Science Without Borders Challenge

2023 Science Without Borders® Challenge: Introducing the 11-14 Year-Old Finalists

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Get ready to be inspired! The Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation is delighted to reveal the finalists of the 2023 Science Without Borders® Challenge. This year’s theme is “The Sixth Extinction,” and we challenged young artists from around the world to create a piece of artwork that highlights the beauty and importance of a marine species that are on the brink of extinction. We are thrilled with the entries that we received!

Over 1,200 entries flooded in from 67 different countries, and let us tell you, it was no easy feat to choose the finalists. But after much deliberation, our judges have selected finalists whose exceptional artwork surpassed all expectations in terms of creativity, originality, and adherence to the theme. 

The submissions were simply breathtaking, and we can’t wait for you to see them. So, without further ado, here are the finalists for Ages 11-14 of the 2023 Science Without Borders® Challenge. These talented artists will leave you in awe with their remarkable creations that bring attention to the urgency of preserving our treasured marine species.

No More Disappearing Acts

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Throughout our international student art contest called the Science Without Borders® Challenge, I have the pleasure of communicating with participants, teachers, and parents from all around the world. Numerous individuals express gratitude for the contest and share how it has increased ocean …

Announcing the 2023 Science Without Borders® Challenge Semi-Finalists – Ages 15-19

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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 …

ANNOUNCING 2023 SCIENCE WITHOUT BORDERS® CHALLENGE SEMI-FINALISTS – AGES 11-14

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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 …

Last chance to apply to our student art competition, the Science Without Borders® Challenge!

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There is still time to participate in our international student art competition, the Science Without Borders® Challenge!

The Challenge is an annual art competition that engages students to promote the need to preserve, protect, and restore the world’s oceans and aquatic resources. The contest is free to enter and open to middle and high school students 11-19 years old. Be sure to submit your artwork by March 6 for a chance to win up to $500 in prizes!

This year the Science Without Borders® Challenge theme is “The Sixth Extinction.” Human actions have negatively impacted the environment in many ways, which have led to an increased rate of extinction and many more endangered species. For this year’s contest, we are asking students to create a piece of artwork that highlights the beauty and importance of a marine species that is on the brink of extinction.

2023 Science Without Borders® Q&A Session

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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.

The Sixth Extinction

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Throughout the history of the planet, there has been an evolution and flux of species. From the first microorganisms found in the ocean billions of years ago, to the evolution of land-based plants, invertebrate and vertebrate animals, reptiles, mammals, and to the millions of species we now know of today. Historically, the earth has experienced five mass extinction events. These have been linked to some sort of natural disturbance where three-quarters of all species were lost over a short geological period. Glaciation events, volcanic eruptions, and asteroid impacts are theorized to be the cause of these five mass extinctions.

Recently, some scientists hypothesized that the earth is undergoing a sixth extinction event linked to the evolution of human civilization. This theory suggests that over the course of human history, people have caused the extinction of species on a massive scale. As humans became more civilized, we began altering the environment to fit our needs. We altered the land for agricultural uses; as our tools became more advanced, we were able to hunt more efficiently on land and in water; we built cities, and have extracted resources from the earth in ways never done before. These alterations and interactions with the environment have led to the loss of habitats, overexploitation of animals, and caused irreversible loss of the earth’s organisms.

2023 Science Without Borders® Q&A Session – November 30th

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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.

Back to School – New Resources Available!

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With so many of you starting the school year, we are delighted to share our new education resources and ongoing programs with you!

We have added two new educational units in our Coral Reef Ecology Curriculum – Food Webs and Conservation. Whether you are a student, teacher, or someone who is interested in the ocean, we invite you to learn more about these topics.

It’s estimated that 25% of all marine life spend some part of their life cycle on coral reefs. Learn about the complex feeding connections of the coral reef food web and how disruptions can threaten its stability.

This unit includes detailed background information to help learners understand the topic area, an engaging educational video with an accompanying worksheet, a five-part lesson plan that helps learners visualize food chains and food webs by building models, two Read It! worksheets that accompanies blogs written by our scientists, and an online quiz that assesses concepts learned throughout the unit.

Around the world ocean conservation efforts vary, but perhaps one of the most effective ways to protect the ocean is by establishing a Marine Protected Area (MPA). The path to creating an MPA is not always the same. In this unit, learn about the processes that can lead to the creation of an MPA, while also gaining a deeper knowledge of the disruptions to ecosystems, the ecological importance and ecosystem services the ocean provides, and the actions that we can take to conserve ecosystems.

The unit consists of background information, two engaging educational videos that have accompanying worksheets, four group activities that allows students to actively participate in the process of creating and managing an MPA, and a Read It! worksheet that incorporates English Language Arts into the classroom.

And if you missed the announcement, our 2023 Science Without Borders® Challenge is now open. The theme for this year’s contest is “The Sixth Extinction.” Now more than ever before in human history, the rate of extinction and species endangerment is accelerating due to harmful human activities. For this year’s contest, you can help create awareness about marine endangered species. We ask that you create a piece of artwork that highlights the beauty and importance of a marine species that is on the brink of extinction.

All entries must be received by Monday, March 6, 2023, to be eligible to win the contest.

To learn more about the Science Without Borders® Challenge rules and how to apply, visit www.lof.org/SWBChallenge.

We hope that you enjoy our new educational resources!

Announcing Our 11th Annual Science Without Borders® Challenge!

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We are excited to announce that our Science Without Borders® Challenge is now open! This annual art contest inspires students from all over the world to be creative while learning about important ocean science and conservation issues. Last year, we asked educators and their students who participated in the contest for ocean conservation theme suggestions. There was one theme that repeatedly occurred in their answers – endangered species. We also think that this is an important topic to learn about, so for this year’s competition, we have selected the theme, “The Sixth Extinction.”