Noodling a doodle 4 Google

In February, children all across the nation, grades K thru 12 were invited to take part in the 2nd Annual "Doodle 4 Google" (create-a-logo) contest.

This year’s theme, “What I wish for the World,” brought in 28,000 entries from all 50 states, which according to the official Google blog post this morning, reflects a 70 per cent increase in the number of entries over last year’s contest.

It was also announced today that 400 state finalists have been selected.

Now, it’s your turn to vote for your favorite young artist. Public on-line voting is open and ends Monday, May 18, 2009.

The prizes are indeed attractive. The National Winner receives a $15,000 college scholarship that can be used at the student’s school of choice, plus a trip to Google’s New York office; a laptop computer, and a t-shirt imprinted with their Google doodle

In addition, the National Winner’s school receives a $25,000 technology grant to be used by the school to either establish a computer lab, or upgrade an existing facility.

The Doodle 4 Google contest is an evolutionary outgrowth from the "unique" logos initially created by Google Webmaster Dennis Hwang when he began his career interning at Google in 2000.

Hwang's nifty renderings of the Google name (such as the one created for visual artist Rene Margurite’s birthday), are the sort of clever depictions you wake up to find on your computer screen, reminding you about holidays and important dates in history.

Go ahead, cast your vote. The next Jackson Pollock or Georgia O’Keeffe is waiting to be discovered.