Young artists around the USA competed this year in a polar art contest: Polar Exploration: Going to Extremes!
In celebration of the International Polar Year, the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES) this year challenged young artists explore the Earth's polar regions. Over 1,400 seven to ten year olds submitted pieces to the 2006 contest. For more information, and to see the winners, check out the IGES competition website. If you would like to use this contest as a class or group activity, IGES collected a comprehensive set of resources, lesson plans & activities, as well as information on the national education standards. These are also available on the website.

The image shown is called The Life and Story of Antarctica and is by by fourth grader Jimmy Dawley from Houston, Texas, USA.

IGES plans to continue the polar theme for their 2007 competition. Watch for the announcement, which will be released in March 2007.

Text by Theresa Schwerin.