The 2026 WISCIENCE Sticker Contest: Science of the Unseen

UW–Madison students: grab your colored pencils and tablets and get ready to create a unique, STEM-inspired design for the 2026 WISCIENCE Sticker Contest!

The winning design(s) will be made into stickers that get shared with the campus STEM community. This is the fourth year of our annual contest, and we are excited to see what you create!

Deadline: November 15, 2026

Submit your design

On this page

Eligibility

Open to all undergrad and grad students at UW–Madison. You don’t have to be majoring in art or STEM!

Prize

A bag of art supplies and other goodies. Winning student(s) will also be featured on the WISCIENCE website and social media with an opportunity to link to their personal portfolio or website.

Sticker Theme: Science of the Unseen

So much of science explores phenomena we can’t easily see or touch, from microscopic worlds to hidden processes and invisible forces. For this year’s sticker contest, we invite you to make the unseen visible and bring the hidden worlds of STEM into view!

You are encouraged to be creative and have fun in your designs inspired by scientific topics and concepts. You should be able to explain where your design came from, but it does not need to be as detailed or technical as a textbook diagram.

Topics to Explore

These are some possible topics related to the theme that you could base your designs on. This is not a complete list—we encourage you to brainstorm ideas that interest you based on your own experiences and background.

  • Microscopy
  • Astronomy
  • Biological structures and processes
  • Chemical reactions
  • Laws of physics
  • Engineering systems
  • Mathematical models
  • Optics and acoustics
  • Data visualization
  • Atmospheric dynamics
  • Geological processes
  • Fractals and other geometric shapes
  • Scientific and medical illustration
Back to top

Criteria

Any design you submit should be:

  • Clearly based on the theme
  • Original and creative
  • Able to be made into an approx. 3–4 inch sticker (any shape)
  • Made with the word WISCIENCE somewhere (or have space to add the WISCIENCE logo; for examples of how to do this, see last year’s winners).

Submissions will be evaluated based on artistic quality, creativity, interpretation of the theme, and suitability for WISCIENCE (see rubric).

Judging & Selection

Our selection panel is comprised of WISCIENCE staff and partners, undergrad students, and grad students. The panel will select the winning sticker(s) based on the evaluation criteria above. Depending on the submissions we receive, there may be more than one winning design.

Back to top

Submission Rules

  • Submissions must be your own original work.
  • You may use any physical drawing or painting media (i.e., colored pencil, markers, oil pastels, acrylic paint, etc.) or submit an original digital work.
  • You may submit more than one design.
  • Copyrighted work, stock images, and clip art are not allowed. No elements protected by copyright are allowed, including “fair use” of copyrighted material.
  • You may not submit designs created using generative AI in any way or in any amount. This includes fully AI-generated designs, AI-assisted designs, and those that contain AI-generated content.

Artwork Specifications

All submissions should be:

  • In JPG, PNG, or PDF format
  • At least 300 DPI
  • Less than 50 MB
Back to top

Contest Timeline

  • Contest opens: October 5, 2026
  • Deadline: November 15, 2026
  • Judging and selection process: November 16–November 25, 2025
  • Winner(s) notified: November 30, 2026
  • Winner(s) announced: December 9, 2026
  • Stickers available: January 19, 2026
Submit your design

Questions? Please reach out to connect@wiscience.wisc.edu.

Back to top