2027 Diorama Contest

Get ready for the third 'All the News That's Fit to Build: Local News Dioramas' exhibit and contest, coming next year!

Check this page on January 1, 2027 for details about the timeline and how to participate.

2026 was an excellent year for dioramas!

Dioramas were on display in the Oakland History Center from July 17 - October 3.

You can still view all the dioramas, read the articles that inspired them, and read what the creators had to say about their work in the online exhibit.

We'll have photos from the Celebration of Dioramas to share soon!

Diorama participants:

Please stop by the Oakland History Center to pick up your diorama by October 18.

2026 Winners

First Place
Best Shoreline Art Gallery
An Art "Gallery" on the Mudflats
Claire Tompkins

Second Place
bEST BEACH CLEANUP DISGUISED AS ART
Beach Trip Provides Lesson Across Time
Owen Dempsey

Third Place
Most surprising sports celebrity
29,162 See Pele Star in 3-1 Victory
Elliot Esposito

1951 award

In Honor of the Main Library's 75th Anniversary
Enough Milk to Float a Ship

Isabelle Hodge

black power award

In Honor of the 60th Anniversary of the Black Panther Party
Panthers Repudiate Color Book
Lindsey Simard

Junior dioramist award

For Creators Aged 12 and Under
Youths Dive For Boat Sunk in Lake Merritt
Lillian McKellar

People's choice award

Decided by Exhibit Visitors

Courage is an Ingredient in Banana Slug Festival, opens a new window
Caroline Haley & Derek Vogel

Honorable Mentions

best imagining of what's not depicted in the photo
Pulitzer Contest Nears, Photogs Puzzled — Steve Fagrey

Freakiest weather phenomenon
A Shower of Fish — Lucia Wong

Best dressed Diorama subjects
A Line Please — Lara Trale

Cutest representation of class warfare
Piedmont Hills Hunted for Wild Dogs — Lauren Corden

See all the 2026 Dioramas!

2025 Winners

Missed the 2025 Exhibit? Revisit your favorite dioramas from the 2025 exhibit and read the articles that inspired them in our online exhibit., opens a new window

First Place
The Most Sweeping Representation of a Historical Event
Houdini Wins Liberty Head-Downward in Air
Sarah Vyeda

Second Place & People's Favorite
The Most Detailed Reconstruction of a Very Silly Thing
City's Nine Noisy Peacocks Are Sentenced to Life in Coop
Christina Limata

Third Place
The Most Relatable and Human
Man Jailed Watching Meteors
Adam Esposito

Staff Prize
The Most Deviously Delicious Diorama
Hey! Hey! Pickler in a Pickle Now Over Pickles
Josephine Sayers

Honorable Mentions

The Best Depiction of Early Oakland Entertainment
A Chance to Brush Up on San Antonio Park History — Samia Khattab

The Best Depiction of Animal Bravery
Dog Rescues Youth From Shark Attack — Jonathan and Santiago Lemon

The Best Minimalist Interpretation of the Diorama Challenge
Found Some Silverware — Caroline Haley and Derek Vogel

The Most Persistently Haunted House
A Mystery Most Foul at Oakland's Clarke Mansion — Courtney Minick

The Best Drunk Animal Diorama
Seagulls Drunk on Seized Booze Dumped in Bay — Hannah Jenks

The Best Depiction of a Natural Treasure Saved by Women
Why Save the Bay? — And Why Not? — Dianne Ayres

The Crustiest Punk Diorama
Yesterday's Crimes: Gilman Street Mummy Baby — Alison Rose

See all the 2025 Dioramas!

2025 Photos

Miniature figures of a boy on horseback looking down at a man stuck in deep mud, with only his face visible.

Questions?

Oakland History Center: (510) 238-3222

Magazines & Newspapers: (510) 238-3176

Email: eanswers@oaklandlibrary.org

125 14th St.

2nd Floor

Oakland, California

94612