The Madison School District recently won a nationwide contest. The prize -- a visit from an internationally–known artist. And, now, some students have a whale of a tale to tell.

"I like doing artwork, but I've never done anything like this before," says eighth grader Carson Kellogg.

He is one of 40 Madison middle schoolers creating a giant underwater work-of-art.

"You pretty much get to paint whatever you want," says Kellogg.

Swimming in the 7 by 20 foot canvas are jellyfish, a seahorse, eels, and a few unidentified creatures. The young artists are getting a hand from a marine life artist, who goes by the name -- Wyland.

Wyland's work appears on buildings in major cities around the world. He calls his creations whaling walls. The nearest one greets visitors in Chicago.

"I've painted 94 whaling walls around the world, but this is even more important to get these kids involved," says Wyland.

The artist is traveling the country to get people to think twice about the waters of the world.

"It's a good gig, isn't it," he asks?

Madison's Cherokee Heights Middle School is the only school on his tour.

"I was just really excited because my family, they say I'm a really good artist, so I was really excited and wanted to go do the experience with Wyland," says seventh grader Zari Miller.

School leaders haven't found a home for the painting, just yet, but they say it's going to become a permanent fixture.

"It's going to be great for the next generation of kids to see what we did," says Kellogg.

"Now that I look at the mural it shows me that sea life underwater is really different and it's amazing and it's a beautiful feature in the world," says Miller.

The painting doesn't look like Wyland's usual work, but the message it promotes he says is just as priceless.

As previously mentioned, Wyland's visit was part of a nationwide contest. Madison won because the school's name was the first drawn out of a hat! The students chosen to paint the mural were selected the same way.