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Rebecca's 'Gecko In Green' Wins Vision Of Science Award

October 05 2004


We've got some amazing photographs to show you today, winners of a very special competition called the 'Visions of Science Photographic Awards'. The winning photographers were awarded their prizes today at a ceremony in London.

Shows a close-up photo of a tiny pale green lizard peeking out from behind a leaf.

Can you spot the gecko?


The Awards are held once a year with the aim of getting people to think about science, to talk about science and to take a fresh look at all sorts of sciencey things.


There was a special category in the competition for kids under the age of 18, called the Young Photographer's Award. Rebecca Vere - a very talented ten-year old - won this with her incredible picture of a gecko. Rebecca told Show Me, "I just like taking pictures of animals."

Here's Rebecca accepting her prize from Adam Hart-Davis and Lord May.

Shows prizewinner Rebecca accepting her prize from Adam Hart-Davis and Lord May.


She's not the only member of her family with an eye for a picture - we heard a whisper that her older brother is just a teensy bit jealous of her win… better luck next time big bro'!


Rebecca used a disposable camera to take the winning shot, proving you don't have to have a fancy, expensive camera to take a magical picture. She won a Kodak Digital Camera and £500 for her school to spend on science equipment, so will be very popular with her teachers.

Shows a magnified photo of reddish-yellow mites nestling round the follicle of an eyelash.

Yes, these really are mites around the bottom of an eyelash... yuck!


The idea behind the Awards is that each photo entered should be 'an attention grabbing image that gives new insight into the world of science and the workings of nature.' Some of the photos tell stories and some show things that have never been seen before. Other pictures are simply beautiful to look at.


Some of the photos were taken by scientists using hi-tech equipment like super-strong microscopes. One of our favourites is the magnified picture of a human eyelash (above), showing tiny mites feeding around the bottom of the lash. Suddenly everyone in the office has itchy eyes...

These coloured patterns show the magnified filed on the surface of a computer disc.

Shows a magnified image of the surface of a computer disc - a feathery pattern in rainbow colours.


Another favourite is the clever pic of a fossil of the future - can you tell what the object is? The photographer has imagined what archaeologists might find thousands of years into the future, left over from our lives today, and made the fake fossil out of clay.


More than 1,300 photos were entered for the Awards this year and judging them was a very difficult process as the standard was so high. All of the photos on this page were winners in different categories.

Shows a photo of a mobile phone which has been covered in mud and pushed into the ground, to look like it is fossilised.

A fossil of the future? It might take a while to get a signal with this phone!


The photos look very small on this web page, but in 'real life' are bigger, which means you can really see the colours and the detail properly. All of the photos here, along with many others, are going on tour in an exhibition called 'Visions of Science'.


There are two versions of the show and they'll travel around the UK for the next year, so why not try to go and see it? Here are the dates and places - click on the links to find out opening hours and addresses.

Imagine a world where you could choose your baby from a shelf of specimens... this is another of the Young Photographer pics.

Shows an image of 'shelves' of babies with various colours of hair and skin.

The Science Museum, London, October 6 to November 15
Museum of Science and Industry, Manchester, October 6 to January 2005
Glasgow Science Centre, November 17 to January 5 2005
At-Bristol, January 8 to February 16 2005
Museum of Oxford, January 22 to February 6 2005
Booth Museum, Brighton, February 19 to March 19 2005
Intech, Winchester, February 11 to March 6 2005
W5, Belfast, March 21 to April 28 2005
North Wales School of Art and Design, Wrexham, March 9 to March 31 2005 - telephone 01978 293502
Thinktank, Birmingham, May 1 to May 29 2005
Techniquest, Cardiff, May 1 to June 30 2005
Centre for Life, Newcastle, June 1 to... they're not sure yet!
Bridport Arts Centre, Dorset, September 15 to October 15 2005 - telephone 01308 427183

If seeing these pictures has inspired you to start taking pictures, why not think about entering next year's competition? Make sure you invite the Show Me team along when you get your prize though!

The Visions of Science Awards were sponsored by Novartis, the Daily Telegraph and NESTA.

Anra Kennedy


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