Wiki Science the international photography competition returns for 2025! Wikimedia Community Ireland is calling upon amateur, professional, and aspiring photographers with a love of science to take photos and upload them to Wikimedia Commons. Photos of scientists, research subjects, and the research process are welcome.
Are you passionate about a science project you are involved with? Do you work in a lab and want to highlight your colleague’s significant work? Did you manage to spot the Northern Lights last winter? Wiki Science is calling you!
The contest is open from November 1st to 30th, 2025 and there are lots of prizes to be won!
UPLOAD HERE!
Anthony’s astro, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
What is Wiki Science Ireland?
WikiScience Ireland is part of the international Wiki Science Competition (WSC), a photo contest organized to promote science and scientific literacy through images. From stunning microscope slides to majestic landscapes shaped by geology, and from wildlife encounters to breathtaking astronomy shots, this contest welcomes all kinds of science-related images. By submitting your photos, you’re contributing to Wikimedia Commons, a free and open platform that makes scientific visuals accessible to everyone.
The Wiki Science Competition happens on two levels: national and international. The first round takes place at the all-Ireland level, and then the winning photos from Ireland will advance to the international final. This means that your photograph is in the chance of gaining international recognition.
Entries uploaded on Wikimedia Commons under a free license will make a significant contribution to a globally accessible collection of scientific images online.
New to Wiki Commons? Check out this quick tutorial on how to upload photos here.
Why Participate?
Showcase Ireland’s Science: Ireland is rich in scientific diversity and there is so much research and development going on the the field right now. This contest allows you to highlight your contributions, experience or work through the lens of your camera.
Support Open Access: Your photos will be freely available on Wikimedia Commons, helping educators, researchers, and enthusiasts around the world access visual resources for learning and inspiration. It also helps to increase Ireland’s scientific reputation globally!
Prizes and Recognition: Top entries will be awarded prizes, and winning images may gain international visibility within the Wikimedia community and beyond (See below for details).
How to Get Involved
Entering is simple! Submit your photo on the Wiki Science Competition page for Ireland linked below. Be sure to check out the guidelines and categories, as we welcome images across various fields like microscopy, wildlife, astronomy, and more. You don’t need fancy equipment—creativity and keen observation of the world around you are what matter most. You can even take a shot on your phone!
UPLOAD HERE!
Anthony’s astro, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Entry Guidelines for Wiki Science:
Your image should come under one of the 7 main categories*:
- People in science – Scientists in their natural habitat.
- Microscopy images – Optical, electron, and scanning probe microscopy images all fall under this category.
- Non-photographic media – Audio and video files, computer-generated imagery, etc.
- Image sets – Thematically linked images, that can be viewed as one set such as sets showing natural variation within animal or plant specimens. The image set could be made up of up to 10 separate images.
- Wildlife and nature – Organisms that grow or live wild in an area. Macro photography also falls under this category.
- Astronomy – images of stars, people viewing them, or the equipment used for it.
- General category – Everything else goes into this category, from archaeology to zoology!
Wiki Science Rules:
- To participate, just create a Wikimedia account. This only takes a moment and you don’t even have to share your name if you don’t want to. However, if you win we will need to contact you so be sure to add your email address!
- The competition closes on the 30th of November 2025.
- For the photo to be considered scientific, it needs to have a robust description. Your description should include a brief description of what the image shows, how it shows it/ how it was captured, and where it was taken.
- Everyone is welcome to add images and the number of images per participant is unlimited.
- The authorship must be from the person uploading the photograph to Wikimedia Commons. You can only participate with your own images, or with images of which you are one of the authors. In the latter case, all names of co-authors must be provided.
- Images must be published under a free-use license or as public domain. Possible licenses are CC-BY-SA 4.0, CC-BY 4.0, and CC0 1.0.
- As this is a photo contest, we expect images of good quality and size. The size of the image should be at least 2 megapixels unless the technology used does not allow it. The larger the file, the better.
For more information on the contest rules and to see the gallery of previous winners for inspiration visit Wiki Science Ireland.
Judges for Wiki Science Ireland 2025
TBA
Prizes
First Place: €75
Second Place: €50
Third Place: €25
*Prizes are awarded in the form of One4all or Amazon voucher.
Spread the Word!
If you’re not submitting, consider spreading the word or even volunteering to help us promote this initiative. Let’s show the world the captivating stories that Irish science has to offer.
Ready to capture science in a snapshot? Learn more and submit your photos here.
