Google on Wednesday kicked off its fourth annual "Doodle 4 Google" contest, a competition that calls on students from K-12 to design a Google homepage doodle in exchange for scholarship funds and a technology grant.
The theme of this year's doodle is "What I'd like to do someday."
"We know this crop of students will be the generation of tomorrow's leaders and inventors, and we can't wait to see what they come up with," Marissa Mayer, vice president of consumer products, said in a blog post.
Students have a chance to take home a $15,000 scholarship and a $25,000 technology grant for their school.
Google revamped the contest rules slightly this year. Parents or guardians are now allowed to register students directly, and if a school registers directly, they can submit as many doodles as they want, though Google only allows one entry per student. Google is also partnering with the Boys & Girls Clubs of America and Girl Scouts of the USA for the effort.
Students should be registered by March 2 and entries must be postmarked by March 16. A panel of Google employees and celebrity judges - including Whoopi Goldberg, gold medal ice skater Evan Lysacek, and "Garfield" creator Jim Davis - will then narrow down the submissions to the top 40 regional finalists. They will receive a trip to New York City and a visit from Google in their hometown, as well as a spot in a special exhibition in partnership with the Whitney Museum of American Art.
The final, winning doodle will be featured on the Google homepage on May 20.
Makenzie Melton, a Missouri third grader, won the 2010 Doodle 4 Google competition. Last year's theme was "If I Could Do Anything, I Would." Makenzie's doodle depicted a rainforest because if she could do anything, she said, she would like to save the endangered animals in the rainforest.
Full rules and details are available on the Google 4 Doodle site.
Google's doodles have made quite a splash lately. The company has a doodle team that has created more than 300 doodles for Google.com in the U.S. and 700 internationally. The effort dates back to 1998, however, when founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin tweaked the logo to indicate their attendance at the Burning Man festival. Two years later, webmaster Dennis Hwang was asked to produce a doodle for Bastille Day, and the rest is history.
The latest doodle (below), viewable today on Google.com, celebrates artist Paul Cezanne's 172nd bday. Google said it selects its doodles from Googlers and the general public.
"The doodle selection process aims to celebrate interesting events and anniversaries that reflect Google's personality and love for innovation," Google said. "We are aware that the list of doodles is not exhaustive, but we try to select doodles that show creativity and innovation."
