WIREDGOV

Cracking ideas bring cracking results

News Release issued by the COI News Distribution Service on 22 June 2011

Nine aspiring inventors from across the UK have had a cracking result and won a competition to come up with new designs for a theme park or ride. ‘Lava Springs’, ‘Wacky World’ and ‘Belter Skelter’ were among the winning entries for this year’s ‘Cracking Ideas’ competition.

Comic creations Wallace & Grommit are the inspiration behind ‘Cracking Ideas’ which is aimed at children between the ages of 4 and 16 and is run by the Intellectual Property Office. Having seen off competition from around 6,000 entries the regional winners have been announced and are now in with a chance of being crowned the national champion for 2011.

Minister for Intellectual Property, Baroness Wilcox said:

“It’s wonderful to see so many children coming up with inventive ideas for the competition and I congratulate all of the winners from across the UK. Ideas and imagination are great attributes for children to gain and they really have excelled this year with some fantastic inventions.

“With around 6,000 entrants to judge from, the competition was tough and I would like to thank everyone who took the time to enter. The interest in the awards proves how creative our children are which is important because they are the future of the UK’s success and growth.”

The campaign encourages innovators and entrepreneurs of the future to ensure that they understand how they can create value from their ideas. Kids between the ages of 4 and 16 were asked to develop a new theme park or ride and to identify how intellectual property can help them protect their creativity.

The regional winners are:

Northern Ireland
John Rabbitt, Londonderry for ‘Coaster World’ (age group 8-11)
Tyrone Wade, Londonderry for ‘Belter Skelter’ (12-16)

Scotland
Lewis Smith, Glasgow for ‘Wacky World’ (4-7)
Jamie-Lee Gillan, Glasgow for ‘Mouthwatering Planet’ (8-11)

Wales
Arianwen Skyrme-Croft, Newport for ‘Toy World’ (4-7)
Sula Maclean, Chepstow for ‘The Ocean Park’ (8-11)

England Isaac Gibirdi, Preston for ‘Elemental Earth’ (4-7)
Sasha Jackson and Olivia Thomas, Esher, Surrey for ‘Maelstrom Maniya’ (8-11)
Sarah Farrow, Anna Moore, Emma Clarke, Sam Bodza and Dan Raybould, Church Stretton, Shropshire for ‘Lava Springs’ (12-16)

All winners will now head to Newcastle ’s Life Science Centre on Thursday 7 July to be presented with their awards. The centre is currently hosting the IPO sponsored “Wallace & Gromit Present a World of Cracking Ideas” exhibition. The exhibition is open until 30 October.

All regional winners will pick up an animation software package; Nick Park signed Wallace & Gromit book, LOGO board game and a framed certificate. The national winners for each age group will be announced on the day and presented with a bespoke Wallace & Gromit trophy created by Aardman's model makers and a family day pass for Chesssington World of Adventures plus the honour of being the Cracking Ideas Champion 2010/11.

Liz Dean, Trading and Operations Director at the Newcastle Life Science Centres said:

"We are delighted to be hosting this signature day for the Intellectual Property Office. We hope that the winners enjoy our ‘Wallace & Gromit Present … A World of Cracking Ideas’ exhibition while they’re here. The exhibition is proving to be an inspirational experience, particularly to visiting school children who are currently learning about past and present inventions and inventors. It’s a perfect springboard for inventive minds of the future".

The ‘Cracking Ideas’ campaign aims to encourage young people’s interest in innovation and creativity while educating them about intellectual property.

Notes to editors

Baroness Wilcox is available for interview requests. Any media interested in interviews, attending the awards ceremony or speaking to the winners should contact IPO press officer Dan Palmer on 0207 215 5303.Brief details of each of the entries are listed below.There were no entries for the Northern Ireland age group 4-7. Winners of the 12-16 age group competition in Scotland and Wales have been selected, but are yet to provide permission to have their names and details released.Cracking Ideas is a Government-backed project and uses a combination of lesson plans, activity packs, challenges and dedicated website, to encourage innovation and creativity amongst children aged 4 - 16 all with links to the UK curriculum.Aardman, which is based in Bristol, was co-founded and run by Peter Lord and David Sproxton. It is a world leader in animation and it produces feature films, television series and television commercials for the domestic and international market.The “Wallace & Gromit Present a World of Cracking Ideas” exhibition is open at the Newcastle Life Science Centre until 30 October. For more information about the exhibition contact Vicky Pepys on 0191 243 8209.The Intellectual Property Office (IPO) is within the Department for Business, Innovation, and Skills (BIS) and is responsible for the national framework of Intellectual Property rights, comprising patents, designs, trade marks and copyright.Its role is to help manage an IP system that encourages innovation and creativity, balances the needs of consumers and users, promotes strong and competitive markets and is the foundation of the knowledge-based economy.It operates in a national and an international environment and its work is governed by national and international law, including various international treaties relating to Intellectual Property (IP) to which the United Kingdom is a party.For further information, please contact Dan Palmer on 0207 215 5303 or e-mail communications@ipo.gov.uk.

Contacts:

BIS Press Office
NDS.BIS@coi.gsi.gov.uk

Dan Palmer
Phone: 020 7215 5303
dan.palmer@bis.gsi.gov.uk