Doodle 4 Google logo contest is back to help kids, schools

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Google has officially started the third annual Doodle 4 Google contest, the search giant announced in a blog post Wednesday.

The Doodle 4 Google contest allows kids in kindergarten through grade 12 to draw a unique Google logo based on the theme, ‘If I could do anything, I would...’

In 2009, Christin Engelberth, a sixth-grader from San Antonio, won the second Doodle 4 Google contest. She called her drawing ‘A New Beginning’ to convey her ‘wish that in the current crisis, discoveries will be made.’

Google said that it has compiled ‘a panel of well-known expert jurors’ to judge this year’s drawings. The panel includes creative directors, cartoonists and animators from Sesame Workshop and Pixar Animation Studios.

After evaluating the submissions, the jurors will narrow the field by grade groups. Google said that each of the four groups -- kindergarten through third grade, fourth grade through sixth grade, seventh grade through ninth grade, and 10th grade through 12th grade -- will have 100 drawings selected for a grand total of 400 ‘state finalists.’ The top 40 drawings will move on to the next round until a single finalist is chosen for each grade group.

The winning drawing out of the remaining four finalists will be displayed for 24 hours on Google’s home page on May 27. The winning artist will receive a $15,000 college scholarship and a laptop. The student’s school will receive a $25,000 technology grant.

In order for students to participate in Google’s competition, their schools must be registered on the Doodle 4 Google website by March 17. All doodles must be submitted by March 31.

Google will invite the top 40 artists to its New York City office on May 26. It will announce the winner of the contest on the same day.

-- Don Reisinger