Check out the essays of previous award winners. These essays are great examples of scientific resources, and will provide you with a good idea of the kind of science investigation, research, and analysis that our judges look for.

	This year’s winning entries focused on animal behavior, water quality, and the affect of air pollution on soil and trees.
	Concern for the environment was the central theme of this year's entries as students examined water quality, the effects of urban sprawl, and the dangers posed by air pollution.
	Students conducted expeditions as close to home as a school's backyard and as far away as the Galápagos Archipelago as they sought the answers to questions they had about endangered species, land forms, and water quality.
	Students investigated the natural world and reported on issues ranging from the eutrophication of a lake in upstate New York to an examination of native seedling growth on a forest floor in Hawaii.
	Students explored the natural world through expeditions that took them as close to home as a backyard in Kansas to as far away as a rainforest in Hawaii.
	Students researched and reported on a variety of scientific issues from the geology of the Palisades in New Jersey to the small mammals of the Big Horn Mountains in Wyoming.
	"Looking Back, Looking Ahead" was the focus of this year's awards as students documented some of the great achievements science has made during the last century.
	With geology as the focus, students observed and reported on the geology of their own regions and of the world.
	In honor of the opening of the Hall of Biodiversity, student essays focused on the biodiversity they discovered in a variety of local habitats.

Winner essays may also be viewed on our Resources for Learning Web site—a collection of activities, articles, exhibition materials, evidence and analysis, and more, for educators, families, students, and anyone interested in teaching or learning about science.