EDITOR'S NOTE: During this unprecedented time, ADOT is creating transportation activities for kids. Please visit azdot.gov/ADOTKids or use the hashtag #ADOTKids on ADOT's Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts to see what we have going on. 

Everyone wants a litter-free Arizona. That's why we’re challenging kids of all ages to create colorful reminders for everyone to keep Arizona and its highways looking grand. Join the fun by submitting a photo of a sidewalk chalk drawing – or another type of drawing – showing the Keep It Grand logo at right. 

ADOT will add every picture we receive by 5 p.m. Wednesday, April 22, to a slideshow that will be posted on this page Friday, April 24. NOTE: We've added the pictures below, along with a video in which I answer your questions and feature your art.

Here's how to participate and share your art with the world:

1. Use the logo on the right for inspiration, then grab some chalk and draw the Keep It Grand logo on your driveway or wherever safe and permissible to do so. Feel free to draw and share your own Keep It Grand or anti-litter message as well. NOTE: Don't have sidewalk chalk? Not a problem! Any way you're able to create and share your drawing is just fine with us. 
2. Send your photo to ADOT by email ([email protected]). We can't post photos of you with your art, but we'd love to show off your art. Feel free to share your photos with us using the hashtag #ADOTKids on Twitter (we're @ArizonaDOT), Facebook (/AZDOT) and Instagram (@Arizona_DOT).
3. Please send me your questions about ADOT's Adopt a Highway program, the problem of roadside litter and the Litter Hotline that I explain below. I'll answer them in a video while I also celebrate your art. It'll be posted along with the slideshow.  
4. Challenge your friends to participate!

Show your love for keeping Arizona grand and remember to stash your trash during outdoor activities, no matter your method of transportation, until it can be properly disposed of. 

If you'd like to learn more about what I do managing ADOT's Adopt a Highway progams, please visit azdot.gov/adoptahighway and this ADOT Blog post about yours truly. You also can explore ADOT Blog posts about our many Adopt a Highway volunteers, including student groups. And you can learn about our Litter Hotline, which allows people to report drivers they see trashing state highways. We send the vehicle's owner a letter explaining how litter harms Arizona and include a small litter bag to take along on trips. I'm happy to answer any questions you have about these subjects. 

Video: 

Slideshow:

EDITOR'S NOTE: During this unprecedented time, ADOT is creating transportation activities for kids. Please visit azdot.gov/ADOTKids or use the hashtag #ADOTKids on ADOT's Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts to see what we have going on. 

By Caroline Carpenter / ADOT Communications

Kids have long been fascinated by ADOT's big bridges and heavy construction equipment. Now they can bring the fun home, minus the concrete, rebar and dust!

As kids have turned to Zoom meetings for online learning or connecting with friends, we're offering custom ADOT backgrounds with future engineers in mind. These backgrounds feature everything from the US 60 bridge crossing Pinto Creek east of the Valley to equipment pushing dirt to build the South Mountain Freeway. For those who like watching things being demolished, there's an option for that too. 

Below are six free downloads for virtual backgrounds that can be used on Zoom meetings. Kids: Be sure to check with your teacher first if you want to use the background during class.

The Zoom website has instructions for uploading and using virtual backgrounds, but here are a few tips we've found helpful:

1. First, start or join a meeting, then try uploading your virtual background.
2. It works best if you're sitting in front of a solid-colored wall. 
3. Turn off "mirroring" so the image isn't reversed.

You can download each of the images below with a right click/save. 

If you love your background, please share a screenshot on social media (with an adult's permission, of course) using the hashtag #ADOTKids. If you have a suggestion for another background, you can also let us know on social media!

 

 

 

 

 

 

EDITOR'S NOTE: During this unprecedented time, ADOT is creating transportation activities for kids. Please visit azdot.gov/ADOTKids or use the hashtag #ADOTKids on ADOT's Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts to see what we have going on. 

