Ontario student's doodle illustrating a telescope to see the bottom of the ocean wins Canada's first Doodle 4 Google competition

Doodles on display at Royal Ontario Museum

TORONTO, Feb. 25, 2014 /CNW/ - Following thousands of submissions, and nearly 200,000 votes, Ontario's Cindy Tang, age 17 has been named the winner of the first ever Doodle 4 Google Canada competition for her illustration of an underwater sea telescope.

In October 2013 Google invited Canadian students from across the country to re-imagine the Google doodle and express their creativity reflecting the theme, "If I could invent anything, I would invent…"

"We believe it's important to challenge young Canadians to fire up their imaginations and ignite their interest in science, art and innovation," says Chris O'Neill, Managing Director, Google Canada.  "Our hope is that these 25 students, and the thousands across the country who participated, will be the next generation of Canadian talent that can harness the full potential of technology and begin solving the tough problems we face with inventive, imaginative thinking we've seen in these doodles."

On February 26, Cindy's doodle will be featured on the Google Canada homepage. Cindy will also receive a $10,000 education scholarship, a HP Chromebook computer and a $10,000 grant for her school. Cindy's winning doodle, along with 72 other competition finalists will be on display at the Royal Ontario Museum until April 27. The Doodle 4 Google exhibition is part of the ROM's Centennial celebrations. Each month, Google.ca sees about 4 billion searches (source: ComScore).

In addition to the National Winner, four National Finalists will each receive a $5000 scholarship and a HP Chromebook.

• Xusheng (Sam) Yu's (St. Francis Xavier School) doodle of electric trees is the National Finalist for the Prairie provinces
• David Isaiah Jeans (Yarmouth Consolidated Memorial High School ) doodle of an age reversing machine is the National Finalist for the Atlantic Provinces
• Meriam Akkou (La Camaradiere school) is the National Finalist for Quebec and doodled an underwater city
• Maria Angela Viaje (Johnston Heights Secondary ) doodle of virtual reality simulator is the National Finalist for British Columbia & North

The winners were selected by four judges, including Janet Carding, Director & CEO of the ROM; Chris Hadfield, astronaut and former commander of the International Space Station; Ann Makosinski, Google Science Fair Winner 2013; and Karine Vanasse, actor.

Thanks to all who voted and helped us select the 2013 Doodle 4 Google Canada winners. Even more importantly, thank you to all of the students who submitted their artwork and the parents and teachers who continue to inspire and support their young artists and inventors.

To view all 25 finalists' doodles, go to www.google.ca/doodle4google.

Image with caption: "Ontario's Cindy Tang, age 17, wins the first ever Doodle 4 Google Canada competition for her illustration of an underwater sea telescope. (CNW Group/Google Canada)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20140225_C7016_PHOTO_EN_37110.jpg

SOURCE: Google Canada

For media inquiries:
Wendy Bairos
Communications and Public Affairs Manager
Google Canada
[email protected]

David MacKay
Communications Coordinator
Royal Ontario Museum
416-586-5559
[email protected]