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ROYAL OAK, Mich., May 30, 2008 – More than 2,300 school children from Macomb, Oakland and Wayne counties leapt at the opportunity to communicate the importance of amphibians in the Detroit Zoological Society’s 2008 Year of the Frog Youth Art Competition. The Society, in collaboration with Project S.N.A.P., selected 104 frog-themed creations for its Youth Art Exhibition. The winning works are on display at the Detroit Zoo’s Ford Education Center through September 14.
Students expressed their interpretations of Michigan frogs, toads and salamanders, as well as images of amphibian residents at the Detroit Zoo’s National Amphibian Conservation Center. Award certificates were presented at grade levels K-12 for best of class, first through fifth places and two honorable mentions. To view a complete list of winners, click on the Year of the Frog icon on the Zoo’s website www.detroitzoo.org.
All artwork submitted for the competition will be displayed throughout the Detroit Zoo and Belle Isle Nature Zoo as part of large-scale mosaic murals created by Project S.N.A.P. The murals will be designed by mosaic artist Roy Feinson, who also created mosaic murals for Disneyland’s 50th anniversary and the 2008 Grammy Awards. The Year of the Frog murals will be unveiled on the Detroit Zoo’s 80th Anniversary, August 1, and will remain on display through December 31. For more information on Project S.N.A.P., visit www.projectsnap.org.
2008 Year of the Frog is a global public awareness campaign to focus attention on endangered amphibians and the critical work being done by zoos and aquariums to save them. The Detroit Zoological Society is supporting the worldwide initiative with special events, fundraising activities, educational opportunities and community outreach efforts throughout the year.
The Detroit Zoological Society is a non-profit organization that operates the Detroit Zoo and Belle Isle Nature Zoo. Situated on 125 acres of naturalistic exhibits, the Detroit Zoo is located at the intersection of Ten Mile Road and Woodward Avenue, just off I-696, in Royal Oak. The Detroit Zoo is open daily 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. April through October (open at 9:30 a.m. Memorial Day through Labor Day) – with extended hours until 8 p.m. Wednesdays during July and August – and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. November through March. Admission is $11 for adults 13 to 61, $9 for senior citizens 62 and older, and $7 for children ages 2 to 12; children under 2 are free. For more information, call (248) 541-5717 or visit www.detroitzoo.org. The Belle Isle Nature Zoo is open daily 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. year-round and provides educational programming with interpretive staff support from the Huron-Clinton Metroparks. For more information, call (313) 852-4056.
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