A competition for children and young people
This is one of the new features of the International Exhibition of Inventions Geneva. The competition “ Inventeur·rices de demain – Young Talents” allows children and young people aged 4 to 18 to present their ideas to a jury of professionals.
The idea may seem surprising. Can you really invent at four years old, an age when handwriting is still hesitant and colouring sometimes goes outside the lines?
Inventing begins with seeing differently
History shows, however, that early creativity is not a myth. In 1961, at the age of five, a young American, Robert W. Patch, imagined a transformable toy truck. A year later, his invention was patented, making him the youngest patent holder in the United States.
An exceptional but revealing case: inventing is not only a matter of technical mastery; it is first and foremost a way of observing, asking questions and trying things out.
Children already think like researchers
Research in developmental psychology confirms this intuition. Young children spontaneously formulate hypotheses, experiment, observe results and adjust their ideas. Their curiosity constitutes an early form of scientific reasoning.
The work of psychologist E. Paul Torrance also highlighted their remarkable ability to produce new and unexpected ideas. This potential does not disappear with age, but it can fade when environments value the right answer more than exploration or unexpected questions.
Encouraging curiosity from an early age
The “Inventeur·rices de demain – Young Talents” competition offers young people a space to imagine, build and present their ideas. It stimulates creativity, builds confidence and creates links between schools, families and the professional world. Because inventing often starts with a simple question: “What if we tried a different way?”
At the Inventions Geneva, discover projects in three categories: 8–12 years old, 12–15 years old, and 15–18 years old.