Three young inventors visit Orbital FX as their Making Waves ideas move closer to reality
Three young inventors from South Tyneside have taken an exciting step towards seeing their ideas brought to life, after visiting Orbital FX on 24 February as part of Little Inventors’ Making Waves: Inventing for a Better Ocean challenge.
Lillie, aged 7, from Ashley Primary School, Isla, aged 10, from Mortimer Primary School, and Dexter, aged 11, from St Joseph’s Primary School, each attended an initial briefing visit with a parent to begin the next stage of developing their winning inventions.
The three ideas – Puffy Coat by Lillie, sponsored by Ford Aerospace, Crabey 3000 by Isla, sponsored by North Star, and 5G Power Paddle by Dexter – were selected as winners of the challenge, which invited children across South Tyneside to invent creative solutions to help protect and care for the ocean.
The visits to Orbital FX marked the first opportunity for the young inventors to meet the creative team who will help bring their ideas to life. Accompanied by Craig Bright, General Manager of Little Inventors, the children and their families spent time discussing their original drawings and explaining the thinking behind their inventions, helping the team understand what makes each idea special.
Luke Daley from Orbital FX played a key role in making the visits both inspiring and engaging for the young inventors. With warmth, patience and genuine enthusiasm, he welcomed the children and their families and created an environment where they felt comfortable sharing and explaining their ideas. Luke took time to listen carefully to each invention, asking thoughtful questions and encouraging the children to think about how their concepts might work in the real world. His ability to balance creativity with practical insight helped turn the sessions into a true collaboration, making the children feel valued and excited about the journey ahead as their ideas begin to take shape.
Craig Bright said:
These moments are where the magic of Little Inventors really happens. When children see professionals listening carefully to their ideas and taking them seriously, it sends a powerful message that creativity and imagination have real value. Seeing that first conversation between the inventors and the brilliant Orbital FX team was incredibly exciting.
These initial briefing sessions are an important step in the process of transforming imaginative concepts into real-world creations. By talking directly with the people who will be developing their ideas, Lillie, Isla and Dexter were able to explore how their inventions might work in practice while ensuring their original vision remains at the heart of the design process.
For the children and their parents, the visit also offered a fascinating behind-the-scenes glimpse into how creative and technical teams collaborate to turn ideas into physical builds and visual experiences.
Isla shared her thoughts by saying:
It was really cool explaining how my invention works and hearing how they might build it. I can’t wait to see what it looks like when it’s finished.
With her mother, Alison, stating:
Seeing Isla talk about their idea with professionals who genuinely value her creativity was really special. This type of thing gives children a huge confidence boost and shows them that their imagination really matters.
Dexter proudly exclaimed:
It was amazing meeting the people who are going to help make my invention. It made me realise that ideas you draw at school can actually turn into something real.
His father, Darren, following up to say:
As a parent, it’s incredible to see your child’s idea taken seriously. Seeing Dexter speak about something he imagined and have adults really listen and engage with it was a proud moment.
Adding to the excitement of the day, the visits were professionally filmed for inclusion in a forthcoming documentary. Capturing these early moments of collaboration will help tell the story of how the inventions develop over time, while celebrating the creativity, confidence and curiosity of the children behind them.
The visits form part of the wider Making Waves programme, delivered in partnership with South Tyneside Council and Dogger Bank Wind Farm. The initiative connects children’s imagination with local industry and creative expertise, demonstrating how young people’s ideas can inspire real-world innovation.
