91Â鶹¾«Æ·

Celebrating the Microbes That Shape Our World

This year’s contest theme invites participants to showcase the value of science and the vital role microbes play in our daily lives. From the microbes that enrich our soil to those that ferment our favorite foods, produce life-saving antibiotics or help tackle global challenges like climate change, microbes are at work all around us. Through the medium of agar, show us how microbes make the world go round.

Submissions for the 2025 contest will be accepted Sept. 12-Oct. 26. The link to submit your entry will go live on this page on Sept. 12.

Submit a high-resolution image of your agar art so it can be displayed clearly online and in print. To ensure quality, the image should be large enough to print at 8×10 inches with 300 dpi or greater (about 2400×3000 pixels). If possible, use good lighting and a steady camera to capture sharp details of your work. 

Professional Category

The "Professional" category is for those who have regular access to, and created their work in, a formal laboratory setting like a university or industrial lab.

1. You may use any organism(s), with any type(s) of agar, on any size or shape petri dish.
2. No digital or artificial enhancements or manipulations (e.g., false coloring through lighting or Photoshop) are permitted. Non-microbial props within the piece are not allowed.
3. Pieces should be new and original, not seen/posted on the internet before or previously published or displayed elsewhere.
4. Pieces must be accompanied by a description that captures key features of the piece in language appropriate for a general audience. Note that the description is judged as well as the piece!
5. Pieces must be created safely in the appropriate Bio Safety Level environment for the organism(s) used. For more information, please consult ASM's Guidelines for Biosafety in Teaching Laboratories.
6. Only 1 entry per artist is permitted.

Creator Category

The "Creator" category is for those who created their work in an informal setting, like a community lab or maker space, or who are undergraduate students who created their work as part of a classroom assignment. Submission rules above apply.

Kids Category

There are 2 submission options within the “Kids” category. Participants aged 12 and under should submit to the “12 & Under” category. The “13 & Over” Category accepts submissions from artists under 18 years of age. Submission rules above apply.

Overall

1. Each submission may have up to 2 credited artists. If the submitter contributed to the creation of a piece, they must list themselves as a credited artist with up to 1 additional credited artist. If the submitter did not contribute to the creation of a piece (for example, they are submitting on behalf of a child or workshop participant) they should not list themselves as a credited artist.
2. Each credited artist may be listed on a maximum of 1 piece.
3. Submitters must be at least 18 years old. Minors must have an adult who is either their legal guardian, or has permission from the legal guardian to submit on their behalf. 91Â鶹¾«Æ·is not responsible for obtaining the permission of legal guardians or verifying that it has been obtained.
4. Submitters must choose the appropriate contest category based on the age of the credited artists. Pieces determined by 91Â鶹¾«Æ·staff to have been submitted to the wrong category may be disqualified without prior notice to the submitter or to credited artists.
5. Only entries submitted to the contest theme "Microbes Make the World Go Round" will be eligible to win contest prizes.