Doodle 4 Google 2014 Contest has Begun

"If I could invent one thing to make the world a better place..."

This is the thought occupying many young minds right now. The seventh annual Doodle 4 Googlecontest is under way and young artists ranging from kindergarten through 12th grade are jumping at the chance to have their original artwork featured on the homepage of Google. It could be the $30,000 too, but who can say for sure.

The winner of 2014’s Doodle for Google contest will get his or her art published on Google’s homepage as Google’s logo for the day. Additionally, the winner will receive not only a $30,000 college scholarship, but also a $50,000 technology grant for his or her school, courtesy of Google for Education.

The stipulations for the contest are that all participants be from grades K-12, only one doodle is allowed per student, and the Doodle must be received by the final deadline of March 20.

Every year, Google hosts a panel of guest judges who help select the Doodle 4 Google winners. Fifty state winners will be selected, in addition to the single national winner whose logo will be displayed on Google’s homepage in June. This year, Google’s guest judges will include:

Rick Riordan, #1 New York Times bestselling author
Rosanne Somerson, Rhode Island School of Design interim President
Ron Garan, NASA astronaut
Lee Magpili, LEGO Education robotics designer
Lyndsey Scott, high-fashion model and iOS app programmer
Lemony Snicket, author of the bestselling novels, "A Series of Unfortunate Events"
Christoph Niemann, designer, artist and author featured in TIME, the New York Times, and American Illustration
Mary Pope Osborne, former president of the Authors Guild and award-winning author
Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, film directors of movies such as 2012’s "21 Jump Street" remake
Astro Teller, overseer of the many new technologies and innovations underway at Google[x]

Last year, Google received approximately 13,000 Doodle 4 Google submissions. I can’t wait to see how many talented young minds enter the contest this year, let alone what the winning final design will be.

Make sure you mark your calendars for April 29 when the 50 state finalists will be announced andpublic voting for the national winner begins!