We are excited to announce that our 2025 Art Contest, themed “Imagine going to school in a zoo – what would your day be like?” has exceeded all expectations! From animal-filled classrooms to playful monkeys, the variety of submissions showcases the immense talent of K-12 artists nationwide.
Seven ESS judges scored each piece in the categories of artistic and technical skill, originality, adherence to theme and requirements, unique approach, and creativity of title. Based on the highest average scores, we’ve narrowed it down to the top five finalists of each grade group (K-2, 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12).
Now it’s your turn to get involved and vote for your favorites! The finalists’ pieces are posted to our Facebook and Instagram pages in no particular order. Each like, comment, and share received on the original post during the voting period of March 31st – April 6th counts as a percentage toward that piece’s final score.
The student from each group with the highest combined score will be announced on Wednesday, April 9th.
Grade Group: 9-12 Finalists:
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- Keren Ding (17), Central High School, MO: “NON-Human Undercover Transfer Student”
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- Ella Craig (14), Chattanooga High School Center for Creative Arts, TN: “Classroom Chaos”
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- Youqi Wu (15), Vista del Lago High School, CA: “Classroom Chaos”
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- Connor Van De Graaff (18), Corner Canyon High School, UT: “Feeding Time at the Zoo”
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- McKenna Fyffe (17), Lone Peak High School, UT: “Hallway Havoc”
Grade Group: 6-8 Finalists:
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- Catalina Bors (13), Piedmont Middle School, NC: “The Science Enclosure”
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- Ariana Johnson (13), Robinson Elementary School, KY: “Colorful Classmates”
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- Nathalia Molina-Bautista (13), Mandarin Middle School, FL: “A Day in the Life..”
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- Jodaiah Rayne Bendana (11), Amberlea Elementary School, AZ: “Lessons in Wilderness”
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- Lisbet Martinez Alfonso (13), Elmora School No. 12, NJ: “A Wild Class”
Grade Group: 3-5 Finalists:
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- Tong Fei Chou (9), Fort Lee School No. 2, NJ: “The BEST School Day”
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- Leander Ng (8), Green Hope Elementary School, NC: “Day at the Zoo”
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- Reva Savalia (11), Meadow Glens Elementary School, IL: “Mr. Giraffe’s Classroom”
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- Alice Wu (10), Wilson Elementary School, OK: “Wild Learning”
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- Valentina Rezanova (11), Lucille S. Rogers Elementary School, NV: “Flying Shark”
Grade Group: K-2 Finalists:
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- Vidhur Sudhan (7), Odyssey Community School, CT: “Fun Filled Day at Zoo School”
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- Daniel He (8), Wildwood Elementary School, LA: “Zoo School Adventure”
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- Skye Belgutei (7), Challenge School, CO: “Jungle Book”
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- Rinah Song (8), Donald Elementary School, TX: “Good Morning Zoo Elementary”
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- Serenity Shannon (7), Bennett C. Russell Elementary School, FL: “Reading Time”
Good luck to all finalists of the 2025 ESS Art Contest!