There’s only one month to go for budding young inventors in the NSW North Coast to enter Origin’s littleBIGidea competition for their chance to win a trip to NASA’s Kennedy Space Centre in the USA.
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Now in its third year, Origin’s littleBIGidea provides a platform for students in grades three to eight to continue Australia’s rich tradition of innovation which has seen the bionic ear, solar hot water, ultrasound, dual toilet flush and Wi-Fi hotspots, amongst others, invented and developed on these shores.
Former host of the ABC’s ‘The New Inventors’ and Origin littleBIGidea ambassador, James O’Loghlin, said thinking up a new idea or invention is fun and exciting, but it can sometimes be tricky to know where to start.
“I encourage students who are keen to enter but don’t have an idea in mind yet to start by looking at things that already exist. Is there something that’s already out there that you can make better, or can you improve an existing product to make it easier to use?
“Experiment! Draw a picture of your idea, write down how it will work, and build a model or a prototype. Don’t get discouraged if it doesn’t quite work the first few times. Inventors almost always fail before they succeed.
“Tell your family and friends about your idea. They may have some suggestions on how to make it better. Ask lots of questions and remember, no idea is too big or too small,” O’Loghlin said.
Origin CEO Energy Markets, Frank Calabria said judges will be looking for entries based on a demonstration of originality, creativity, practicality, imagination and innovation.
“Innovation is a key to success, and it starts young. That is why Origin is encouraging and rewarding children for thinking creatively about how to solve real world problems.
“In the first two years of Origin’s littleBIGidea, we have unearthed many great inventions, and the judges are very excited to see what this year’s batch of entries will produce.”
The top four inventions in each of the three age groups (Years 3-4, one in Years 4-5 and one in Years 7-8) will win a minimum of $1,000 in prizes for their inventor and $500 for their school.
The national winner judged to be have the best invention in each of the three age categories will win an innovation trip of a lifetime to Florida, USA including a visit to the NASA Kennedy Space Center.
There’s only one month go to get your entries into Origin’s littleBIGidea competition. Entries close at 11.59pm AEST on Friday 30 September 2016. Go to www.littlebigidea.com.au for details.