NASA Space Place Art Challenge!

An illustration of a paintbrush painting a galaxy.


Do you love making art and using your imagination? So do we! Every NASA mission starts with a creative idea about how to explore something in a new way.


The art challenge:

In this new activity, we'd like to challenge young explorers to think about and draw a space-related situation each month. And after the month is over, we'll select a few imaginative drawings to be featured on the NASA Space Place website!

So, get ready to exercise that creative brain of yours! Here's what you'll need:

  • Paper
  • Art supplies (pencils, markers, crayons, paints – whatever you like to use)
  • A grownup helper with a camera or scanner and access to email

Space Place art challenge prompt:

Happy 2024, a year of 366 exciting days! That’s right, this year is 366 days long because it is a leap year! Feb. 29, the extra day, is a leap day.

Why does Earth have leap years? In short, it takes approximately 365.25 days for Earth to orbit the Sun — a solar year. We usually round the days in a calendar year to 365. To make up for the missing partial day, we add one day to our calendar approximately every four years. That is a leap year.

Leap years are important so that our calendar year matches the solar year — the amount of time it takes for Earth to make a trip around the Sun. Subtracting 5 hours, 46 minutes and 48 seconds off of a year maybe doesn’t seem like a big deal. But, if you keep subtracting almost 6 hours every year for many years, things can really get messed up.

For example, say that July is a warm, summer month where you live. If we never had leap years, all those missing hours would add up into days, weeks and even months. Eventually, in a few hundred years, July would actually take place in the cold winter months!


Animated illustration of the Sun and Earth facing each other in space.

This month's prompt: Read more about leap years – spaceplace.nasa.gov/leap-year/en/. Then, create art showing what wacky things could happen on Earth if there were no leap years. For example, if you have a birthday in the cold, winter month of December, eventually, your birthday would be on a hot summer day! Get creative and draw how life on Earth could be different if we did not have leap years.

Submit your artwork between 1/24/24 and 2/29/24. Selected art submissions will appear on the website in early March!


How to submit your art:

Once you've gotten your ideas on the page, have a grownup take a photo or scan of the drawing and email the following to NASAKidsArt@jpl.nasa.gov:


That's it! Have fun creating and we can't wait to see your drawings!


This Month's Art Challenge Selections

Create art showing what wacky things could happen on Earth if there were no leap years!

Illustration of a person next to a sign that says POOL CLOSED DUE TO WEATHER on their birthday.

Adrianne, 13

Illustration of dragons flying in the sunny sky next to a banner that reads Happy Lunar New Year.

Akashh, 10

Illustration of a dragon looking at a calendar of the month of January next to a thermometer at 80 degrees, the word USA and an open window with a sunny sky outside.

Alden

A flat board split into four sections, one for each season. Each section has objects that represent that season, like flowers in Spring, a beach in Summer, orange and yellow leaves in Fall and a snow person in Winter. In the middle, there is a Sun held up by a stick and an Earth attached to it by wire so that it can orbit around the Sun and make its way over all the seasons on the board below.

Brian, 10

Illustration of a beach filled with christmas tree and beach gear.

Elena, 12

Illustration of a person dressed for a cold Winter. The calendar on the wall says December and outside the window is a sunny day.

Elladya, 9

Illustration of a tree. The image is split into four sections, one for each season. On the tree trunk text reads No Leap Year. In the top left section text reads Summer in December and the tree has no leaves. In the top right section text reads Winter in July and the tree is covered in leaves and apples. In the bottom right section text reads Fall in May and a bug is flying by. In the bottom left section text reads Spring in October and leaves are falling on the ground.

Emiliana, 11

Illustration of the Earth and Moon, both with confused looks on their faces. There are four icons, a Sun, rain cloud, leaf and ice, around the Earth with arrows between them representing the cycle of seasons. There is text next to Earth that reads If we had no leap years, the seasons would swap every 750 years!

