Junior Duck Stamp Contest Materials

The Junior Duck Stamp Contest is a dynamic arts and science educational program used to teach students in grades K - 12 about conservation, waterfowl and wetlands while inspiring students to use scientific skills in their artistic endeavors. State contests are held each year from February until April.

To participate in a state Junior Duck Stamp Contest begin by requesting a contest brochure. The contest brochure clearly outlines the rules of the contest and includes an entry form that must be attached to the back of your horizontal art entry. Please read all of the rules carefully and sign the entry form.

To obtain a brochure download it by clicking on the link below or contact the state coordinator.

2009 Contest Rules (Full broshure with forms and complete instructions)

English entry form

Spanish entry form

Contest Eligibility - Who may participate?

K-12 students attending public, private, or home schools in the United States and the U.S. Territories are eligible to enter, as long as they are U.S. Citizens, resident aliens, or nationals. U.S. Citizens attending schools abroad may enter through their legal state of residence.

• The student who won First Place in the National Junior Duck Stamp Contest during the preceding year may not submit an entry in the current year's contest.
• One entry per student.
• Supervising adults should encourage all students to participate in the Junior Duck Stamp program and enter the art contest. In the case of foreign exchange students, their artwork will be judged at the state level but if the artwork is awarded Best of Show, though it may be honored as a inner in that state, it may not be forwarded to national competition.

• The physical size of submitted artwork must be 9" x 12".
• Entries must be less than ¼" thick.
• Image layout must be horizontal.
• Image must be a live portrayal of a native North American duck, swan or goose (refer to eligible species list).
• Entries should not be matted.
• There should be no border around the image.
• A loose, detachable cover sheet may be laid over the art face to protect it during shipping. Spray chalk and pastel entries with a fixative to eliminate possible scuffing and smudging during transfer of artwork.
• The entry may be multi-color, black and white, or a single color; it may be rendered in ink, paint, pastel, crayon, or pencil.
• Techniques may include scratch-board, airbrush, linoleum printing, paper collage, dry brush, crosshatch, pointillism, etc. No photography, weak pencil, or computer-generated art will be accepted.
• No lettering, words, signatures or initials may appear on the front of the design. Inclusion of such markings will result in disqualification.
• Design entries must be contestant's original, hand-drawn creation and may not be traced or copied from published photographs or other artists' works.
• Photographs taken by the student may be used as references in the development of the design. Computers or other mechanical devices may not be used in creating artwork.
  

Using References to Prepare Your Entry

Scenes should depict birds in their natural habitat; for example, sea ducks should be shown in ocean areas. Feather colors should be appropriate to the time of the year depicted by the environment. Decoratively designed birds are to receive equal voting consideration as realistic depictions as long as they are anatomically correct according to species depicted. Students should not reproduce other artists’ visual images for the purpose of presenting them as their own creative work.

Only work that is the unique creation of the individual student should be entered into competition. Please do not submit work which has been directly or indirectly copied from any published source. Students limited by environment or experience may rely on published images as guides when producing a work. Especially when many references are used to develop an understanding of the subject represented in the entry, the entry must be the student's own creation and idea.

Eligible Species

Restrictions on subject matter of entry:
Please submit an entry featuring one of the species listed below. Contact the state coordinator for questions regarding the permitted species list. Note: Mute swans are not permitted species.

Fulvous Whistling-Duck (Dendrocygna bicolor)
Black-bellied Whistling-Duck (Dendrocygna autumnalis)
Trumpeter Swan (Cygnus buccinator, formerly olor buccinator)
Tundra Swan (Cygnus columbianus, formerly olor columbianus)
Greater White-fronted Goose (Anser albifrons)  
Snow Goose, including blue phase (Chen caerulescens)  
Ross Goose (Chen rossii)  
Emperor Goose (Chen canagica)  
Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)
Brant (Branta bernicla)
Wood Duck (Aix sponsa)  
American Wigeon, formerly American Widgeon (Anas Americana)  
Gadwall (Anas strepera) 
Green-winged Teal (Anas crecca)  
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)  
Mottled Duck (Anas fulvigula) 
American Black Duck (Anas rubripes)  
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta)  
Blue-winged Teal (Anas discors)
Cinnamon Teal (Anas cyanoptera)
Northern Shoveler (Anas clypeata)
Canvasback (Aythya valisineria) 
Redhead (Aythya americana)  
Ring-necked Duck (Aythya collaris)  
Greater Scaup (Aytha marila)  
Lesser Scaup (Aythya affinis)
Common Eider (Somateria mollissima)  
King Eider (Somateria spectabilis)  
Spectacled Eider (Somateria fisheri)  
Stellers Eider (Polysticta stelleri)  
Harlequin Duck (Histrionicus histrionicus)  
Long-tailed duck, formerly Oldsquaw (Clangula hyemalis)  
Black Scoter (Melanitta nigra) 
Surf Scoter (Melanitta perspicillata)  
White-winged Scoter (Melanitta fusca)
Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola)
Barrows Goldeneye (Bucephala islandica)
Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula)
Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus)  
Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator)  
Common Merganser (Mergus merganser)
Ruddy Duck (Oxyura jamaicensis)  
Masked Duck (Oxyura dominica)
Nene (Branta sandvicensis)   
Koloa (Anas wyvilliana)   
Laysan Duck (Anas laysanensis)  

Judging

All phases of the judging procedure will be open to the general public. Entries will be judged on the basis of design, anatomical accuracy, artistic composition, and suitability for reproduction on a 1” by 1 ½” stamp. Both realistic and imaginative interpretations are acceptable. Judging will continue until awards have been allocated for first, second, and third place, plus honorable mention. Notification of winners will be made as soon as possible. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s state coordinator Jennifer Sanchez will officially oversee all judging events.

Junior Duck Stamp Art Display and Contest Judging, March 25, Bass Pro Shops, Pearland, Texas

Conservation Message

Each student is encouraged, but not required, to write a short conservation message that expresses the spirit of what they have learned through classroom discussions, research, and planning for their Junior Duck Stamp Contest entries. Please limit the length of the conservation message to the space provided.

Only one message per state is judged at the national level. States submit either the Best of Show conservation message or the winner of the state conservation message contest. For more information regarding your state’s conservation message contest, please contact your state coordinator.

Texas State Awards

Best of Show: $300 savings bond, book: The Duck Stamp Story, and framed art work
Runner Up: $100 savings bond
Second Runner Up: $50 savings bond

12 First Place Winners: 2008 Junior Duck Stamp
12 Second Place Winners: 2008 Junior Duck Stamp
12 Third Place Winners: 2008 Junior Duck Stamp

All participants receive a Texas Junior Ducks Stamps pin.

Mail Entry to:

Jennifer Sanchez
Mid Coast National Wildlife Refuge Complex
2547 CR 316
Brazoria, Texas 77422

If you have questions, contact the state coordinator for more information.