Prizes for Classroom@Sea winners during art exhibition in Southampton
Winners of the Classroom@Sea art competition will be awarded prizes at Southampton Oceanography Centre on Saturday 20 March 2004 when the 'World Under the Sea' art exhibition will be open to the public.
The exhibition of around 30 of the best entries is currently on display at Southampton Civic Centre (until 12 March). It will then move to SOC in time for National Science Week and SOC's Ocean and Earth Day family event on 20 March.
The competition attracted over 200 paintings, drawings and collages from pupils in schools and colleges across Hampshire. Overall category winners were from Romsey Junior School (pre-KS3), Woolston School, Southampton (KS3), Hurst Community College, Tadley (KS4) and Crofton School, Fareham (group entry).
To see a full list of winners and copies of their artworks, visit www.soc.soton.ac.uk/CHD/classroom@sea/interactive/art_competition.html.
Classroom@Sea coordinator Dr Vikki Gunn said: "We invited young people to think about what the ocean environment means to them and were overwhelmed by the number and quality of entries. A panel of artists and scientists chose winning artworks which captured the imagination and showed an awareness of marine science issues."
The innovative Classroom@Sea project is bringing real marine science into the classroom via its interactive website, which explains a range of marine science topics and offers resources for teachers. The project has recruited two Hampshire science teachers - Ian Lewis, Head of Science at Wyvern Technology College, Eastleigh, and Elena Fernandez-Lee, science teacher at the Arnewood School in New Milton - who helped to design the website.
In June 2004 the teachers will join a two-week marine research cruise off the Portuguese coast. They will share their experiences with school pupils across the country by sending back daily reports, photographs, stories and video clips for the website.
Notes for editors
- Classroom@Sea is being carried out as part of an international EU-funded research programme called EUROSTRATAFORM (EUROpean margin STRATA FORMation), which is investigating how sediment particles are transported from river mouths across the continental shelf down to the deep sea.
- EUROSTRATAFORM and the UK's Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) are sponsoring the Classroom@Sea project, which is organised and run by scientists at Southampton Oceanography Centre.
- Artworks from winners and runners up will be framed and eventually presented back to their schools. Other prizes include science books, artists' materials, a signed print by international award-winning underwater photographer Dr Alexander Mustard, and a set of rocks, fossils and minerals. We would like to thank Perry's Art and Office Supplies (Southampton), Creative Crafts (Winchester) and Philip's Publishing for donating prizes
- Ocean and Earth Day will be held at Southampton Oceanography Centre on Saturday 20 March 2004 (11am to 4pm, free entry) as part of National Science Week. This family event for all ages will offer fun and educational activities in oceanography and geology.
- Southampton Oceanography Centre is a joint venture between the University of Southampton and NERC. It is a centre of excellence in marine sciences, earth sciences and marine technology (www.soc.soton.ac.uk).