Big ideas come in small packages
JUNIOR INVENTORS KAMAHL COGDON
KIDS are solving real-world issues one big idea at a time.
They are coming up with innovations that improve the health, wellbeing, safety and future of their communities, from a helmet that doesn’t let riders set off without it being strapped on their head to goggles that raise the alarm if a swimmer is drowning.
Inventor and judge in Origin’s Little Big Idea competition Macinley Butson says she is blown away by the creativity of Australian kids. “They have some absolutely phenomenal ideas,” she says.
“Young people can sometimes be a little bit under-appreciated because they might not have the skills or the experience in a particular field but they do still have the ideas.”
And Butson, the 2018 NSW Young Australian of the Year, says kids have a knack for seeing opportunities adults cannot.
“A lot of the ideas that we see come in we think ‘how has this not been invented before or how has someone not thought of this before because it just makes so much sense’,” she says. “Kids have that ability to pick those things out that we as adults can often miss or over-complicate.”
Jorja Suga, 13, is behind one such idea. Her Safety Smart Goggles took out the Little Big Idea prize in the Year 7-8 category last year. The keen swimmer from NSW says she came up with the idea after a water safety lesson.
“I went home and researched a bit and found out there were about 270 drownings across Australia last year and they were predominantly children,” she says.
“I really like swimming and I want it to be something everyone can enjoy, even if they’re not a really confident swimmer.”
Jorja says the goggles will have a microchip in the nose piece that, if under water too long, will send an alert using bluetooth technology to the supervising parent or guardian’s mobile phone.
“It’s hard to have your attention on your child 100 per cent of the time, there’s always distractions,” says Jorja, who hopes to become a biomedical engineer. “So this would alert them that they need to check on their child.”
Fellow winner Samuel Meyers, 10, took out the Year 3-4 category with his idea to fit a helmet with a remote control that unlocks the wheels of a bike, scooter or skateboard only when it is being worn by the rider.
The Queenslander’s Hero Helmet was inspired by his own survey on the helmetwearing habits of kids and his interest in injury prevention.
Horseriding reins that are designed to snap apart when pulled too tight were the winning invention in the Year 5-6 group.
NSW student Colt Croser came up with the Rein Angel after losing one of his fingers in a riding mishap.
Butson, who in Year 10 invented a device to shield breast cancer patients from radiation on parts of their body not affected by the disease, says the competition’s budding inventors have bright futures.
“These kids have the potential to become anything they want to be. I think they will be our future researchers, our future STEM professionals, they may be our future politicians or future musicians,” she says.
Her advice for those struggling to tap in to their inner inventor is to look around them.
“Consider everyday tasks you have around you and how you could improve them or make them easier,” Butson says.
She says talking to other people about your ideas and not being afraid to experiment with them are also important.
“As long someone is passionate about the topic they are looking into, then that will really drive them towards those fantastic ideas,” she says.
Origin’s Little Big Idea competition, which has received more than 8000 entries since it launched in 2014, aims to unearth the next generation of inventors.
Students in Years 3-8 have until September 18 to submit their ideas for this year’s competition and the chance to win a $10,000 grant to put towards their education or turning their Little Big Idea into reality.