The completed video should be no more than two minutes in length. 3. Submit your video using the Goldfish Training Contest submission form on this page before the May 1, 2011, deadline. 4. The Immersion staff will review all of the entries and will select and notify a grand prize winner by May 15, 2011. The winner and one adult chaperone will receive an all-expenses-paid trip to Mystic Aquarium & Institute for Exploration in Mystic, Connecticut, in the summer of 2011 (exact date TBD). The winner will work closely with our beluga whales and professional trainers in the role of apprentice beluga trainer. FAQsQ: Am I eligible to participate in the contest?A: If you are between 10 and 14 years old and currently reside in the United States, Canada, or Mexico, you are eligible to participate. Q: Can I train an animal other than a goldfish and still enter the contest? A: No – in order to keep the playing field level for everybody all submissions must be made with a goldfish as the trainee. Q: Can I train a goldfish and enter the contest as part of a group, class, or team? A: Yes, we will accept submissions from groups, but we ask that you select a single person that will represent the group. This representative should appear on camera in the video describing the training process, and will be the person who will travel to Mystic and work with the belugas and trainers if selected as a winning entrant. Q: Can I get help from others (such as adults) when creating my video? A: Yes. We just require that you are the one doing the goldfish training. Q: I have a question that’s not answered here. How can I get an answer? A: Submit your questions about the contest to the Immersion staff using this form. |