CONTEST STANDARD CRITERIA
- There must be something to see as one goal of the contest is to inspire travel in Kansas.
- Entries, no matter how great they are, must be nominated in the category that fits them best.
- Entries that have been a finalist in another category are not eligible.
- Those nomination should be urged to provide thorough background information that fits the criteria so the judges have the best opportunity to make good judgments.
- Finalists to the overall 8 Wonders contest that did not make the top 8 were automatically eligible for their particular element contest. Other than that, no finalists in the element contest are eligible to be in any other contest.
CRITERIA FOR THE 8 WONDERS
- Nominations may fit into any of the eight rural culture element categories (architecture, art, commerce, cuisine, customs, geography, history, and people).
- The attraction must be publicly accessible, open regularly, be non-franchise, and be able to stand the test of time.
- The nomination needs to be a "wow" and have a unique connection to Kansas or have attained a significant claim in the U.S. or world.
- Events are not eligible.
- Examples: http://www.kansassampler.org/8wonders/
CRITERIA FOR THE 8 WONDERS OF KANSAS ARCHITECTURE
- The nomination needs to be a "wow" and have a unique connection to Kansas or have attained a significant claim in the U.S. or world.
- Any kind of built structure is eligible that is publicly accessible for tours or is part of an open business or museum.
- Only the exterior of an active residence may be nominated, if agreeable to owner.
- The structure must still be standing.
The structure may be under active restoration, but the historical significance must be so great as to offset the restoration issue as a nomination liability.
- Examples: http://www.kansassampler.org/8wonders/architectureresults.php
CRITERIA FOR THE 8 WONDERS OF KANSAS ART - The nomination needs to be a "wow" and have a unique connection to Kansas or have attained a significant claim in the U.S. or world.
- The nomination may be any kind of art but it must be publicly accessible.
- An artist may be the nominee, but there must be a display telling about that person and samples of their work must be shown.
- An art museum may only be nominated if the museum itself, in its entirety, can make a claim placing it as more unique than another.
- Otherwise, a piece of art within an art museum may be nominated.
- Examples: http://www.kansassampler.org/8wonders/artresults.php
CRITERIA FOR THE 8 WONDERS OF KANSAS COMMERCE - The nomination needs to be a "wow" and have a unique connection to Kansas or have attained a significant claim in the U.S. or world.
- Perhaps it is the oldest, the first, etc.
- The nominee must have some quality that sets it apart from others in its niche.
- It can be a present-day business or industry or one no longer in operation if it is featured in a significant museum or display.
- The nomination must be publicly accessible as a place to visit or offer tours on a regular basis.
- Or, the nominee must be well-interpreted in a nearby museum permanent display.
- The business must have longevity of 20+ years.
- Examples: http://www.kansassampler.org/8wonders/commerceresults.php
CRITERIA FOR THE 8 WONDERS OF KANSAS CUISINE - The nomination needs to be a "wow" and have a unique connection to Kansas or have attained a significant claim in the U.S. or world.
- A restaurant must be locally-owned (non-franchise) and have been open for business at least 10 years with a probability of staying open for years to come.
- It must be open regularly and should be legendary or iconic or have some claim to fame for either the food, the setting or building, or the owners.
- The nomination can be a famous special recipe originated by a Kansas that is served regularly in an open restaurant.
- Examples: http://www.kansassampler.org/8wonders/cuisineresults.php
CRITERIA FOR THE 8 WONDERS OF KANSAS CUSTOMS - The custom nomination should be an action phrase associated with a community tradition or routine; an oddity or something quirky, a collection; a historical display about a long-standing community trait.
- Can be things that are known as the world's or state's largest, oldest, first, only, etc.
- It needs to be a "wow" and have a unique connection to Kansas or have attained a significant claim in the U.S. or world.
- The activity can be historic and told about in a display or can be an ongoing activity and one in which the public can participate.
- Annual events are not eligible.
- An event that takes place at least once a week for at least 40 weeks of a year is eligible.
