Several area 5^th grade students from across the 33^rd Senate District visited the Capitol Tuesday as part of State Senator Karen McConnaughay’s (R-St. Charles) Art Education Day.

Each year, Sen. McConnaughay hosts an art contest with her local schools. Contest winners are selected by a panel of judges with a combined 58 years of experience specializing in elementary art education. This year’s winners were announced in February and were invited to Springfield for a day packed full of activities.

17 of the winners made the trip down to Springfield April 17, where Sen. McConnaughay congratulated them in person. Students also got to learn about the history of the Capitol, got to see their artwork displayed in the Capitol Rotunda, were welcomed to the Senate Gallery by members of the Illinois Senate, and got to take part in an art project where they designed an Illinois license plate.

“I absolutely love having these incredibly talented and creative students down in Springfield for a day. This is a day I look forward to every year,” said Sen. McConnaughay. “Congratulations to all the winners of this year’s contest and I can’t wait to host it again next year.”

To view all participants’ artwork, click here. The winners’ original artwork will be displayed in the Illinois Capitol Rotunda until April 20^th.