For a 9-year-old Queen Creek boy, winning another environmental art competition is more about a family learning experience than an individual honor.
Sam Guerrero recently captured his third Conservation Art Challenge, sponsored by the OdySea Aquarium in Scottsdale, by creating two sculptures of the endangered Marvelous Spatuletail hummingbirds using recycled amber glass, plastic and cardboard.
He earlier won titles in 2023 and 2025.
The honor stayed in the Guerrero family in 2024, when younger sister Natalie, who goes by Nini, prevailed. She recently turned 8.
The whole family, including father Oswaldo Roman and mother Angie Guerrero, gets involved.
“We really love doing crafts and we had been talking a lot about conservation when we first came across this contest,” said Angie Guerrero, the spokeswoman for the family for whom English is not the first language.
“The kids were so excited to create something to enter a competition involving endangered animals and a chance to get a ticket to the aquarium was the highlight for them.”
All contest entrants receive a free child’s admission to the aquarium.
The Marvelous Spatuletail (Loddigesia mirabilis) hummingbird is one of Sam’s favorite creatures. The bird is notable for its striking appearance, particularly the male’s unique tail feathers, which resemble a spatula when used in courtship displays.
Sam checked out books from the library, looked for documentaries on YouTube and nature channels and pinpointed the bird’s habitat in northern Peru on the map before making his creation, his mom reported.
Then he was able to identify other hummingbird species at summer camp.
More than 300 Valley children, ages 12 and under, competed in this year’s sixth annual challenge, with four being selected as winners through a blind-judging process conducted by the OdySea Aquarium’s Conservation Committee.
The entrants must choose an animal from the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species. Their artwork must be made entirely from recycled and repurposed materials.
The winners and their families were invited to OdySea Aquarium to celebrate.
“When children take the time to learn about an animal and the challenges it faces, they begin to understand the important role they can play in protecting wildlife,” said Jess Tammen, manager of OdySea’s Conservation and Dive Operations and founder of the Conservation Art Challenge, in a press release.
“This contest encourages creativity while fostering curiosity, compassion and a lifelong appreciation for conservation.”
Angie Guerrero doesn’t see her home-schooled children’s interest in nature and the environment waning once they become teenagers and age out of the Conservation Art Challenge.
“I put a lot of passion and dedication into this project so that the children will continue to seek out these kinds of activities even as they grow older,” she said.
“I see children who are engaged, aware and happy to create while also displaying a touch of healthy competition over who can make the best craft.”