Virginia

Aspiring Paleontologist Wins National Google Doodle Contest

A Google employee said she hoped the Doodle would inspire kids and adults alike

An aspiring paleontologist in the second grade has won Google's annual Doodle for Google contest.

Sarah Gomez-Lane, 7, of Virginia, had her drawing of dinosaurs selected and transformed into an animation on the search giant's homepage. In it, dinosaurs play the trumpet, eat blueberries and more.

Sarah, who responded to the prompt "What inspires me ...," originally drew the Doodle's design as a first grader, a Google spokesperson confirmed.  

Google said her school in Falls Church, Virginia, will be awarded $50,000 to spend on technology, and Sarah will get $30,000 toward a college scholarship.

"When they called my name, I felt happy and surprised," she said when she learned she had won. "I'm going to call my principal. He's going to say 'Yay!'"

On video, a Google employee said she hoped the Doodle would inspire kids and adults alike.

"I just hope that when people see the Doodle, they also are inspired to think about — not only what they dreamed of and wished for when they were kids — but to also just take a second to enjoy the simple things in life," she said.

A group of local students who attend Broad Run High School in Ashburn, Virginia, took money from their own pockets to make stuffed bears for kids with cancer. News4's Aimee Cho reports.

Sarah's drawing will be on the Google homepage for 24 hours. Go there to see the Doodle in action.

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