Ellen V. Futter, President, American Museum of Natural History

It is with great pleasure that I congratulate the awardees and all the participants in the 2004 American Museum of Natural History Young Naturalist Awards. The range and variety of the submissions from throughout North America is strong evidence of the interest and commitment that our young people have in protecting and conserving the species and habitats so essential to our lives and to our very survival. The essays bear witness to student interest in the process of scientific inquiry, as well as an understanding of the importance of effectively communicating observations, analysis, and conclusions to others.

This marks the seventh year of the Young Naturalist Awards, an annual program supported by the J.P. Morgan Chase Foundation to recognize young people in grades seven through twelve for excellence in the natural sciences. The Young Naturalist Awards are part of an educational initiative of the Museum to extend its scientific resources—including a research staff of over 200 scientists, 32 million artifacts and specimens, and a world-class program of exhibitions—beyond our walls to a national audience. It is one of the many Museum programs that provide an opportunity to connect young people to real scientists and real science.

Scientists from the American Museum of Natural History go on approximately 100 expeditions each year to collect new data and to follow up on previous fieldwork. With each careful, detailed field study, scientists add to the existing body of knowledge. Investigating the natural world through explorations is the continuing theme for the Young Naturalist Awards. Using biology, Earth science, or astronomy as a departure point, the Young Naturalist Awards 2004 invited students to choose a scientific topic or questions and embark upon a scientific inquiry of their own. Applicants were asked to document their findings in an essay. Scientists and educators at the Museum judged and selected the awardees whose outstanding work is published on this Web site.

Once again, I offer warm congratulations to all the participants, awardees, supporting parents, guardians, mentors, and teachers. The exceptional work of this year's awardees is an inspiration to all of us here at the Museum, and we are heartened to see today's youth continuing this tradition of intellectual inquiry. We hope that the students participating in the Young Naturalist Awards will be motivated by these experiences to further question, observe, and explore, as the scientists, thinkers, and leaders of tomorrow.