To celebrate the United Nations declared International Year of Fruits and Vegetables, the Australian Academy of Science’s National Committee for Nutrition is hosting scienceXart: food for thought, an art competition for primary school students. The 2021 challenge is supported by Dietitians Australia, the leading voice of nutrition in Australia. Dietitians Australia represents more than 7500 nutrition and dietetic professionals all striving to build healthier communities.
The competition aims to engage students with the nutritional sciences and highlight the inherent creativity of nutrition science. Competition entries are open from 1 to 31 August 2021.
Congratulations to the winners and shortlisted entries. The Academy teams involved in shortlisting the entries and the judging panel enjoyed the creativity shown by the entries and the high quality of each submission.
scienceXart: food for thought 2021 winners gallery
An opportunity for student exploration and engagement
Curriculum links and activity plans
Sink your teeth into the exciting opportunity for primary school students to explore and engage with the creativity of nutrition science. Put some thought into your food and win an awesome prize for your class!
The Academy will be sharing inspiration for entries via social media and this website, so keep an eye out for the plates that we are creating too!
Developed in consultation with leading Australian nutritional scientists, including from the Academy’s National Committee for Nutrition, and tailored to align with the Australian Curriculum under expert guidance from the Academy’s education team, the competition is ideal for learning at home or as part of an in-class project. Check out the Australian Curriculum links and activity ideas.
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The competition theme is ‘Food for thought’. Get creative and have fun thinking about the food choices you make.
Aim: To encourage students to explore how the food we eat helps us to live our lives.
Brief: Design a plate of food, snap a photograph, and in 100 words or less provide a description of the nutritional science and story behind the plate
Medium: A photo of a plate featuring real food, drawings, or craft supplies.
Prizes: Entries will be judged on creativity, nutritional insight, and demonstration of impact through image and description. Read the marking guide for entries.
First prize in each category will receive a prize pack for their class. Certificates for highly commended entries are also available.
There are four categories.
Foundation/Prep/Kindergarten
Year 1 to Year 2
Year 3 to Year 4
Year 5 to Year 6
1 August 2021 – Entries open 9:00 am AEST
31 August 2021 – Entries close 5:00 pm AEST
scienceXart is about showing the fun and creative side of science and nutrition. This competition will have classroom prizes available for first place.
The entry that wins each category will receive an indoor garden for their classroom. The compact, desk-top size hydroponic garden will be a great addition to the classroom, the completely self-contained garden is low-maintenance, and the plants are grown with LED lights so will fit into and thrive in any classroom. The garden can be used year after year to teach sustainability, self-sufficiency, and the plant life cycle. Find out more about the hydroponic garden.
The Academy’s education team has produced a resource to highlight opportunities for linking scienceXart: food for thought to align to the Australian Curriculum Foundation to Year 6.
Activity plans for each category have been created around these links to support teachers to integrate the competition into the classroom, exploring different ideas about the role of healthy food in our lives. These activity ideas can be found below:
2021 is declared as the International Year of Fruits and Vegetables by the United Nations General Assembly. The International Year is designed to increase awareness of the role of fruits and vegetables in our nutrition and health.
The Academy is the adhering member to the International Science Council and other international unions through its national committees such as the National Committee for Nutrition. These national connections allow Australian scientists to join with others from around the world to promote collaboration, research and education of nutritional science.
This competition is supported by Dietitians Australia with aims of supporting healthier communities and advocating on public health nutrition issues.
Members of Dietitians Australia and the Academy’s National Committee for Nutrition have also put together a number of supporting resources that can help you delve deeper into the world of nutritional science and healthy eating for children:
Last year the Academy received almost 1000 entries from around Australia for its scienceXart: spot the maths competition. See the gallery of winners and shortlisted entries from 2020.
© 2024 Australian Academy of Science
