School students get their explorer on with Google Doodle

Google's Doodle 4 Google competition, open to students across Australia, is now open for voting on the top 32 submissions.

One lucky Australian student will soon have their artwork immortalised as a Google Doodle. The Google 4 Doodle competition has just entered its penultimate phase, with 32 finalists from over 16,000 entries from around the country now up for public voting.

This year, the theme is, "If I was an explorer I would...", and answers range from outer space, monsters (yay!) and the inner workings of the human mind. Eight finalists appear in each of the four categories: years 1-3, years 4-6, years 7-8 and years 9-10.

Google will then select the winner from the four finalists voted in by the public — one from each category.

Our favourites include Indhi Kotzur of Years 1-3 at Rutherglen Primary School, who said, "If I was an explorer, I would explore the monsters in my closet. I chose this topic because most of the kids my age are scared of monsters, but I know I'm not. But monsters to me are fantastic! Thank you," and Tia Harisis of Years 4-6 at Brentwood Primary School, who said, "If I was an explorer I would explore the way molluscs work because it seems they are among the only types of animal that go mainly unrecognised. They fascinate me in their simplicity, yet they are complicated at the same time. I wish they were acknowledged more."

The winning Doodle will be hosted on the Google Australia home page for 24 hours. The winner's school will also receive AU$10,000 worth of technology equipment and a trip to Antarctica on-board the Australasian Antarctic Expedition for one nominated teacher. The winner will receive a Chromebook, and all four grand finalists will receive a Google Nexus 7 tablet.

Head over to Google 4 Doodle to check out the finalists' work and cast your votes.