In the “Umi & Sakana (ocean and fish)” Children's Research and Artwork Competition, children are invited to submit research projects exploring the wonders and surprises of the ocean and fish, based on their unique childhood imagination, as well as creative works like drawings and essays that express these discoveries. The competition is open not only to elementary school students in Japan but also to those attending Japanese schools and supplementary schools abroad.
Nissui has co-sponsored the Competition since its first iteration in 1982, driven by a desire to help children become more familiar with “ocean and fish” and to support the discoveries and experiences of young learners who will shape the future.
With the objective of providing “a place for learning through experience,” competition-related events such as online visit lessons are also conducted. These lessons are carefully crafted so that children can learn, from a perspective different from their regular school classes, about topics they might only encounter in this unique setting.
Special website of Umi & Sakana Children’s Research and Artwork Competition (in Japanese)
In collaboration with researchers and experts in marine life, the program provides children with specialized knowledge in an accessible way, going beyond what they usually learn in school. As a sponsor, Nissui actively participates, with its researchers also serving as instructors. In 2024, an employee from the Central Research Laboratory Oita Marine Biological Technology Center gave a lecture titled “The Secrets of Delicious Salmon Aquaculture.” Additionally, classes were held on topics such as “Let's Make a Color Encyclopedia as a Class!” and “The Secrets of Eggs,” with a total of 5,234 elementary school students from 56 schools nationwide participating.
Online lesson by Nissui Corporation
There are eight awards, for which 16 works are selected as winners of the top prize in two divisions, i.e., “Research Division” and “Artwork Division.” Two pieces of work that won the Nissui Award are showcased below.
Haruto Hayakawa,
Second-grader at Matsudo Municipal Mutsumi Elementary School
Amika Suzuki,
Fifth-grader at Toyo Eiwa Jogakuin Elementary School
