The Intellectual Property Office buries time capsule to celebrate 85,000 ‘cracking ideas’ from Britain’s budding young innovators
The Intellectual Property Office welcomed First Minister for Wales, Rhodri Morgan, to its grounds on Wednesday (14 October) to witness the ‘digging in’ of a specially prepared time capsule containing the inventions of the future.
85,000 young innovators submitted ideas to The Intellectual Property Office (IPO) after visiting the Wallace & Gromit Present A World of Cracking Ideas exhibition at The Science Museum, which is sponsored by the IPO. Children were asked to come up with ‘cracking ideas’ they’d like to see in the future, and results included robot postmen, underwater transport and power generating footwear.
The digging in ceremony saw the capsule buried in the grounds of the Intellectual Property Office in Newport. It will be re-opened in 2020 to discover which of the inventions have made it in to reality.
Some of the ideas to be buried include:
‘Billy the Cook’, the creative genius of Robert Unsworth, aged 13 from, Lancashire. This robot chef complete with feet made of recycled tin cans and arms composed of disposable stacking cups will prepare any dish on demand.
Ieuan Cooke, aged 10, from South Wales, thinks his Ieuan Dryer could be the answer to early morning laziness in the future. The machine saves on towels by drying your post bath body in a cubicle through which hot air circulates.
‘The Deep Diver’ by Tyona Higgins, aged 11 from Tyne and Wear, is the underwater means to get from A to B of the future. Complete with super-vision lights, a specially developed flotation device and a password activated navigation system could it be a common mode of transport in 2020?
Lawrence Smith-Higgins, Head of Business Outreach and Education at the Intellectual Property Office commented, “It’s great to see that Wallace and Gromit’s ingenious inventions have been inspiring young visitors to tackle everyday problems.
“In 2020 we’ll dig up the time capsule to see how the “cracking ideas” shape up in a world that’s sure to be different from today. Maybe one of the great innovators of the future is among these 85,000 entries!”
Rhodri Morgan, First Minister for Wales, added: “Giving Britain’s young people the chance to show their true creativity and inventiveness is all important for our future and this time capsule is the ideal way to showcase the inventors of the future and their potentially world beating ideas.
“The Intellectual Property Office plays a vital role in helping to develop and nurture the innovative talent we have in this country so it’s fitting that the ideas will stay buried in Newport, the home of the Intellectual Property Office, until 2020.”
Budding innovators can visit Wallace & Gromit Present A World of Cracking Ideas at the Science Museum until Sunday 1 November and see inside 62 West Wallaby Street, the famous home of Wallace & Gromit, whilst interacting with some of Wallace’s own cracking contraptions such as the Tellyscope II, the Piella Propellor and the Blend-o-Matic.
