Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation
Providing science-based solutions to protect and restore ocean health
Thank you to everyone who applied to our 2024 Science Without Borders® Challenge! We are captivated and inspired by the artwork we received for this year’s contest, “Hidden Wonders of the Deep.” Students’ artworks have brought attention to a diverse array …
We are thrilled to introduce the 2024 Science Without Borders® Challenge theme: “Hidden Wonders of the Deep.” Our international art contest invites students worldwide to showcase their creativity by depicting the mysterious and unique creatures or ecosystems found in the deep sea. Through their artwork, students will have the opportunity to highlight the beauty and diversity that often goes unnoticed in these fascinating underwater worlds.
When we think of the ocean, we often imagine familiar marine life like dolphins, sea turtles, and colorful coral reefs, but did you know that there is a whole other world beneath the waves? It’s called the deep sea, and it’s a place where humans have yet to fully explore. Imagine living in a world where there is no light, where the pressure is so intense that only special submarines can go there, and there’s hardly any food to eat. Despite these extreme conditions, incredible ecosystems like hydrothermal vents, cold seeps, whale falls, and deep-sea coral reefs thrive. These ecosystems support remarkable creatures adapted to survive in these challenging environments.
The Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation is thrilled to announce the winners of the annual Science Without Borders® Challenge, an international student art contest that promotes ocean conservation. This year’s competition, centered around the theme “The Sixth Extinction,” encouraged young artists to raise awareness about endangered marine species and the urgent need to protect our oceans. The contest engaged students and teachers globally, inspiring them to create amazing artwork showcasing the beauty and wonder of endangered species in our ocean.
Open to primary and secondary school students 11-19 years old, the Science Without Borders® Challenge attracted remarkable talent from around the world. This year more students entered than ever before. Over 1,200 students from 67 countries submitted artwork to the 2023 Science Without Borders® Challenge, sending in beautiful artwork illustrating marine species, some teetering on the brink of extinction. Artwork in the competition was judged in two categories based on age. The winning entries in each category are not only beautiful pieces of artwork, but they also encourage viewers to think deeply about the impact people are having on the environment.
In first place…
The response to our Science Without Borders® Challenge has been overwhelming! We’ve been blown away by the sheer number of submissions that we received from aspiring young scientists and artists all over the world. Last week, we proudly unveiled the finalists in the 11-14 age group, and now, we’re ecstatic to announce the finalists in the 15-19 year-old category.
These young artists hail from all corners of the globe, including China, Indonesia, Korea, the Philippines, Poland, Singapore, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States. You will be amazed at their incredible artwork and how well they captured the essence of the theme, “The Sixth Extinction.” Students depicted a diverse range of endangered marine animals in their artwork including whales, fish, polar bears, sharks, sea otters, horseshoe crabs, seals, and crocodiles. We were amazed by these students’ boundless creativity, execution of the theme, and artistic abilities.
Without further ado, please meet our talented 15-19 year old finalists!
We recently unveiled the semi-finalists of the 2023 Science Without Borders® Challenge for students participating in the 11-14 year-old category. Today, we are thrilled to announce the semi-finalists for the 15-19 year-old category. The theme for this year’s international art contest was “The …
Thank you to everyone who applied to our 2023 Science Without Borders® Challenge! We are captivated and inspired with the artwork that we received for this year’s contest, “The Sixth Extinction.” The students’ artwork drew attention to a wide range …
Are you interested in participating in the 2023 Science Without Borders® Challenge, but you have questions about the contest? Are you unsure where to begin?
Join us on January 19th at 9 am Eastern Time (ET) for our Science Without Borders® Challenge Q&A Session!
On this Zoom call, we will go over the contest rules, how to enter the contest, more information about the theme, how to interpret the grading rubric, and provide tips for creating a beautiful and impactful piece of artwork that may help you to win the contest. At the same time, we will answer any questions that participants may have about the contest. This is a great opportunity for students and teachers to hear directly from the contest judges about what we are looking for.
Are you interested in participating in the 2023 Science Without Borders® Challenge, but you have questions about the contest? Are you unsure where to begin? Join us on November 30, 2022, 7 pm Eastern Time (ET) for the first of two Science Without Borders® Challenge Q&A sessions. On this Zoom call, we will go over the contest rules, how to enter the contest, more information about the theme, how to interpret the grading rubric, and provide tips for creating a beautiful and impactful piece of artwork that may help you to win the contest. At the same time, we will answer any questions that participants may have about the contest.
Each year, I can’t wait to receive the semi-finalists artwork from our Science Without Borders® Challenge, which is even more incredible in person than it is online. Our judges have the difficult job of evaluating all this incredible artwork, which is no easy task. Once the artwork is judged, I can breathe a sigh of relief. That is when one of my favorite tasks begins – contacting the winners.
This year, I had the pleasure of meeting Amy Hyobin Pyo, the first-place winner in the category for students 11-14 years old. Amy is a 12-year-old student at Tenafly Middle School in New Jersey. What I learned about Amy is that she already had a passion for the ocean before participating in this contest. Despite her passion for the ocean, she prefers art to science classes. Amy is artistically minded but shared with me that she has a new appreciation for science after participating in the art contest, stating, “I really thought science was more about studying motion and conducting labs. Now I know that studying animals in the ocean is another part of science that I really enjoy learning about.”
Recently, we announced the semi-finalists of the 2022 Science Without Borders® Challenge for students participating in the 15-19 year-old category. Today, we are overjoyed to announce the semi-finalists for younger students who are 11-14 years of age.
This international student art contest engages students in important marine science and conservation issues through art. The theme of this year’s challenge is “Ridge to Reef,” and students were asked to illustrate one or more actions that governments, non-profits, park managers, and indigenous communities can take to preserve coral reefs using a ridge to reef approach to conservation. They did not disappoint.
Once again, our judges were put to the test to make some incredibly difficult decisions evaluating the almost 300 pieces of artwork entered in this category. They came to a consensus to include 35 of these entries as semi-finalists. Like with the older semi-finalists group, students used a variety of styles, techniques, and media to portray the theme. Overall, students in this category ranged from 10 different countries.
We would now like to invite you to meet our 11-14 year old semi-finalists:
