2021-2022

Kansas City and Topeka

 Winners

Elementary School

Aanya’s Artist Statement: “How will our lives change as weather becomes more severe? Severe weather is dangerous conditions, caused by the environment. This weather can kill people and damage properties. There are several forms of severe weather like Tornados, Floods, Droughts, Tsunamis, Thunderstorm, wildfire etc. Tornados are violently spinning air which can damage properties, can cause Injuries to human and even it kills. Floods are overflowing water spreading to the land. Water can flood into houses and can damage properties, can destroys crops, power outage, shortage of drinking water. It can spread many diseases after floods too. Droughts are when there is a little bit if water or no water at all. It also causes shortage of drinking water, damage crops. Food price will go high and can cause hunger. Tsunamis is a series of waves caused by earthquakes or under sea volcano. It can take people’s houses and fisherman lives. Thunderstorms are powerful lighting with dark clouds. It also damages properties and even kill people. Human gets impacted in several ways due to this severe weather: power outage in severe weather could cripple hospitals and transportation system when we need them most; crop decline could lead to undernutrition and hunger and higher food prices; trauma from floods and several weather can lead to mental health issue like anxiety. depression and suicide; several weathers also cause global warming; it affects the economy by impacting both supply and demand for the products and services; lot of money is required to make everything normal again.”

Tvisha’s Artist Statement: “In my artwork, I demonstrated the formation of Thunderstorm with three stages of the storm and how it developed than the results of the extreme weather. I learned that the thunderstorm enters the mature stage when the warm updraft and cool downdrafts happen at the same time. The storm height in this stage usually grows above 12 to 19 km height.  Lightning, tornadoes, hailstorms, and heavy rain occur in the coldest area of the downdraft. I also learned that the higher the air, the colder it becomes. I have experienced this when we visited Colorado Pike peaks, I observed that before climbing the mountain it was warmer however when we reached the peak of the mountain it was very cold and even though it was summer, I had to wear a jacket. I understand the reason for that now during my research for this science project. By participating in the Cool Science art competition, I learned how we can use the art for informative purposes and use suitable colors to explain specific things. The art materials I used colored pencils, a regular pencil, and sharpies. I learned extreme weather often brings disasters with them. Those can be in the form of floods, fires caused by lightning, property damages from hailstones, and tornados. The extreme weather project also taught me about safety precautions and what to do and not do. People will learn the stages of the storm and the formation of thunderstorms. I got inspired to write about severe weather because 1) being in Kansas we often hear and see Loud thunder and lightning. 2) one of our friend’s dad's car shields got damaged because of hails. 3) I saw a video in that due to heavy rains, floods happened, and many people had to be airlifted.”

Dhruv’s Artist Statement: “I addressed the challenge question by drawing 2 houses: a house with a strong polar vortex and a house with a weak polar vortex. I am trying to say that when it is spring or summer the polar vortex is weak, I drew two houses. I mean that when the polar vortex is weak it is extremely cold and lots of places that are near it get really cold, and they close. To demonstrate that when the polar vortex is weak and most people are sad and people and buildings are closed and people go and stay in their homes. Yes because I wanted to explain the polar vortex in a different and fun way also in an easier and a better way. And I used the accordion book to draw rough ideas. Also, the poster made me confident of winning. My mom inspired me and gave me ideas. When I saw the three questions, I inspired myself the polar vortex question interested me the most. I hope people will learn that in the spring or summer the polar vortex gets weak and shifts down. Also, the jet streams get wiggly. I learned that in the summer or winter the polar vortex shifts down and causes severe weather. And I also learned the earth’s layers of the atmosphere. I also learned that the polar vortex reaches to the top of troposphere. (The earth’s first layer of the atmosphere 14 to 15 miles away from the earth). I also learned that the weakened polar vortex is very dangerous as it leads to places closing, accidents and power cut. Due to the extreme winter conditions.”

Avery Kate’s Artist Statement: “My prompt is “Why the Polar Vortex causes extreme ups and downs in winter weather”. When I started the project I had no idea what a Polar Vortex was. When I heard that it was one of the prompts I knew I had to do it. I love to make cute, animated stuff and I wanted to incorporate it into my project. I love to combine art and science! The Polar Vortex gets disrupted, which causes the cold air from the Arctic and the Warm air from the core to mix. That causes places to have extreme temperature swings. I learned all of this and more while doing this project and I'm glad I did. I didn't know this was a big problem and I want to tell others. We all need to be aware of what is happening. I was inspired by an article I read while doing research for a different project. I read about things that are harming the Earth. I saw Polar Vortex in the article, but I put off learning about it until we started this project. I put the prompt in my art by making it like a classroom with a girl teaching about the Polar Vortex. It has a lot of information about what a Polar Vortex is and what it causes. I love what I did with my art, I hope you like my art as much as I do!”

Middle School

Kritika’s Artist Statement: “At first glance, this was a very easy question to answer. More storms would make people very sick, and global warming would heat Earth. But when I looked into the question, there was a lot more than just storms and global warming. I learned about heatwaves, wildfires, hurricanes, droughts, and so much more. Then I found the effects some of which were dying crops, deadly illnesses, water shortages, devastating damages to homes and that’s not the end of it. The entire process of the Earth warming up began with glaciers melting and eventually turning into the greenhouse effect. Light is attracted to dark colors while it’s reflected off of light colors. Glaciers are white, but when they melt because of pollution their color turns an inky blue. Light is now attracted to it, increasing the amount of sunlight we will get on the Earth. The extra heat melts several more glaciers, repeating the process over and over again. We live on the planet that we are warming up, and we are going to suffer the consequences. The heat will dry up plants and when it’s hot enough, wildfires are sure to start. Not to mention, the water supply will become very unpredictable leading to the production of crops being very unstable and hard to control. All kinds of illnesses and diseases will threaten to harm people. Certain people will be more exposed to these diseases than others, but everyone is still at risk. Everyone can help, or very bad things are going to happen in the future, which may not even be that far. I was trying to portray that in my poster and I hope the message came through.”

Addison’s Artist Statement: “ Weather affects every aspect of our lives. Weather affects what we eat, wear, and do. It also affects how we get places and what we use as our resources. As the weather becomes more severe, all of that could potentially change. In my art, I wanted to show what your everyday weather would look like right now compared to what the future would look like. I wanted the perspective of a person in the present-day world opening a door and walking into a future world where weather is more severe. As you can see the sky gets grayer on the future side to represent the increasing carbon dioxide going into the atmosphere. I drew the sun bigger as well as a thermometer on the future side to represent temperatures rising. I replaced the wheat field with a dry dirt ground to show more droughts occurring in the future. I also made a wave washing over the ground to show more floods happening as well. I want people to look at this and realize that this world will have more severe, possibly dangerous, weather if we don’t do something about it.”

Maddoc’s Artist Statement: “I addressed the challenge question in my artwork by writing the question at the top of the paper and showing the consequences that will happen if extreme weather becomes more common. What I am trying to say in my artwork is that if blizzards become more common, then our crops would die and the roads would freeze and if hurricanes become more common, our roads would be flooded and people would have to keep moving to places where there are no hurricanes. I created my artwork the way that I did because I split it into sections so that people could look at each section of my artwork and acknowledge the consequences of each type of weather. The art competition did encourage me to use my art materials in a new way because I would have to shade darker for tornadoes but for blizzards and hurricanes I had to shade lighter to show wind for hurricanes and blizzards. I hope that when people look at my artwork, they can understand how severe these consequences can affect our lives. I learned that if severe types of weather became more common, it would be hard to survive, the roads would freeze or be flooded, it would be hard to get food because our crops would die off, and we would have to take shelter due to the tornadoes. What inspired me was that I was very curious about what would happen if extreme weather became more common so I looked it up.”

Lilly’s Artist Statement: “In my artwork, I wanted to show how the polar vortex was weakening and how it's affecting our daily lives. I planned for the art to be easy to understand and show a person what I want to represent well. I really care about my artwork and what I represent because it shows how the things we do daily affect our planet, and how the planet can affect us in return. The project really helped my understanding of what is going on with Earth, and why it's happening. I hope that those who see my art will learn the same things as well. I definitely learned how to use different materials and combine them to make one piece of artwork. Much of what I learned and did through my artwork was inspired by my love for the planet. I really enjoy being able to be around fresh nature and I love the fall and spring seasons. But now those are being taken away by our weakening Polar Vortexes, due to the Arctic melting twice as fast as the mid ranges. I feel that I represented this well in my artwork, and I hope those who see it understand what I’m trying to convey. I really enjoyed creating my artwork, and I wish to be able to share it with others.”

High School

Auden’s Artist Statement: “ The question I was addressing was, “how will our lives change as weather becomes more severe?” I answered this question by drawing a sequence of events that will happen if we continue to neglect our environment and allow weather to become more severe. My drawing is a folded piece of paper with "DON'T LET THIS STORY UNFOLD" written across the top. The paper has the story of what will happen to our environment if we continue our current path and allow weather to become more severe. It starts with a pleasant scene of a little girl kicking a soccer ball in a spring scene. Then ves on to display how the tear in our atmosphere will grow, causing the earth to increase in temperature. Then, the drawing shows the ice caps melting and the ocean levels rising resulting in tsunamis. Later there is also a destroyed house and a tornado and then a cut down forest wasteland. The story is the progression of what will happen as weather becomes more severe, and it is folded up on paper, hopefully when people see my drawing, they will feel motivated to take action and prevent the paper from unfolding and becoming one consistent dire story.”

