The drawing and the theme
The 2010 theme asked children to finish the sentence “If I could do anything, I would…”. Melton's answer was a rainforest, drawn in coloured pencil, and her reason for it was stated without decoration: the rainforest is in danger, she said, and it is not fair to the plants and animals.
A third-grader reading a global problem as a question of fairness is not a childish simplification of the argument; it is the argument. The drawing that carried it was made in a school in a small Missouri town and ended up on the most-visited page in the country for a day.
Thirty-three thousand entries
Google reported more than 33,000 student submissions nationwide that year. Regional finalists were recognised in the grades four-to-six, seven-to-nine and ten-to-twelve categories, each receiving a netbook computer, and Melton was chosen the national winner from the whole field.
The judging panel was drawn from the professional end of commercial drawing: artists and animators from Disney, Charles M. Schulz Creative Associates, Barbie and Mattel, and Sesame Street Workshop. A drawing made with coloured pencils by an eight- or nine-year-old had to persuade people who draw for a living.
New York, and the money
The awards ceremony was held at Google's New York office and celebrated at the Smithsonian's Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum. The doodle went up on Google.com on 27 May 2010.
Melton received a $15,000 college scholarship and a netbook. El Dorado Springs R-2 Schools received a $25,000 technology grant for a computer lab. As in every edition of the contest, the school's award was the larger of the two, and it was the one that stayed in the town.
What is documented — and what is not
Google's own announcement is firm on the grade, the school district, the town, the state, the title, the medium, the theme, the entry count, the judges' employers, the ceremony, the homepage date and all three prize components.
It gives no age and no year of birth, names no family member, and quotes nothing beyond her short statement about the rainforest. Nothing in the sources gathered here records what Melton did after May 2010, whether she kept drawing, or where the scholarship was eventually spent. Those gaps are left open.
The problem with where-are-they-now
Melton won the contest in the year the field was still measured in tens of thousands rather than hundreds of thousands, and she won it younger than most national winners: third grade, against entries from every grade up to twelfth. That is the rarest kind of result the competition produces.
It is also the kind that disappears fastest. A national newspaper does not follow a third-grader, and a company blog does not update its posts. What survives of the most widely seen artwork of 27 May 2010 is one announcement, a drawing of a rainforest, and a computer lab in a small Missouri town.
| Person | Country | Milestone | Age / Stat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Audrey Zhang | United States | Doodle 4 Google 2014 national winner | Age 9 |
| Makenzie Melton | United States | A third-grader from a town of a few thousand drew a rainforest and took Go | — |
| Vaidehi Reddy | India | A million entries, one Children's Day homepage, and a class IX drawing of | — |
| Jana Safia Panem | Canada | 465,000 Canadians voted, and a Toronto eleventh-grader's renewable-energy | — |
| Kim Patrick Saren | Philippines | Half a mythical bird, half a jeepney: the drawing that won the first Phili | — |
What is documented — and what is not
✓ Documented
- Won the 2010 Doodle 4 Google national title as a third-grader with Rainforest Habitat
- From El Dorado Springs, Missouri; her school district received a $25,000 technology grant
- The doodle ran on Google.com on 27 May 2010 after a field of more than 33,000 entries
- Received a $15,000 college scholarship and a netbook computer
? Unverified, disputed or wrong
- No age or year of birth in these sources
- No family detail and no quotation beyond her short statement on the rainforest
- Nothing documented about her after May 2010
- No record of whether she continued to draw or where the scholarship was used
Questions people ask about Makenzie Melton
How old is Makenzie Melton?
No source used here gives her age or year of birth. She was in third grade when she won in 2010.
What did Makenzie Melton win?
The 2010 Doodle 4 Google national title, with a $15,000 college scholarship, a netbook and a $25,000 technology grant for her school.
What is her doodle called?
Rainforest Habitat. It was drawn in coloured pencil and ran on Google.com on 27 May 2010.
Why did she draw a rainforest?
She said the rainforest is in danger and that it is not fair to the plants and animals.
How many students entered that year?
More than 33,000 nationwide, according to Google.
Where is Makenzie Melton now?
No source in this record states what she is doing now. The documented trail ends in May 2010.
Which school did she attend?
El Dorado Springs R-2 Schools, in El Dorado Springs, Missouri, which received the $25,000 technology grant.
Is Makenzie Melton on Wikipedia?
She has no article of her own in the sources gathered here.
Quick quiz: how well do you know Melton’s story?
What did Makenzie Melton draw?
What grade was she in?
How many entries did the 2010 contest draw?
Sources
- The 2010 Doodle 4 Google winner: Makenzie Melton's Rainforest Habitat — Official Google Blog, 2010-05-26
Checked by the Geniuses.club editorial team. Ages are given as of September 2026.
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