Caroline Carpenter / ADOT Communications

Did you know a snowplow weighs as much as five elephants? If you didn't, that means you may have missed our first ADOT Kids blog about snowplows. Over the next few weeks, we'll be helping kids learn more about transportation, construction and engineering. We'll be providing fun, educational activities for kids of all ages. You can search "ADOT Kids" on our website for activities or search social media using the hashtag #ADOTKids. 

Now, back to those really big snowplows! Kids, did you finish your snowplow coloring activity? Make sure you email it to [email protected] so it can be featured on our website! If you haven't finished your coloring project, visit the ADOT Blog to print our snowplow images for coloring. You can also read more about snowplows and watch videos of them in action when you visit the blog. 

After you've emailed your snowplow art to [email protected], take our quiz below to see how much you know about snowplows. If you still have questions about snowplows, get them answered by an ADOT engineer! Email your questions to [email protected] or post them on social media using the hashtag #ADOTKids. 

EDITOR'S NOTE: During this unprecedented time, ADOT is creating transportation activities for kids. Please visit azdot.gov/ADOTKids or use the hashtag #ADOTKids on ADOT's Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts to see what we have going on.

By Ryan Harding / ADOT Communications

Did you know that one ADOT snowplow weighs as much as five elephants? That’s 30 tons!

Snowplows keep the highways in Arizona's mountain areas clear of snow and ice to help everyone stay safe. Operating these powerful machines are drivers who receive a lot of training, including spending time in a snowplow simulator machine. That training is important, since a new snowplow costs at least $250,000. 

Check out the video at right showing ADOT snowplows and snowplow drivers in action. It's from 2014. 

A snowplow driver’s job is very important in keeping roads safe for travel. The city of Flagstaff, which is about a two-hour drive north of Phoenix, can get 90 inches of snow in a year. If that all fell at once, it would be taller than Deandre Ayton of the Phoenix Suns!

There are two busy freeways near Flagstaff, Interstate 40 and Interstate 17, so that area has a lot of ADOT plows on the road when it snows. That helps keep everyone safe.  

Snowplow drivers work for 12 hours. That’s like starting when you first get up for school and finishing at dinnertime! Can you imagine sitting behind the wheel of one of these large vehicles in a snowstorm for that long?

If you think that these snowplows are big, check out the second video about the TowPlow. ADOT has two TowPlows. They attach to the back of a regular snowplow, and the driver steers it clear even more snow and ice.

TowPlows are HUGE! They allow one driver in a snowplow to do the work of TWO regular snowplows.

By now, I hope you love snowplows as much as I do. There's lots more to learn about them at a website we call Know Snow. You also can check out our Know Snow YouTube channel with videos about snow, snowplows and winter driving. Both links will take you to lots of safety tips. Most of these safety tips are for drivers, but here's one every kid should know: Never play in the snow next to a highway. One reason is that snowplows throw A LOT of snow and ice way off the roadway. You don't to be in the way when that's happening!

We also have activities for you:

COLOR A PICTURE AND SEND IT TO US: When you color one or both of the snowplow pictures below (click on them for a version you can print), have an adult scan or take a picture of your coloring and email it to [email protected]. We'll add every one we receive by 5 p.m. Wednesday, April 15, to a slideshow and put it right here on Friday, April 17, so you can see your masterpiece along with everyone else's. We've included spaces for you to include your first name (only your first name), your age and where you live. We can't post photos of you with your art, but we'd love to show just your art. UPDATE: We've added a slideshow with everyone's colorings below. 

SEND US QUESTIONS: When an adult emails your picture to [email protected], please send us questions you have about snowplows. We'll share the most popular questions with an ADOT engineer who knows A LOT about snowplows. UPDATE: We've shared this video below in which Jesse Gutierrez, our deputy state engineer for operations, answers your questions. 

I can't wait to see what you do with these drawings and to see what questions you have about ADOT snowplows!

 

Print Snowplow Exterior Sheet

 

Print Snowplow Interior Sheet

Answers to your questions about snowplows!

Thanks for all of your great questions. Here is a video in which Jesse Gutierrez, ADOT's deputy state engineer for operations, answers them.

Here's a slideshow with your art!