Federal Junior Duck Stamp Program – Another Beautiful Year

Why do duck stamps make such a good holiday gift?  Click here to find out.

Congratulations to all students who entered the 2011 New Jersey Federal Junior Duck Stamp Competition. All of our entries were beautiful interpretations of water fowl that the students studied and learned how to draw. 160 entries were received this year. Our Best of Show came from Ryan Van Dongen, a very talented young man from Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey. Ryan’s painting is of a masked duck, done in acrylic and oil, and is titled: Beauty On Blue Water. We forward our best of show directly on to the National Junior Duck Stamp Competition, which will be held at the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge in Philadelphia PA on Friday, April 15th.  Ryan will compete against 50 other states and US territories to become the 2011-2012 Junior Duck Stamp.  New Jersey’s top 36 winning artists are as follows:

Age Group I – Grade K to 3
First Place: Erica Jasinski, Kristen Lee, Olivia Zuto
Second Place: Luca Franco, Laci Kleiman, Jack McGovern
Third Place: Steven Guagliardo, Fiona Liu, Jenna Weiss

Age Group II – Grade 4 to 6
First Place: Andrea Dunn, Allison Gracie, Nicholas Lonetto
Second Place: Claire Kim, Sayon Park, Skylar Trostinsky
Third Place: Ava Powell, Alanna Trainor, Isabel Won

Age Group III – Grade 7 to 9
First Place Best of Show:  Ryan Van Dongen
First Place: Ashley Lee, Joanne Son
Second Place: Michelle Kim, Dabin Kim, Simran Shinn
Third Place: Sohyon Hwang, Deborah Lee, Jessica Young

Age Group IV – Grade 10 to 12
First Place: Soo Min Choi, Sarah Hwang, Na Jin Lim
Second Place: Bianna Bogacki, Nicole Estilow, Erica Kawas
Third Place: Esther Hwang, Madeleine Scuden, Jisoo Sim

The Wetlands Institute is the official State of New Jersey site for Junior Duck Stamp entries and judging.

The Federal Junior Duck Stamp Conservation and Design Program is an integrated art and science curriculum developed to teach environmental science and habitat conservation. Be sure to check the US Fish & Wildlife Service Federal Junior Duck Stamp Program web site each year, to get up to date artwork requirements, permitted species, and National awards information. Each year a downloadable entry form is available here, as well as the newly required Reference Form.

A Junior Duck Stamp design is a “term paper” in which students use visual rather than verbal articulation to show what they have learned. Participants select a species of North American waterfowl, do research on this species and its habitat, then depict the waterfowl in an artistic medium.

K-12 students attending public, private, or home schools in the United States are eligible to enter; so long as they are U.S. citizens, resident aliens, or nationals.

First Place National Winner receives a $5,000 cash award and a free trip to participate in the First day of Sale ceremony in Late June or Early July.

Entries are judged in 4 grade groups (K-3rd, 4th-6th, 7th-9th, and 10th -12th), with three first place, three second place, three third place, and sixteen honorable mention ribbons awarded. The state Best of Show is selected from the 12 first place winning designs and competes in the national competition in Washington, DC. All National and State winning designs are on display during the year and are returned to the students the following spring.

A free curriculum guide for teachers is available by contacting the Federal Duck Stamp Office, Department of the Interior, 1849 C Street NW, Room 2058, Washington, DC 20240.