Endangered Species Youth Art Contest
2023 Contest Now Open!
Join us for our 6th annual Endangered Species Youth Art Contest! In celebration of Endangered Species Day (May 19, 2023) Roger Williams Park Zoo is accepting art entries from local K-12 grade students and homeschoolers in the New England area depicting threatened and endangered species. Art can inspire others to make deep connections and empower change. Together we hope to raise awareness about the importance of saving endangered species and their wild habitats.
Entries must be received by Sunday, April 2, 2023. Winners will notified by email and will be formally announced by May 2023.
See below for complete contest guidelines, past winners, prize packages, and submission instructions.
Special thank you to supporting partner:
Art Contest Guidelines
- All entries are to be submitted electronically. Webform will be made available beginning February 1, 2023.
- Students’ artwork must be original. Computer-generated and traced images will NOT be judged.
- All artwork must depict threatened/endangered species.
- Each art entry must also include a short explanation (3-5 sentences) as to why saving your chosen species/subject from extinction is important.
- Deadline: Entries must be received by Sunday, April 2, 2023. Late entries will not be judged.
We appreciate you celebrating our wild world with us!
Please Note: All artwork becomes the property of Roger Williams Park Zoo. Submission of the artwork grants the Zoo a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to publish your student’s/child’s artwork in our editorial, educational, and promotional print and digital materials, and on social media. All published artwork will be credited “Artist’s Name.”
Questions? Please contact Corrie Ignagni, Manager of Digital Communications at cignagni@rwpzoo.org. Thank you!
- GRAND PRIZE (Judges Choice)
- One (1) Family RWPZoo membership (a $149 value; or extra year added to current Zoo membership. Renewal based on equal or lesser valued-membership)
- An adopt-an-animal package of your choice
- One (1) $100 gift card to Jerry’s Artarama of Providence
- Artwork custom framed by Jerry’s Artarama of Providence and displayed in the Zoo’s Hasbro’s Our Big Backyard exhibit until May 2024.
- GRADE CATEGORY WINNERS (Grades K-2, Grades 3-5, Grades 6-8, and Grades 9-12) Each grade-winner shall receive:
- Six (6) General daytime admission tickets to RWPZoo
- One (1) $25 gift card to Jerry’s Artarama of Providence
- Artwork custom framed by Jerry’s Artarama of Providence and displayed in the Zoo’s Hasbro’s Our Big Backyard exhibit until May 2024.
- HONORABLE MENTIONS (Grades K-2, Grades 3-5, Grades 6-8, and Grades 9-12) Each grade-honorable mention shall receive:
- Four (4) General daytime admission tickets to RWPZoo
- An award certificate
All winners and honorable mentions artwork will be highlighted on the Zoo’s website and social media pages, and in the Zoo’s summer WILD Magazine issue.
2022 Winners:
Congratulations to the student winners of the 2022 Endangered Species Youth Art Contest! The Zoo’s 5th annual contest received over 300 art submissions from creative and talented young artists from across New England. Big thanks to the countless teachers who helped their students take part in this year’s contest and for helping us raise awareness of endangered species everywhere. Thank you to our co-partner, Jerry’s Artarama of Providence, for their continual support. See their works in the Zoo’s Big Backyard exhibit.
2022 Grand Prize Winner:
Gina Yang (Green Sea Turtle, 9-12)
Indigenous to Hawaii, the green sea turtle is critically endangered and experiencing unprecedented rates of extinction. One of the main threats to the turtles has been the danger of entanglement in fishing nets. As man’s exploitation of the environment is affecting the green sea turtle population, it is our responsibility to protect the green sea turtle as an integral part of the ecosystem.
9-12 Grade Winner:
Samantha Thibeault (Polar Bears, 9-12)
I believe that saving Polar Bears from extinction is incredibly important. Because the ice is melting in the arctic area, they are already endangered. If the ice fully melts, Polar Bears would be forced to live on human-occupied land, and would live an unhealthy life. No animal should be forced into extinction, including Polar Bears.
6-8 Grade Winner:
Anna Cherepowich (Sumatran Tiger, 6-8)
The Sumatran Tiger is one of the smallest of the tigers and also one of the most beautiful. It’s deep orange coloring is stunning. They are only native to the island of Sumatra in Indonesia and they were listed as critically endangered in 2008 with less than 400 left. The main reason: deforestation and poaching. Because humans are the ones responsible for this, it is our responsibility to raise awareness for these beautiful cats and ultimately, save them from extinction.
3-5 Grade Winner:
Olivia Yi-Jie Chen Rose (Giraffe, 3-5)
Thank you for hosting the art contest, I really enjoying painting my artwork. The reason I choose to draw the giraffe is because they are cute and excotic animals that are going extinct. I want to support the giraffes because they keep the ecosystem in balance by eating the plants that other animals can’t eat. If the giraffes around the world go extinct, then the Earth will be unbalanced and these animals will be forgotten. Please save the giraffes!
K-2 Grade Winner:
Madelyn Huggins (African Elephants, K-2)
Elephants are very important to their ecosystem. If elephants didn’t exist, a lot of other animals would suffer. It is wrong that elephants are killed for their tusks.
2022 Honorable Mentions:
