ANNOUNCING 2024 SCIENCE WITHOUT BORDERS® CHALLENGE SEMI-FINALISTS

ANNOUNCING 2024 SCIENCE WITHOUT BORDERS® CHALLENGE SEMI-FINALISTS – AGES 15-19

March 28, 2024

Written by Amy Heemsoth

We recently unveiled the semi-finalists of the 2024 Science Without Borders® Challenge for students participating in the 11-14 year-old category. Today, we are thrilled to announce the semi-finalists in the 15-19 year-old category.

This year’s international art contest theme was “Hidden Wonders of the Deep.” Participants were tasked with creating artwork depicting mysterious and unique deep-sea creatures or ecosystems, highlighting the beauty and diversity that often goes unseen. The students’ submissions were exceptional and will help to create awareness about these hidden wonders of the deep.

Judging over 800 entries in this category was an arduous task for our panel of judges. After much deliberation, they selected 38 semi-finalists who originate from 12 countries. The students illustrated a diverse range of deep-sea creatures, including hydrothermal vent giant tube worms, basket sea stars, siphonophores, goblin sharks, bioluminescent squid, and oarfish. Like with the younger semi-finalists group, students used a variety of styles, techniques, and media to portray the theme.

Without further ado, we invite you to meet our 15-19 year old semi-finalists:

2024 Science Without Borders Challenge Semi-Finalists: 15-19 years old

“The Beauty of Deep-Sea Survival” by Emma Bird, Age 15, United States of America

Meet IFAN: Helping Bring Navigate with Care to the Next Generation

If you’ve ever seen a lighthouse flashing from the shore or a brightly colored buoy bobbing in the water, you’ve seen Aids to Navigation at work.

Aids to Navigation, often called AtoNs, help mariners navigate safely. They can mark channels, warn of hazards, help vessels determine their position, and provide other information people need to make safe decisions on the water. Around the world, these systems help guide everything from small recreational boats to large commercial or container ships.

But safe navigation isn’t only about protecting vessels and the people aboard them. The choices mariners make can also affect the animals and ecosystems beneath and around them.

That connection between maritime safety and ocean conservation is at the heart of this year’s Science Without Borders® Challenge—and of our partnership with this year’s theme sponsor, the International Foundation for Aids to Navigation (IFAN).

OceanImageBank_TheOceanAgency_Bleaching_16-scaled-1

Coral Bleaching Awareness Month: Giving Coral Reefs a Chance to Recover

For hundreds of millions of years, coral reefs have supported life in our oceans. Although they cover less than 1% of the ocean floor, they provide habitat for at least 25% of all marine species. They also support people around the world by sustaining fisheries and tourism, providing food and livelihoods, and helping protect coastlines from waves and storms.

But coral reefs are under increasing pressure. Pollution, overfishing, coastal development, physical damage, and increasingly warm ocean temperatures can all affect reef health. One of the most visible signs that a coral reef is under stress is coral bleaching.

This September, in recognition of Coral Bleaching Awareness Month, we’re taking a closer look at what happens when corals bleach, why bleaching matters, and what scientists around the world are doing to better understand, protect, and restore coral reefs.

2024 Science Without Borders Challenge Semi-Finalists: 15-19 years old

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Meet IFAN: Helping Bring Navigate with Care to the Next Generation

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