State Launches Colorado Face Mask Design Challenge

DENVER (CBS4) - Some children have been expressing fear when seeing people wearing masks all across the state of Colorado amid the coronavirus outbreak. The state is hoping to minimize that concern by opening up an avenue for parents to more easily have conversations with their kids about protecting against the spread of COVID-19.

On Monday, Gov. Jared Polis announced the creation of a face mask design challenge. The goal to get children statewide to design their own masks at home using a template provided at coloradomaskcontest.org and to then share them online.

"Once you make your design, take a photograph with your digital camera and upload it to our website," said Margaret Hunt, the director of Colorado Creative Industries, the state's arts agency. "We'd like to see designs from all over the state of Colorado."

Some will be selected for display on the state's social media pages and a few designs will wind up being featured on face masks produced by Colorado companies that are manufacturing and donating masks to health care workers.

"We wanted to create a conversation around art and creativity to help alleviate these fears and talk to children and others about difficult subjects and emotions," Polis said. "Designing masks together as a family can really open up that conversation and help children become comfortable with wearing one or seeing adults or their parents wearing one without having a fearful reaction."

LINK: Colorado Face Mask Design Challenge

Polis said he's hoping that some day soon he'll be able to wear a mask that has a design created by a Colorado child. He said he plans to have his children take part in the challenge.

"We're asking for kids to use bright colors," said Hunt. "Markers work really, really well. And if you're using crayons to use bright, bold colors and to fill in the blanks."

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