A Dayton City School student has a vision for the future - add-on buildings - and she's hoping the idea can help her add up enough votes to win a Doodle 4 Google design contest.
Sophia Hicks, a third-grader at the K-8 school in Dayton, Tenn., is the state winner in the ninth annual competition, which drew thousands of entries from students in kindergarten through 12th grade across the U.S. This year's contest challenged entrants to redesign the Google logo on the theme "What I see for the future ... ."
"My idea for everyone is to have a home in the future," Sophia wrote with her entry, titled "Building Homes, Building Communities, Building Friendships."
"Add-on buildings are very unique," the 9-year-old wrote. "They snap together to form new house designs and larger communities. It is so important for everyone to have a home, and with Add-on Buildings, everyone can!"
In Sophia's drawing, each snap-together building is created from an assortment of window- and door-adorned blocks in various sizes to form each letter, G-o-o-g-l-e. The Lego-style stacks used the familiar bright colors of the Google logo: blue, red, yellow and green. She topped each letter/building with an antenna for a futuristic look.
Dad Mike Hicks, a homebuilder, says art teacher Nela Swiney worked with Sophia for several weeks, showing her how to draw the cubes and add depth to the design. Swiney has coached several other students to the national finals in previous Doodle 4 Google contests.
Popular vote will determine the five national finalists (one in each grade group) from 53 winners in each U.S. state and territory. Google will announce the five national finalists and the top vote-getter as the national winner on Friday, March 31.
The winner's doodle will go live on Google.com for millions to see, but that's not the only prize. Sophia already has won a Google tablet, the Pixel C.
The national winner will take home a $30,000 college scholarship, and his or her school will receive a $50,000 Google for Education grant toward the establishment or improvement of a computer lab or technology program.
Voting is open through Sunday, March 6, at www.google.com/doodle4google/vote.html.