NSERC Little Inventors Mini Challenge Project
We are inviting the ingenious children of Canada to think up and draw invention ideas to protect the oceans. Dive right in!
Discover an extraordinary opportunity for children to become ocean experts and learn what it takes to protect and take care of our oceans.
Children are invited to participate in mini-challenges as part of the Little Inventors Mission: Protect our Oceans - Mini challenge project, which is brought to you by Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC).
Six ocean themed mini-challenges are offered and allow children to become oceanographers for a day and learn about the oceans and issues that affect us all: the environment, the impacts of climate change, and our future.
A selection of invention ideas will be made real to celebrate the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development.
The winners will see their inventions brought to life by professional animators and shown at Science Odyssey 2022 or work with the Canadian Science Fair Journal to publish an article on their idea.
It's open until March 26, 2022!
The challenge is launched in partnership with the Canadian Commission for UNESCO (CCUNESCO). We are inviting the ingenious children of Canada to think up and draw invention ideas to protect the oceans.
The Little Inventors Protect our Oceans - Mini challenge project consists of six ocean themed challenges designed to be done as a quick and fun activity at home or school or be delivered to students as a series of full lessons.
Choose one mini-challenge or do all six of them!
Find out more!Most recent ideas
Makers
Mission: protect our oceans - Mini-challenges project
A creative way to explore oceans in the classroom!
- Encourages children to explore their own creativity and become the inventive thinkers of the future
- Gives children the freedom and inspiration to use their imaginations and their STEAM learnings to provide solutions to real-world problems
- This year’s focus is on oceans, allowing Canadian youth to contribute to improving the health of oceans, seas and coasts
How can teachers and their schools participate?
- Students are invited to come up with invention ideas that will help to improve ocean health and create better conditions for the sustainable development of the ocean, seas and coasts
- Teachers will be supplied with online tools and a full resource pack to support the idea-generation phase with their students
- All invention ideas will be showcased on our website
- Selected students will work with a maker or artisan to develop their invention idea into a real object
Submit your invention from home!
Do your kids have too much time on their hands? In these hard times, your kids can become inventors!
Download the Little Inventors resource pack for free, and let your kids come up with invention ideas to improve our oceans’ health.
Not only will this keep them busy, but your kids may also have the chance to see their ideas transformed into real objects.
A few others will be invited to submit their ideas to the Canadian Science Fair Journal and be published!
Many thanks to all our project partners
News & Press
'Life in Space' inventions and our journey to the ISS
Little Inventors teamed up with the Canadian Space Agency and NSERC to ask children in Canada to think up and draw their invention ideas for Life in Space. We received 3000 designs from the ingenious to the brilliantly bonkers and 30 were made into real prototypes by expert makers. The two winners were announced from the International Space Station by Canadian astronaut David Saint Jacques via video link to a large gathering of young people at the Canada Wide Science Fair in Fredericton, Canada.
Winners of Canada-wide contest invent tools for easier life in space
The Canadian Space Agency challenged children across the country to come up with clever ideas that could be developed into inventions to make life in space easier and more fun.
Inventions for Space at the Canada Aviation and Space Museum
Find out more about some of our Canadian Little Inventors who invented for astronauts with our Inventions for Space Challenge!
Prime Minister Science Fair 2018!
Two of the Canadian inventions were presented to The Right Honourable Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada, at the Prime Minister's inspiring Science Fair in Ottawa. Our little inventors were two of 30 projects on display.
Astronaut attends LI Inventions for Space Exhibition in Canada
13 inventions designed for astronauts like David Saint-Jacques have been made into real things by Magnificent Makers from across Canada in the form of models, prototypes and even 3D drawings!
