International Kids’ Owl Art Contest 2026
This owl art contest started around 2004 as a coloring contest to involve local young people in the Festival of Owls. Over the years it has grown into a highly competitive international art competition with over 2,000 entries from dozens of countries each year.
Please follow ALL rules and instructions, as entries that do not follow the rules WILL be disqualified and CANNOT be returned.
If you would like a version of these instructions in a language not listed here, please email andie@internationalowlcenter.org
Children must be age 18 or younger on the date their entry is mailed. There may be no help from adults or AI with any part of the piece. Entries are accepted from any country in the world.
Entrants will be separated into age categories as follows:
- 0-5 years
- 6-9 years
- 10-14 years
- 15-18 years
There is no entry fee for participation.
Limit 1 entry per person and 50 entries per school if mailed by the school in a package. If more than 50 students from one school want to enter, those that are not selected by the school to be part of their package may be mailed individually by the students.
Siblings may mail their entries together.
All entries become the property of the International Owl Center and cannot be returned due to the large volume of entries received.
Entries may be used for decoration, fundraising, promotional purposes, or printed materials for sale. This may include using them as decoration during the International Festival of Owls and throughout the year, selling them in the Owl Center gift shop, auctioning them in fundraisers, temporary display at other facilities (such as museums and galleries), making them into greeting cards to be used and sold, featuring them on shirts and other promotional materials, and other uses.
By entering the contest, artists acknowledge that their entries will become the property of the International Owl Center and will not be returned, even if disqualified.
Entries must be an image of an owl. Artwork must be two-dimensional, on any size paper that can be mailed and hung on a wall with tape. Entries cannot contain any plant or animal materials as a medium (no grasses, seeds, fur, feathers, etc.) as it is illegal to ship these internationally.
Digital artwork is allowed if printed, labeled, and mailed as required for other entries. No AI may be used for digital artwork entries.
No frames or mattes may be used on the artwork. If using canvas, the canvas must be removed from the wooden frame or it will be disqualified. We recommend mounting fragile papers like rice papers on a sturdier piece of paper or backing as it can be easily damaged during shipping.
Submission:
Artwork must be properly labeled. Print out this form and TAPE the small label to the bottom right corner of the front of the image (place tape on the sides–do not apply tape to the front of the art), and TAPE the larger form to the back of the image. Do not use stickers, glue, rubber cement or double-sided tape. If you do not think the tape you are using will hold well enough, please use paper clips to help hold the submission forms to the art. All unremovable methods of attaching both front and back labels WILL result in disqualification. Labels must be able to be removed from the art for display, selling them in the Owl Center gift shop, auctioning them in fundraisers, greeting cards to be used and sold, featuring on shirts and other promotional materials for International Owl Awareness Day, and other uses.
PLEASE WRITE NEATLY or type the information so it is easily legible. If we mail you a prize or card we will use the address you list on this form, so please make sure it is a complete mailing address. It is acceptable to use a school address.
Click here to see a video of how to properly label and mail entries. Improperly labeled artwork will be disqualified from the competition and CANNOT be mailed back.
*We recommend using cardboard or other stiff material when packaging your art to help protect it from damage in transit.
You must send us the original art. We will not accept photocopies or e-mailed entries. Entries must be RECEIVED by January 15, 2026. Please allow adequate time for delivery, which often can take 3-4 weeks from some countries, and sometimes takes as much as 6-8 weeks. No entries will be accepted after January 15th. Late entries will NOT be held for the next year’s competition.
NOTE: Use enough postage, as “postage due” entries will not be accepted.
Entries should be mailed through the postal service to:
International Festival of Owls
PO Box 536
Houston, MN 55943
USA
Entries mailed through DHL, UPS, and FedEx should be mailed to:
International Owl Center
126 E Cedar St
Houston, MN 55943
USA
+1 507-896-6957
Note: Specify Houston, MN as there are multiple towns/cities named “Houston” in the USA.
FOR OTHER DETAILS AND PARTICIPATION, PLEASE GO TO THE COMPETITION WEBSITE – PLEASE CLICK –