Nine black, gray and yellow ducks on a pond, one adult and eight small, fuzzy ducklings

Kentucky Junior Duck Stamp Program

Updated October 27, 2026

We encourage all educators, youth leaders, scout leaders, and individual students to consider the Jr. Duck Stamp Art Contest.

At its core, the JDS Contest is much more than an art competition. It’s an interdisciplinary experience that blends art, science, writing, and environmental education. Students in grades K–12 explore wetlands, waterfowl, migratory birds, land stewardship, and conservation while creating original artwork and written reflections. Year after year, we hear from teachers and families that students don’t just participate—they genuinely enjoy the process.

The contest is designed to fit seamlessly into your classroom. Whether you teach art, science, geography, writing, or enjoy weaving subjects together, JDS can support your curriculum. To make things even easier, we offer Ready-to-use curriculum guides that help you integrate the contest into lessons without adding extra prep to your plate.

Beyond academic standards, JDS reinforces valuable life skills. Students practice perseverance, creative thinking, and taking pride in their work—skills that extend far beyond the classroom. And yes, there are exciting prizes involved, which adds an extra spark of motivation along the way.

You’ll find additional resources and updates by following us on Facebook at @KentuckyJDS. And please feel free to share this opportunity with fellow educators, youth leaders, or club sponsors who may be interested.

The contest deadline is a postmark date of March 15. If questions come up, I'm always happy to help, stacey_hayden@fws.gov

Art should be mailed USPS to:

P.O. Box 89

Benton, KY 42025

Art that is sent UPS or FedEx:

91 US Hwy 641 N.

Benton, KY 42025

Junior Duck Stamp Eligible Species

This collection is to showcase just some of the species that can be drawn/painted for the Junior Duck Stamp contest. For a complete list of species, please see the most recent brochure on the Junior Duck Stamp Contest page.

Remember these photos are just for reference and inspiration. Do not plagiarize or copy exactly what you see in the photo.

Species below include: Wood Duck, Gadwall, Canada Goose, Blue-wing Teal, Northern Pintail, and Mallard.

Two green,red, brown, white & black male wood ducks floating on water — Two Male Wood Ducks at Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge

An image of a gadwall duck swimming. — The male Gadwall’s understated gray-brown coloring can make this common duck easy to overlook, but other ducks should stay alert to this species as they often snatch food from diving ducks as they reach the water's surface.

A large bird with a black head and a small white patch near its eye, brown body, white rump and dark grey tailfeathers flies low over a body of water. The water is bluish, with brownish-tan plants visible out of focus in the background — A Canada goose making its final descent into a body of water

Blue-winged teal pair swimming. — Emergent marshes on National Wildlife Refuges provide year-round habitat resources for waterfowl and other wetland-dependent species.

Male and female mallards swimming. — Male mallards court females by shaking their dark emerald head side to side, or rearing up in the water while flapping their wings.

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