CONCORD, N.H. - Kids who want to enter New Hampshire's 2012 Junior Duck Stamp Art Contest should start putting the finishing touches on their masterpieces. Entries must be postmarked by March 15. The contest is a chance for New Hampshire youth from kindergarten through grade 12 to create original artwork depicting any North American duck or goose. Entries are judged on artistic merit and scientific accuracy in portraying the waterfowl. The competition is open to public, private and home-schooled New Hampshire students.
The artist selected as Best-of-Show will receive a $500 scholarship, and the first-place winners in each of four age groups will be awarded cash prizes of up to $75. Prizes are provided through a grant from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
The New Hampshire Fish and Game Department runs the statewide competition, which is part of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Federal Junior Duck Stamp Conservation and Design Contest. The contest serves a dual purpose, giving students a chance to use their artistic talents at the same time they learn about wildlife and conservation.
Don't forget -- entries must be postmarked by March 15, 2012. Competition guidelines, including dimension requirements and an entry form, can be downloaded from www.wildnh.com or contact N.H. Junior Duck Stamp Art Contest Coordinator Ellen Macneil at the N.H. Fish and Game Department, 11 Hazen Drive, Concord, NH 03301; email wildlife@wildlife.nh.gov or call 603-271-2461.
New Hampshire's Junior Duck Stamp Art Contest will award first, second, third and honorable mention ribbons in four groups: grades K-3; 4-6; 7-9; and 10-12. The State Best-of-Show is selected from among the first-place winning designs. New Hampshire's top winner advances to the National Junior Duck Stamp Design Contest, in which the three top winners receive a cash award and a trip to the adult Federal Duck Stamp Contest.
Winning artwork in all categories will be displayed at the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department (11 Hazen Drive) in Concord, N.H., in late April.
The Federal Junior Duck Stamp Conservation and Design Program is an integrated art and science activity developed to teach environmental science and habitat conservation.