Fiona’s Artist Statement: “ In my artwork for this competition, I attempted to depict extremes of what life would be like if climate change was allowed to fester unchecked. To do such a thing, I had to think of different ways to show how nature would turn against us, whether it be through heat, rain, or wind. By researching these different aspects, I was inspired to draw each of them. I wanted multiple interpretations to show how drastic it would be as climate change affects more than heat or cold, so I chose to split the poster into three different sections. It was a challenge to draw as a novel that experience with mixing colored pencils or drawing nature, but by doing so I was able to utilize them in ways that I hadn't done so before. I hope that with my artwork, people will be a little more inclined to research how climate change affects the world outside of the base knowledge must have on it. I don't expect much change from a single poster, but my hope is that at least one person could think more about it because of something I've created.”

Cydney’s Artist Statement: “ I addressed the question by painting an impact of hurricanes on communities. Hurricanes are intensified by climate change and cause more damage. In my work, I'm showing that the destruction from extreme weather will become worse with rising temperatures. What inspired me to draw the impacts of hurricanes was the devastation that happened in Puerto Rico because of Hurricane Maria. Hurricanes will only become stronger with higher temperatures.”

Natalie’s Artist Statement: “My art piece is focused on how severe weather will impact our lives, specifically our respiratory health. I wanted to focus my art piece on the health side of global warming, hoping people would feel more concerned about climate control by introducing the consequences of smoke inhalation on respiratory health. I approached this by drawing out the scenario of a wildfire, to the inhalation of smoke by victims, to the effects of smoke inhalation, such as needing to be on a ventilator or developing asthma. In order to connect the idea that global warming is responsible, I added a title claiming global warming harms more than just forests, implying it also damages people. Through this activity I learned how global warming affects the likelihood of fires, as it results in dryer organic material which catches and spreads fire much easier. This can result in the loss of homes, vegetation, and life. This topic needs to be talked about as wildfires are a current issue in the United States that could and does affect many. My inspiration came from remembering all of the news coverage of the wildfires that spread across California over the past few years. I remember seeing rescue and ambulance footage, these horrific natural events made me realize just how important the fight for climate control truly is. I felt challenged to portray the severity of these events and make it interpretable and impactful on viewers. I accomplished this through art medium, using vibrant colors and easily recognizable images.”

Kansas City and Topeka

Runner-Ups

Elementary School

Dhairya’s Artist Statement: “I addressed the challenge question by making a bike. One wheel is showing how summer is becoming more hot and severe and the other wheel is showing how winter is becoming more cold and severe. I drew a human riding a bike because severe weather is after all, driven by humans. On the wheel that shows summer I made the temperature increase from light yellow to red showing that it’s getting more hot and severe. On the wheel that shows winter, I made the temperature decrease from light blue to complete white. On the spokes of the wheel, I wrote how it impacts our lives. I created my artwork in the way I did to show how extreme heat impacts our lives and how extreme coldness impacts our lives. I also created my artwork in the way I did because I wanted to show how humans are also responsible for environmental changes by making the person on the bike. Yes. The art competition did encourage me to work with art materials because the accordion book helped me explore different strategies to help create my poster. I hope people will learn that severe weather impacts our lives by wearing different clothing, staying at home for some times of the year and when to go outside. I learned that severe weather and how it impacts our lives. And how severe weather is created by humans because of pollution. My family inspired me to work, explore and have fun but my mom mostly inspired me.”

Kynzi’s Artist Statement: “I did this because I wanted to show that there are a lot of bad weather conditions sometimes. And that we need to be prepared and that we need to get to a safe place if we are in danger.”

Lavender’s Artist Statement: “I chose to draw a poster with three sections to show some possible effects on the environment as weather becomes more severe. As weather becomes more severe there will be more risk of people experiencing illnesses. The increased heat will make it more difficult for people to be outside. Many plants will have a hard time to survive. Droughts will make water scarce and may even cause insect infestations.”

Middle School

Divya’s Artist Statement: “I addressed the challenge question in my artwork by making 2 pickle diagrams. One demonstrated severe weather, for example, floods, hurricanes, extreme summer, etc. and how it changes our lives. That fit my question which was, “How does severe weather affect us?” In my artwork, I am trying to show what we do in different types of severe weather. For example, I drew a figure watching TV, wearing a mask, staying inside, etc. On the TV, I made my own news channel, KC News, which telecasts live weather reports. I created my artwork in the way that I did because a pickle diagram provided an accurate representation of different types of severe weather and how it impacts us. The artwork competition did encourage me to work with materials in a new way. It allowed me to incorporate cotton for snow and pickle diagrams to demonstrate severe weather and its impacts. From my artwork, I hope people will learn about different kinds of severe weather and how it impacts the human population. For example, floods can affect the economy and food supply. It can also break communication networks and power supply. I learned about severe weather and how it impacts us. I also learned how to incorporate new materials and information in the poster to make it informational, artistic, and attractive. My mom, as a mentor, inspired me along with my own curiosity. It intrigued my curiosity since I heard about Hurricane Katrina, the frequent floods and tornadoes in Kansas, and extreme summer and winter conditions. I wanted to demonstrate how these disasters impact us and what precautions we can take against them. For example, I drew people on the roof of a house during a flood.”

