EDMONTON – A Grade 10 student from Edmonton – and his environmentally-inspired design – is a finalist in the national Doodle 4 Google contest.
Xusheng Yu is one of the final five students in the Prairie Region.
This year’s theme was ‘If I could invent anything, I would invent…’
“I had lots of ideas, but I wanted it to be centered around the environment, because I think that’s one of the most important things right now,” explained Yu. “I think as technology advances, I don’t think the environment should be destroyed.”
Yu was inspired by both his love of the environment and his interest in biology.
“This age that we’re living in – it’s all machines, and I think that nature should be part of it. So, I thought what if we combined that somehow? So, my invention is trees that can also generate electricity from photosynthesis, like a by-product.”
Yu’s design – in the shape of the word ‘Google’ – shows a young girl planting a seed, which then grows into a tree.
“The seed is kind of like the centre of the drawing and the most important part, because I believe seeds are kind of like a beginning, and that’s what I think Google is about: beginning new things,” he added.
The contest is open to Canadian students from kindergarten to Grade 12.
The winning design will be featured on Google Canada’s homepage for 24 hours.
“I think not many kids appreciate nature, and I want to express nature to them as something interesting,” said Yu, “because lots of kids think ‘oh it’s just trees, it’s nothing cool,’ but I think it’s really important that kids know about this and the next generation stops destroying the environment.”
The overall winner will also receive a prize that includes a $10,000 scholarship for the student, a $10,000 grant for their school, and a trip to Toronto on Feb. 25, 2014.
A team of judged narrowed the entries down from thousands to 25 regional winners. Now, the public can vote on those doodles until Friday, Feb. 14, when the 25 will be narrowed down to five national finalists.
A panel of judges will select the overall winner from those five finalists.
The Royal Ontario Museum will feature 75 submitted doodles in a special display in February and March of 2014.
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