Powell student wins "Best of Show" in Wyoming Junior Duck Stamp Contest

Fifteen-year-old Sierra Morrow of Powell, Wyo., is “Best of Show” winner of the Federal Junior Duck Stamp Contest for Wyoming. For the eighteenth consecutive year, the National Museum of Wildlife Art in Jackson Hole serves as Wyoming host for the contest, a national art competition for K-12 students. Sierra’s winning drawing, titled “A Dip in the Evening,” will be on display as one of the top 36 ribbon winners for the state – out of a total of 691 Wyoming entries – for the museum’s annual Federal Junior Duck Stamp Exhibition, May 3 through August 5, 2012.

Sierra’s drawing will represent Wyoming at the Federal Junior Duck Stamp contest scheduled for April 20, at the Patuxent Research Refuge in Laurel, Md. The winner of the national competition receives $5,000, a trip to our nation’s capital with a parent and the art teacher. The artwork is also used to make the 2012-2013 Junior Duck Stamp. Proceeds from the sale of the $5 stamps support conservation education.

Sydney Nate, an eight-year-old from Cokeville, Wyo., was this year’s Betty Nelson Artistic Promise Award-winner for the best art in the youngest age group. The Betty Nelson Artistic Promise Award was established 12 years ago to recognize the artistic accomplishment of K-3 students and to honor the late Betty Nelson, a generous supporter of the Junior Duck Stamp program.

The Jr. Duck Stamp exhibit will travel to the Wyoming State Museum in Cheyenne after it closes at the National Museum of Wildlife Art, and winners will be honored at a September awards ceremony at the Wyoming State Museum. The 1st- through 3rd-place Wyoming winners of the contest can be viewed on the museum’s website beginning in early May at http://www.wildlifeart.org/,  and information for next year’s contest will be posted on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service website at http://www.fws.gov/juniorduck. For a complete list of the 2012 Wyoming ribbon placers, visit http://www.wildlifeart.org/Learn/FedJrDuckStamp.

A complete schedule of exhibitions and events at the National Museum of Wildlife Art is available online at http://www.wildlifeart.org/. The museum is also active on Facebook at wildlifeartjh and on Twitter at @wildlifeartjh.