These Amazingly Cool Inventions Were Made By Children

Who says inventions are only made by grown-ups and professionals? Over the years, children have also succeeded in making their useful contributions to the world. When given the opportunity, children are capable of developing creative and innovative ideas that can change the world.

Here are a few inventions that came to life from the minds of young children:

Urine Powered Generator

Urine generator. Photo Erik Hersman

This might seem extremely disgusting at first, but after a short while, the pure brilliance of it sets in. To think that this brilliant idea wasn’t developed by experienced scientists but by young children is applaudable. In 2012, four secondary school girls, Duro-Aina Adebola, Akindele Abiola, Faleke Oluwatoyin, and Bello Eniola, invented a urine-powered generator. They showcased their invention at Maker Faire Africa. Their urine powered generator could give up to six hours of electricity when powered with one litre of urine. This invention was born out of the need for alternative sources of energy.

Robotic Earthworm
The first thought that comes to mind is, why a robotic earthworm? Well, David Cohen sure had some useful applications in mind for this. He believed it could be used to find victims after a flood, earthquake or fire. He came up with this idea while learning about earthworms in science class, and wondered if anyone had ever built a robotic earthworm. Cohen built and wrote the code behind a prototype robot that could be used to squeeze into small and dangerous places where search dogs and humans could not go. Brilliant and life-saving.

Portable Wheelchair Hoist

At only eight years old, Amelia Fox invented a portable wheelchair hoist to help lift people in and out of their wheelchair. To prevent people from falling and sustaining injuries, Amelia designed the hoist with hooks to keep it in place. This invention was not just born out of the desire to create something, Amelia developed this hoist for her brother, who had just gotten hip surgery and needed the wheelchair to move around. Talk about a sweet and smart sister!

Hero Helmet

Nine-year-old Samuel Meyer’s invention is aimed at stopping people from riding their bikes or skateboards without using a helmet. He came up with the idea after surveying the helmet-wearing habit of kids and didn’t like the results. This made him develop an interest in preventing injuries caused by bikes, scooters, and skateboards. The Hero Helmet features an inbuilt remote that controls a lock on the wheels which unlocks when the helmet is being worn by the rider. An invention that enforces the use of helmets, fantastic! Samuel says; no helmet, no bike.

B.E.A.C.O.N.
Fifteen-year-old Hannah Herbst’s invention, which is an acronym for Bringing Electricity Access to Countries through Ocean Energy, was inspired by her pen pal who lives in Ethiopia and did not have access to lights. So she came up with B.E.A.C.O.N, which captures energy directly from ocean waves. Herbst invented the beacon out of her desire to bring light to the world. Her invention won the “Discovery Education 3M young scientist challenge” in 2015 and other numerous awards.

These children are part of a long history of child inventors, who have created things like Braille, the trampoline, and even Christmas lights. Children have continued to prove that though they are young, they can do great things.