Penguin Awareness

Emperor penguins by Jessica S.

​January 20th is Penguin Awareness Day. These appealing creatures certainly deserve our attention. Penguins are the only species of aquatic bird that can't fly. Instead of wings, they have stiff flippers that can propel them through the water, where they feed. Their favorite foods are shrimp, squid, and krill. 

All penguins live in the southern hemisphere, from the Galapagos Islands to the Antarctic continent. Some penguins can live to be 20 years old in the wild.

Students in the Tuesday preK/K class are proud of their beautiful penguins!

At Blue Church Art we celebrated "penguin awareness" by creating portraits of these unique birds. Most of the students chose Emperor penguins for their subject. These handsome birds are the largest of the penguin species, growing to be 4 feet tall, and weighing up to 85 pounds! The head and face of the Emperors are completely black, with a long curved black beak that has a pink or orange stripe down the middle. Its belly is mostly white, blending into light yellow at the top of the chest.

Ellie S.

Jill G.

Ava L.

Callie L.

click on any image to enlarge it

Jenna W.

Loraine K.

Madison W.

Kacey P.

Travis G.

Sophia D.

Kaitlyn S.

 Emperor Penguin chicks look quite different from their parents. Their first plumage is gray, and they have white around their eyes and around their beak. The markings of emperor chicks make them more visible against the ice and snow, important because emperors don't have individual nest sites where the young can be found.​

Sierra G.

Matt M.

Vanessa T.

Rissa S.

Luke F.

Leah H.

Penguin chicks require attentive parents for survival. Both parents feed the chick regurgitated food. Adults recognize and feed only their own chick. Parents are able to identify their chick by its distinctive call.

Savannah G.

Jessica M.

Jessica H.

Tondy H.

Natalie F.

Patricia S.

Erin C.

Madison C.

Heidi R.

Ashlee K.

Hope B.

Here's a lonely little penguin...

Jill M.

Emperor penguins seem to have a lot of affection for their chicks. One of the Blue Church Art penguin chicks is returning the love with a gift of flowers!

Gianna S.

Corinne H.

The younger Blue Church Art students captured the spirit of these cute Emperor chicks in their paintings: ​

Addison R.

Kaley H.

Soveida M.

Colin V.

Ava R.

Kiki C.

Erin M.

Patrick B.

Some of the Emperor Penguin chicks have crowns!

Amelia R.

Gabrielle M.

Orianna G.

Graham S.

Other students drew Emperor chicks snuggled up with mom...
​or is it dad? 

Riley B.

Sophia K.

Evan J.

Rylan M.

Brady M.

Elena J.

Ava K.

Some students drew Adelie Penguins. Adelies have dark eyes that are surrounded by a white circle. They are named after the wife of french explorer Jules Dumont, who discovered these penguins in 1840.

Linda H.

Hadley G.

Shayla W.

Last but not least, a Blue Penguin! They are the smallest of the penguins, growing to an average 13 inches in height. Their distinctive bright blue-gray color goes from the head down their backs, wings and tail. Blue Penguins are found on the coastlines of southern Australia and New Zealand.

Blue Penguin by Reese B.