Reviewed 22 December 2008
Lauren Griffiths, regional finalist for Wales, gets the thumbs up from Wallace for her innovative Baby Food Tester.

Swansea pupil praised by government minister at national awards

Biggest primary school innovation project rewards young inventors

A pupil from a Swansea school who designed a machine which ensures baby food is the correct temperature has been praised by the Minister of State for Higher Education and Intellectual Property, David Lammy, after being named one of the top seven in the finals of a national competition.

Lauren Griffiths, from Llangyfelach Primary School in Swansea travelled to the Science Museum in London for the awards ceremony of the 2008 Cracking Ideas competition, created to encourage innovation in primary schools.

The competition within the project, which is run by the UK Intellectual Property Office, encouraged pupils to design an environmentally friendly appliance that could be used in Wallace and Gromit’s house.

The year five pupil’s invention, 'The Baby Food Tester' or 'BFT' heats baby food to exactly the correct temperature based on the child’s age in months.

At the ceremony Lauren met the 'How2' presenter Gareth 'Gaz Top' Jones who presented the awards, the inventor of the wind-up radio, Trevor Baylis and a life-sized Wallace and Gromit who fronted the initiative.

Wallace and Gromit creator Nick Park judged the finalists and was impressed with the standard of entries in the 2008 competition:

"It was a really tough decision to choose the winner of Cracking Ideas 2008. The entries were all great creations and of a really high standard; I was really impressed to see that young people are being creative and innovative in this country. It may not be long before we see another great inventor coming out of Britain!"

Nine and ten year old pupils and their teachers around the UK have been logging onto www.crackingideas.com External Link and following lesson plans linked with the National Curriculum which are designed to encourage innovation and teach about intellectual property.

Becky Evans, the class teacher of the winning pupil at Llangyfelach Primary School, praised her students for their hard work and dedication to the project:

"All the children put such a lot of effort into their designs, and I am delighted that it has paid off for them with the 'BFT'. We are very proud to have been named runners-up in the Cracking Ideas competition."

The collaboration between the UK Intellectual Property Office, Aardman Animations and the Science Museum is set to continue next year with an exhibition focussing on innovation at the Science Museum.

This 'World of Cracking Ideas' is set to spark off the potential inventor’s creativity with a mixture of interactive exhibits, creative activities and animated displays, all themed around Wallace and Gromit’s house.

Minister of State for Higher Education and Intellectual Property David Lammy said:

"It is a credit to all the entrants of Cracking Ideas 2008 for us to see such a high level of innovation and creativity among the young people in the UK."

"Cracking Ideas is about drawing this creativity out of children and allowing them to bring their imaginations to life, and the exhibition at the Science Museum in 2009 will strive to continue this development."

More information on Cracking Ideas can be found at www.crackingideas.com External Link.

Notes to editors

  • For more information, pictures and interviews, contact Nick Mason or Jo Bishop at Mason Media on 0151 239 5050 or 07961 791 469, email jo@masonmedia.co.uk.
  • The other regional winners are: Lincluden Primary School, Dumfries; West Park Primary School, Wolverhampton; Northbourne Park School, Kent; Sunninghill Preparatory School, Dorset and Marden Bridge Middle School, Whitley Bay.
  • The overall winner of Cracking Ideas 2008 is Great Arley School in Lancashire whose design, ‘Charlie the Chair Stacker’ can stack chairs using a combination of pincers and magnets. He has a control panel which allows the owner to input chair spacing information before relaxing and letting Charlie do what he does best.
  • Cracking Ideas is the biggest Government-backed project of its kind and uses a combination of specific lesson plans, teaching resources and a dedicated website - www.crackingideas.com External Link - to encourage innovation among Key Stage Two pupils as part of the National Curriculum.
  • The project was developed by the UK Intellectual Property Office who formulate and implement domestic IP legislation. Policy responsibilities include patents, trade marks, designs and copyright. More information is available at www.ipo.gov.uk.
  • Aardman, based in Bristol (UK) co-founded and run by Peter Lord and David Sproxton, is a world leader in animation. It produces feature films, television series and television commercials for both the domestic and international market. Their multi-award winning productions are novel, entertaining, brilliantly characterised and full of charm that reflects the unique talent, energy and personal commitment of the very special people who make up the Aardman team. The studio’s work is often imitated and yet the company continues to lead the field producing a rare brand of visually stunning and amusing independent and commercials productions.

Date of release: 12 November 2008