A nine-year-old boy from Lower Coverdale, N.B. is bringing back some money for his school after being named a grade group winner for the Doodle 4 Google Canada contest. Wesley Babin, 9, was in Toronto on Tuesday as one of four finalists in the nationwide competition which featured entries from kindergarten to Grade 12. The submissions were divided up into four grade groups — kindergarten to Grade 3, Grade 4-6, Grade 7-9 and Grade 10-12 — and a winner was chosen from each group. Babin was told he was the winner of the Grade 4-6 group prior to Monday. Students across the country were asked to redesign the Google logo for Canada’s 150th birthday with the theme centred on the question, “What I see for Canada’s future is…”
During his trip to Toronto, Babin was able to appear on TV before visiting the Art Gallery of Ontario where the national winner was announced. Though he didn’t win the national prize, Babin still earned a $5,000 technology award for his school as well as a Google Chromebook for himself. “It’s really exciting,” said Babin in a phone interview when asked how he felt being a winner out of more than 11,000 students. Babin’s Google doodle was a 3D media sculpture inspired by technology made from bicycle gears and metal gadgets he found lying around the house. He also told Global News he even snagged a few trinkets from his father’s shop. He told Global News last month he wanted to become a mechanical engineer someday. His mother Denise said Tuesday that her son has been building things for a while.
“Wesley’s been doing those types of little sculptures for the last two years now,” she said. “So this is not new to us as a family. He’s been doodling and creating little sculptures for years.” It’s not yet known how the technology award will be spent, but because they have such a small school, Babin’s mother says they will consult the school population to decide where the money will go. Though the school knew Babin was a finalist, only the principal was able to know he was one of the grade group winners. Babin said when his friends found out he was a finalist, he got some mixed reactions. “Some of them didn’t care and some of them were really excited,” he said. Babin’s design, along with the other two grade group winners, will be featured in the Doodle 4 Google gallery online.
