
DATE: Friday, April 4, 1997                 TAG: 9704040674

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA 

SOURCE: JEFFREY S. HAMPTON, CORRESPONDENT 

DATELINE: HERTFORD                          LENGTH:   58 lines

LOCAL BOY WINS NATIONAL ART CONTEST THE PERQUIMANS STUDENT EARNS A TRIP TO SEA WORLD IN FLORIDA.

Third-grader Bryan Nixon has been drawing animals since he was 2 years old - and the practice paid off Thursday when he was told he won a national art contest.

``I just about fainted,'' Bryan said, describing his reaction when he heard the news.

The American Zoo and Aquarium Association in Washington, D.C., sponsored the poster art contest on the theme ``Save the Reef.'' More than 5,000 students nationwide from kindergarten to sixth grade entered the contest.

``Thirty-seven zoos and aquariums in North America from Hawaii to Bermuda hosted regional poster contests from January to March to introduce elementary-school students to the plight of coral reefs,'' according to a press release from the AZA.

Bryan's poster, done in magic marker, featured a fish talking about conservation of the coral reef where underwater wildlife teems. On the outer edges of the poster, Bryan drew turtles, an octopus, a scuba diver and an assortment of fish.

``I was just thinking I'd win,'' Bryan said. ``I feel like I did a good job. I love everything about nature. I love animals and I love fish.''

``This poster was visually stunning, and the text contains important messages from the animals' perspective,'' said Martin Kratt, co-host of the PBS show ``Kratts' Creatures.'' Kratt and his brother, Chris, unveiled the winning posters Thursday at the AZA. ``It is their home, and we humans should be careful to keep it safe.''

Bryan's poster won in the kindergarten to third grade category. For winning first place, he and his parents, Dan and Ann Nixon of Perquimans County, will go to Sea World in Florida for a week.

``I'm so excited I don't know what to do,'' Ann Nixon said. ``My little boy was jumping up and down. We're going to Sea World in Florida. Yes sir.''

Bryan won the regional contest in March with the same poster. The North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke Island sponsored the local competition in which 400 students entered from nine counties in northeastern North Carolina.

The AZA sent the entry information in January to schools across the country. Bryan, 9, first heard about the contest from his third-grade teacher, Tracy Gregory, at Perquimans Central Elementary.

Bryan said he worked nights and weekends on his poster for about three weeks.

He does not plan to be an artist when he grows up, however.

``I plan to be a paleontologist,'' Bryan said. ``A guy who searches for dinosaurs.''

The winner of the fourth to sixth grade category was Monica Wooden, 11, of Baltimore. ILLUSTRATION: COLOR PHOTO BY DEBORAH CHRISTNER

Bryan Nixon, a third-grader from Perquimans Central Elementary, is

heading to Sea World after winning a national art contest. The

nationwide contest, sponsored by The American Zoo and Aquarium

Association in Washington, D.C., promoted the theme ``Save the

Reef.''