Hasta La Gadget!

Today is the start of the fourth annual Doodle 4 Google contest. This fun little contest was created by Google to get kids to use their imagination and creative abilities to think big and redesign Google’s homepage logo for millions to see.

The contest is open to K-12 students in the U.S., (Darn, I’m too old!) The theme this year is “What I’d like to do someday…” So, get out the crayons, pencils, markers, and paint and create whatever it is you want to do or be when you grow up. Just make sure it’s creative; only one doodle will be accepted per student. Then, Google employees and a panel of guest judges, including Whoopi Goldberg, gold medal ice skater Evan Lysacek and “Garfield” creator Jim Davis, will narrow down the submissions.

The national winner will not only have his or her doodle featured on the homepage, but will also receive a $15,000 scholarship and a $25,000 technology grant for their schools. In addition, the top 40 regional finalists and the 3 national finalist will not receive a trip to New York City, a visit from Google in their hometown, a t-shirt with their design on it, and their artwork will be featured in a special exhibition in partnership with the Whitney Museum of American Art. The 3 national finalist will also receive a $5,00 educational grant and a Walcom design tablet. Not too shabby.

Make sure your students are registered by March 2, 2011 and their entries are postmarked by March 16, 2011. The winning doodle will appear on the homepage on May 20, 2011. Check out Doodle 4 Google for more details.