The Detroit Zoological Society, in collaboration with Project S.N.A.P., is calling for entries for a Youth Art Competition and Mosaic Murals Exhibition in celebration of 2008 Year of the Frog and the Detroit Zoo’s 80th Anniversary. The competition is open to all K-12 public, private and home school students in Macomb, Oakland and Wayne Counties. The deadline for entries is May 9, 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. Student artists may express their interpretations of Michigan frogs, toads and salamanders, as well as images of amphibian residents at the Detroit Zoo’s National Amphibian Conservation Center. Other themes may include the impact of habitat loss, climate change and pollution on amphibian populations, as well as efforts to propagate and conserve rare and endangered amphibian species from around the world.

Entries must be submitted on 8.5-by-11 inch paper, preferably made from recycled materials in a horizontal format. All entries and required forms must be delivered to 2008 Year of the Frog Youth Art Competition and Mosaic Murals Exhibition, Administration Building Switchboard, Detroit Zoological Society, 8450 W. 10 Mile Road, Royal Oak, Mich. 48067.

Award certificates will be presented at each grade level for best of class as well as first through fifth places and two honorable mentions. Entries will be judged based on originality and artistic merit by a jury selected by the Detroit Zoological Society. The 104 winning entries will be displayed in the Exhibit Gallery of the Zoo’s Ford Education Center May 24 through September 14, 2008.

In addition, 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., an organization designed to engage the personal and creative energies of students in a collaborative process and help them develop the skills necessary to become socially responsible leaders. 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, 2008.

For more information on Project S.N.A.P., visit www.projectsnap.org . For questions concerning the Youth Art Competition and Mosaic Murals Exhibition, call the Detroit Zoo at (248) 541-5717 ext. 3750, or email Mark Packer at mpacker@dzs.org or Liz Reckinger at lreckinger@dzs.org.