Gianna, 12

Illustration of two scenes. One depicts Yellowstone in Summer 2024, and the scene is filled with green grass. The other depicts Yellowstone in Summer 2027, and the scene is filled with snow.

Henry, 10

Illustration of two scenes. One scene is of a grass backyard with a trampoline and text that reads Leap year. The other scene is of a snowy backyard and text that reads No leap year.

Jaiden, 13

Illustration of a snowy landscape with two cactuses, an igloo and a snow person. Text reads July 2113 without leap year Arizona Winter in July.

Joe, 12

Illustration of December 2724 in the northern and southern hemispheres. The northern hemisphere illustration includes a Christmas tree, moose and green grass. The southern hemisphere illustration includes a Christmas tree, kangaroo and snow.

Johann, 8

Diorama with a back wall with four sections representing each season. In front of the four sections are houses decorated for each season.

Juan

Illustration of the Earth and four images around it. The images are a snowman and text that reads Christmas in Summer, a dragon and text that reads Chinese New Year in Fall, flowers and text that reads Mardi Gras in Spring and hearts and text that reads Valentine’s Day in Winter.

Kathryn, 13

Illustration of two people dressed in warm clothes with snow and a snow person outside the window. A calendar on the wall reads July. Text above the illustration reads Summer Gone Wrong.

Krrish, 13

Illustration of several people enjoying the beach. One person is dressed up as Santa. A plane is flying by in the sky towing a sign that says Merry Christmas.

Naisha, 7

A clock object with the Sun in the middle and Earth at the end of a metal wire that is attached to the Sun. The months of the year are arranged around the Sun in a circle. Earth can rotate around the Sun and move along the circle of months.

Nataly, 11

Illustration of a woman in a beanie on the beach. She is saying My birthday’s in the Winter. The Sun is in the sky and a crab is standing next to her on the beach.

Nicole, 13

Illustration of a person in the rain and text that reads Happy July 4th Spring. The person is saying Spring in July isn’t true.

Oden, 6

Illustration of four trees, each representing a different season. Text at the top reads North America no leap year. The tree in the Summer has snow on it. The tree in the Fall has green leaves on it. The tree in the Winter has red leaves on it. The tree in the Spring has pink leaves on it.

Sophia, 10

A clock object with the Sun in the middle and Earth at the end of a metal wire that is attached to the Sun. The months of the year are arranged around the Sun in a circle. Earth can rotate around the Sun and move along the circle of months.

Valeria, 10

Illustration of the Easter Bunny, holding a basket of eggs, buried in the snow outside a house.

Xander, 11



* AUTHORIZATION AND RELEASE FOR PHOTOS, AUDIO AND/OR VIDEO RECORDINGS OF, AND/OR ARTWORK FROM A MINOR CHILD

I hereby grant to the California Institute of Technology (Institute) and its Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) the right to make, use, create derivative works and/or display:

  1. photos, video and/or audio tape recordings of, my Child and/or
  2. artwork (in any media, including drawings, photos, music and video creations) created by my Child and submitted to JPL and/or

in any manner or form, and for any lawful purpose at any time. I also grant the Institute to use my Child's name associated with such photos, recordings of my Child or with his/her artwork. I understand that my Child may be photographed and/or video or audio taped verbatim and that the Institute may allow persons external to the Institute to view the pictures or recordings in part or in their entirety. I also understand that any artwork submitted by my Child to the Institute for the Project may be edited, reproduced or displayed publicly at the Institute's discretion. I am fully aware and agree that such use of my Child's image or artwork and name may include posting on publicly available internet sites, including JPL sites and other publicly viewable social media sites. I waive any right that I may have to review or approve of any finished products, or the uses to which such products may be applied. I release and discharge the Institute, its employees, sponsors, and subcontractors from any liability to me by virtue of any representation that may occur in the creation, editing or use of said photos and/or video or audio tape recordings or the editing or use of my Child's artwork.

article last updated March 11, 2024
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