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Fossil Art Competition

21 Feb 2024

The National Fossil Art Contest 2024 has been launched at UCC. Young artists from across the island of Ireland are invited to submit artwork featuring Irish fossils, with a grand prize of €500.

The contest is run by Ireland’s Fossil Heritage, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, UCC and is open to children from 4 – 18 years old. The theme of the contest is “Irish fossils ALIVE”. Entries must be submitted as digital photographs accompanied by an application form by 5pm on 29 March on Ireland’s Fossil Heritage website. The winning entries in each age category will be exhibited in UCC’s Glucksman Gallery in May 2024.

Prizes include fossil-branded T-shirts, fossil kits and behind-the-scenes tours of the UCC fossil labs.

“We want children to let their imaginations run wild – how did ancient creatures live? What did they look like in their natural habitats? What colours were they?” said Dr Jess Franklin of Ireland’s Fossil Heritage, “We had amazing artworks from children all over Ireland last year and the year before, we can’t wait to see this year’s submissions”.

“Fossils make science accessible to people from all walks of life,” said programme manager Professor Maria McNamara, Professor of Palaeontology at UCC. “We want to celebrate our curiosity in the natural world in a creative way through art.”

Further information