Doodlers kick off the Doodle 4 Google competition. Photos by Conor Healy Photography
It’s that time again for children around Ireland to showcase their creativity to the digital world, now that Google Ireland has launched its latest Doodle 4 Google competition. This time, the theme is ‘My Adventure’. Think space travel, surfing, swimming with dolphins, or one day climbing some of the world’s highest peaks.
The idea, according to Google, is that children should let their inner adventurer run wild and get creative so as to shake up the Google logo, with their own innovative twist. The contest is open to primary school children right up to those in sixth year or on Youthreach programmes.
Creative convergence
The winning doodle will then be revealed to the world on 24 March 2014, during a ceremony at Silicon Docks in Dublin City, where Google has its EMEA headquarters.
And that’s not all. The winning artistic creation will then appear on the Google Ireland homepage for 24 hours, where it will have the scope to be seen by millions of internet users.
Before that, though, a judging panel from the worlds of art, education and technology will narrow down the entrants to 75 finalists – 15 from each of the five categories:
- Group 1: Junior Infants, Senior Infants
- Group 2: 1st Class, 2nd Class
- Group 3: 3rd Class, 4th Class, 5th Class, 6th Class
- Group 4: 1st Year, 2nd Year, 3rd Year
- Group 5: Transition Year, 5th Year, 6th Year, Youthreach
The 75 finalists will have their doodles displayed on the Doodle 4 Google website and the general public will be able to vote for their favourite doodle.
The winners of each category will go forward to a ‘grand finale’, where the overall winning doodle, as chosen by the official Google Doodle team, will be unveiled.
Plus, there will be prizes up for grabs – for both the winning student and his or her school.
The student behind the winning doodle will receive a €5,000 scholarship to put towards their third-level studies. In addition, the winning student’s school will receive a €10,000 technology grant.
Also, each of the five category winners and their teachers will receive Chromebooks.
Creative streaks!
John Herlihy, head of Google Ireland, said that inspiring young people’s creativity and encouraging them to use their imaginations is something Google holds dear.
“For this year’s competition, we have chosen the theme ‘My Adventure’, so whether it’s exploring outer space, climbing Mount Everest or just experiencing adventures in the playground, we can’t wait for this year’s entrants to take us on their adventure with their own interpretation of the theme,” he said.
The deadline for entries is 13 December 2013.
For more information on the competition, children, their families and their schools can visit Google Ireland’s page. Here, students can pick up lesson plans to help with their doodle submissions, and teachers can learn how to in integrate this competition into their curriculum.
