Her work will be featured on the Google homepage later today

May 27, 2010 09:38 GMT  ·  By

The annual Doodle 4 Google competition came to a close with a winner being chosen from the more than 33,000 submissions. The winning doodle belongs to Makenzie Melton, a third grader at El Dorado Springs R-2 Schools in El Dorado Springs, Missouri. Her work was entitled “Rainforest Habitat” and will be featured on the Google homepage later today.

“Your millions of online votes helped us pick the winners of this year's Doodle 4 Google competition. Today, we're pleased to announce the results,” Marissa Mayer, VP of Search Products and User Experience at Google, announced.

“Congratulations to Makenzie Melton... Her winning design, entitled ‘Rainforest Habitat,’ expressed her concern that ‘the rainforest is in danger and it is not fair to the plants and animals.’ Makenzie’s design triumphed over more than 33,000 student submissions from all over the country. Makenzie’s colored-pencil creation beautifully embodied this year’s theme,” she added.

The 2010 Doodle 4 Google competition’s theme was “If Could Do Anything, I Would...” inviting kids of all ages to set their imaginations free. With tens of thousands of submissions and millions of online votes, it’s safe to say that it managed to raise quite a lot of interest.

The winner got a $15,000 grant to go towards her college education and a netbook computer. Her school also got $25,000 for a new computer lab. And, of course, the winning doodle will be featured on the Google homepage for the world to see.

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The 2010 Doodle 4 Google competition winner

Three runner-ups from different age groups were also chosen and the works of all of the 40 finalists will be featured in an exhibition at the Smithsonian's Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, until August 15, 2010. The finalists were chosen by a panel of “Expert Jourors” from several organizations and companies like Disney, The Sesame Street Workshop, Dr. Seuss Enterprises, Charles M. Schulz Creative Associates and Peanuts and Pixar Animation Studios. The Doodle 4 Google competition is coming back next year.

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The 2010 Doodle 4 Google competition finalist K4-6
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The 2010 Doodle 4 Google competition finalist K7-9
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The 2010 Doodle 4 Google competition finalist K10-12