Likhita’s Artist Statement: “I addressed the challenge question in my artwork by demonstrating how our lives will change once weather becomes more severe, and also how houses and trees will look after a tornado hits. I am trying to tell people that when the weather gets more severe, it will be hard to find housing and shelter, and there won't be a lot of trees to produce your needs. I also want to tell people how it will affect others' lives. I drew my artwork in the way I did because it shows the before and after of the destruction a tornado makes, it also helps people who like learning visually to understand the effect severe weather has on people. The art competition helped me work with colored pencils to make lighter and darker shades, it also helped me include science and the things I've learned in my artwork. I hope people will learn that if the weather gets more severe, it will be harder to live because there will be a loss of trees and it will be hard to find a suitable place to live. I also hope people will get more curious to learn about this topic. Something that inspired me was how the sky changes from light to dark when a tornado strikes, and how people's live are before and after a tornado strikes.”

Channing’s Artist Statement: “I addressed the challenge question of, "How will extreme weather affect our lives?" by drawing a scene that showed extreme weather. In this scene, you can see a tornado and cracked roads, as the weather gets more extreme tornadoes will happen more often and roads will crack because of rapid temperature changes. In my work, I am trying to say that it is important that we do what we can to control the weather so that extreme weather does not become more common because it will damage the planet. I created my artwork in the way I did to cause an emotional reaction in the people that look at it that will hopefully make them want to take care of our planet and stop extreme weather from getting worse. The competition encouraged me to work on blending and shading in my art. I hope people learn that extreme weather will be incredibly damaging to us and our planet if we do not fix it. I learned that as extreme weather gets more common it will have more negative impacts than you would expect. I was inspired by weather maps and what my town looks like when it is cloudy in my artwork. I was also inspired by the possibility of being able to make people be more environmentally conscious.”

High School

Regan’s Artist Statement: “Our lives will change in extremely large ways. If heat increases like it has been, then the water we have in our oceans, lakes, rivers, ponds, and even puddles will vaporize. It will be sucked up and leave our beautiful, healthy land dried up and cracking like a sandy desert. Weather is both a blessing and a curse. Now that the temperature is increasing, our land won't just dry up, it'll burn too. The air mixed with dry wood and constant heat makes fire which is the one thing that destroys most of California's forests. Plus, an increase in wildfires makes for less natural resources like timber for houses. If temperature increases, it increases our chance for skin cancer as well. Not only will all of this happen, but the polar ice caps will also melt causing insane flooding. Before we know it, Earth will just be a watery wasteland.”

McKenna’s Artist Statement: “As weather gets more severe our lives will change in many ways. A few examples being death from extreme weather, heat stress, extreme cold, water shortages due to drought, plants dying leading to oxygen shortages, icebergs melting causing rising sea levels and flooding. I painted in the earth in the middle with flames indicating rising temperatures, a dangerous thermometer calculating heat. The sun's UV Rays beaming down on the earth scorching the trees and leaving the land dry, cracked and barren. Icebergs melting causing flooding, destroying man made buildings. My interpretation is if we continue living how we are today with pollution putting holes in the ozone layer, resulting in the sun's UV rays beaming down causing icebergs to melt, the earth will not be sustainable. I created my artwork to demonstrate what the world could be if we don't work on preserving it. The art competition taught me to work with art materials carefully. If I used too much paint, it overflowed the picture the same way water floods the earth. I hope people will learn to ne more aware of how pollution affects our earth. I learned global warming is a pressing issue that needs all of our attention. Our world could be a different place in just 20 years. My teacher inspired me to create this artwork.”

Haylee’s Artist Statement: “Climate change is a plaguing event that leads to a multitude of harmful weather changes. Weather changes are correlated with global warming, which causes the melting of ice glaciers. With the ice melting, ocean levels are rising and pushing people out of their homes on the coast. In "anticipation", a home is submerged below sea level from the rising water levels. The city put out precautions in the form of sandbags, but the water is breaching their valiant efforts. The shark represents what is to come. Climate change is coming, and the earth will take back everything we have created. We will be here one minute and gone the next. Swallowed whole.”