- Examples: http://www.kansassampler.org/8wonders/customsresults.php
CRITERIA FOR THE 8 WONDERS OF KANSAS GEOGRAPHY - The nomination may have anything to do with nature but must be publicly accessible.
- Preferably, the nomination should be about a specific location as opposed to a broad general area.
- The nominee should showcase a natural aspect of Kansas that is unique to the state or world. (Need it to be more than a pretty place or a common type of landmark).
- The nomination needs to be a "wow" and have a unique connection to Kansas or have attained a significant claim in the U.S. or world.
- Some examples would be arboretums, scenic byways, champion trees, highest points, lakes, nature trails, legendary areas, natural landmarks, wetlands, prairies, waterfalls, rivers, gardens, more.
- Examples: http://www.kansassampler.org/8wonders/geographyresults.php
CRITERIA FOR THE 8 WONDERS OF KANSAS HISTORY - The nomination needs to be a "wow" and have a unique connection to Kansas or have attained a significant claim in the U.S. or world.
- The entry must be about something to see (not just a story) and must be publicly accessible.
Interpretation of the visual evidence is a plus.
- For example, perhaps your entry is a pasture that has Santa Fe Trail ruts but if there is no sign to tell about the ruts, the nomination would not be as strong.
- Interpretation means helping tell the story of what we are looking at.
- The nomination should provide adequate information about the particular history AND about the physical evidence (what the public will see).
- The entry should be unique to Kansas and definitely unique in the state. If the entry is the "only" one in Kansas or beyond, that is a plus.
- Another example: Undoubtedly there will be many Santa Fe Trail entries. What we're looking for is the site that has certain characteristics that make it stand above all other Santa Fe Trail sites. Explain those characteristics well.
- The entry must be specific, not broad and general. For instance, "the Pony Express" would be general. The Hollenberg Station near Hanover would be specific.
- The nomination needs to be tied to a specific thing to see or do in one place. The Hollenberg Pony Express Station would be the name of the entry.
- Can a museum be the name of an entry? Yes, especially if it's a niche museum. However, a county museum will have a harder time standing out as unique. It might be better to focus on a specific piece of history within that museum.
- Those automatically eligible as a History Finalist are those that took part in the overall 8 Wonders of Kansas but did not make the top 8. They are: Constitution Hall, Lecompton; Fort Larned National Historic Site; Pawnee Indian Museum, Republic.
- It's your job in the nomination to set your place apart from similar topic places in Kansas and beyond.
- Do not expect the committee to do further research. Everything we need to know to make the decision should be in your nomination.
- Examples: http://www.kansassampler.org/8wonders/historyresults.php
CRITERIA FOR THE 8 WONDERS OF KANSAS PEOPLE - There must be something to see in relation to the person nominated. This "something to see" must give some information about the nominee and help the public learn more about a particular person or group of people.
- The degree of "wow" factor for the display, memorial, statue, or attraction will be noted by the Selection Committee.
- In almost every case, it is likely the nominee will not be living. The exception to a living person being nominated is that the nominee be retired from work that placed him/her in the national spotlight and that a substantial and permanent display in Kansas tells about their life and work, i.e. the Robert Dole Institute.
- The nomination needs to be a "wow" and have a unique connection to Kansas or have attained a significant claim in the U.S. or world.
- Bullet points highlighting the nominee's life work or claim to fame is all that is needed in the nomination.
- These points should indicate their unique contributions -- their "wow" factor. We're not necessarily looking for a famous person but someone who did things no one else, or few others, did.
- A group of people with some kind of distinction can be nominated but the attraction associated with them should tell about the personalities in the group, as opposed to simply the history of the event or era.
- The person does not have to have been born in Kansas but should have made some kind of reputation as a Kansan or contributed to Kansas in some significant manner.
- The person can be a musician, politician, businessman, scientist, chef, historic figure, athlete, etc. but the display has to feature what made them a significant figure. Having a building named after the person is not sufficient.
