2025 Science Without Borders® Challenge Finalists: 15-19 year old students
The response to our 2025 Science Without Borders® Challenge has been overwhelming! We’ve been blown away by the sheer number of submissions we received from aspiring young scientists and artists worldwide. These gifted students come from all over the globe, including The Bahamas, Canada, China, Greece, Japan, Indonesia, Korea, Thailand, and the United States. Their artwork brings the 2025 theme, “Marine Keystone Species,” to life in extraordinary ways. From intricate illustrations of krill and coral to impactful portrayals of sharks, sea otters, polar bears, mangroves, and more, each piece highlights the essential roles these species play in maintaining ocean balance and biodiversity.
Entries to the Science Without Borders® Challenge are judged in two categories based on age. Here are the finalists selected from the older group of applicants, students 15-19 years old:
"Between Shadow and Sea: The Orca’s Lament" by Adrian Wang, Age 17, China
ARTIST'S STATEMENT: This drawing captures an orca mid-leap, between ocean and sky, its body depicts contrast. The stark black and white of the orca’s form mirrors life’s duality. Black, dense and consuming, evokes the unknown depths of the sea and the inevitability of death; white, luminous yet fragile, reflects the fleeting beauty of life. The ocean, rendered in swirling graphite gradients, embodies both sanctuary and peril, its waves etched with textures that suggest hidden currents of environmental decay. Orcas, apex predators in nature, symbolize balance—a harmony now threatened by human encroachment. The absence of color is a metaphor for ecological loss, a world stripped of vibrancy by pollution and climate collapse. The orca’s powerful yet desperate leap becomes a lament for ecosystems teetering on extinction. Graphite’s impermanence—vulnerable to smudging—echoes the fragility of marine life, urging viewers to confront their role in preserving the delicate dance between shadow and sea.