Users of Google know that their signature “doodle”, visible on the search engine’s home page, is both creative and informative. Sometimes the artwork is evocative of a particular artist to celebrate his/her birthday; other times, the word “Google” can only be seen in the most vague form beneath the image, such as the one commemorating Les Paul’s 96th birthday.

The doodle–which began in 1998 when Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin placed a stick figure drawing behind the second “o” in the logo to signify that they were “out of the office”–has seen over 1000 variations over the years and has moved up with the times. As technology grows, the doodles become more interactive. Users can even access past doodles at www.google.com/doodles, where archives give access to the super-addictive “Pac-Man” doodle, among others.

The company doesn’t keep the creativity just within their walls, however. As previously reported by Zach Walton, Google is holding it’s annual “Google Doodle Contest” which allows children in grades K-12 (including those that are homeschooled) to submit their own drawing to be considered for the logo. The entries are narrowed down from 50 finalists in each grade group to one national winner, who will receive a $30,000 college scholarship, a Chromebook, and a $50,000 technology grant for his/her school, among other prizes.

For many schools where art programs are seriously underfunded, this is an opportunity to have their students put artistic talents to good use, and to receive national recognition as well as much-needed monetary support.

A full list of contest rules can be found here.