** New this year: Parents can register their kids directly **
Attention all parents and teachers! Do you have a budding artist at home or in the classroom? Would they love to win a college scholarship, a technology grant for their school, and have their art featured on Google’s homepage for millions of viewers to see?
Now is their chance! Today, Google starts accepting registrations for its annual Doodle 4 Google competition. Doodle 4 Google is open to K-12 students in U.S. schools who are invited to create their own Google doodle inspired by the theme, “What I’d like to do someday…”. A “doodle” is the logo design that appears on the Google homepage periodically to celebrate special events, holidays, or the lives of artists and inventors.
Celebrity judges this year include Whoopi Goldberg, comedian and TV talk show host; Jim Davis, creator of the Garfield comic strip; Maira Kalman and Beverly Cleary, illustrators and authors of children’s books; Scott McCloud, cartoonist, and others.
In previous years, schools and teachers needed to sign up with Google in order for students to participate. Google has expanded the contest this year by allowing parents to register their children directly if their school has decided not to participate. Google has also partnered with two after-school programs, Boys & Girls Clubs of America and Girl Scouts of the USA, to help register students and submit artwork.
Last year’s winner, Makenzie Melton, a third grader at El Dorado Springs, R-2 Schools in El Dorado Springs, Missouri, had her own logo displayed on the Google homepage for hundreds of millions of users to see for a day. She also won a $15,000 college scholarship and a $25,000 technology grant for her school. You can see last year’s winning doodle and find more information here.
(from Google press release)
Google announced the National winner in its annual Doodle 4 Google competition. Makenzie Melton, a 3rd-grader from El Dorado R-2 Schools, had her artwork chosen from over 33,000 submissions to be named the national winner. Makenzie’s doodle will be displayed on the Google homepage on May 27, 2010 and she will take home a $15,000 college scholarship and a $25,000 technology grant for her school. Makenzie’s winning doodle depicted a rainforest habitat because if she could do anything, she would save all the endangered animals in the rainforest.
