Detroit Zoo Year of the Frog

In 2008, The Detroit Zoological Society partnered with Project S.N.A.P. to celebrate the 2008 Year of the Frog Youth Art Competition and the 80th Anniversary of the Detroit Zoos.  The mosaic murals are on display at the Detroit Zoo.  Incorporating the artwork of thousands of children, the murals depict a Wyoming Toad and an Eastern Tiger Salamander.

More than 2,500 students representing three different counties leapt at the opportunity to communicate the importance of amphibians in the competition and mosaic mural exhibition.  Students expressed their interpretations of Michigan frogs, toads and salamanders, as well as images of amphibian residents at the Detroit Zoo’s National Amphibian Conservation Center.

Year of the Frog was a global public awareness campaign to focus attention on endangered amphibians and the critical work being done by zoos and aquariums to save them. The Detroit Zoological Society supported the worldwide initiative with special events, fundraising activities, educational opportunities and community outreach efforts throughout the year.

Students from schools across three counties showed us how much they learned about amphibians and years later, we still find that visitors to the Zoos

Participants can access the mosaic mural online in the Project S.N.A.P. Online Art Museum, read and share their artist’s statement and see how their artwork fits into the “big picture”.   The mosaic mural is also on display as part of the  “Featured Programs” in the Project S.N.A.P. Online Art Museum.