Twins, Zoe and Ben of St Lawrence School in Bradford on Avon, are joint winners of this year’s Young Inventor of the Year competition.
Zoe and Ben – aged 11 – came up with the idea of an ‘Automatic Pollinator’ – a mechanical butterfly which charges its battery from solar panels on its wings and enables it to pollinate flowers. Equally impressive – from the pair – was an electromagnetic cold preventer!
The competition, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary, is supported by 44AD Artspace, Bath Medical Museum and the Museum of Bath at Work.
The award ceremony was hosted by Stuart Burroughs, curator of MoBAW, on Saturday, October 4th.
He welcomed the inventors and audience to the museum by reminding them that Bath is a centre for inventions, from Harbutt and his plasticine to Dyson and his vacuum cleaner.
He invited all attending to wander around the museum to see examples of more Bath-based inventions, including Stothert’s great cranes, the angle poise lamp and Pitman’s shorthand.
Katie O’Brien of 44AD, who presented the trophy and certificates, commented that “It was a great thrill to see the innovative and imaginative entries this year and to involve twins was an exciting addition to the competition, although the very first competition was won by a team of two girls.”
“We are hoping to start the whole process early next year. It is such a useful, intriguing and absorbing event,” explained Stuart. “We will be opening the Award again on February 1st 2026, and we look forward to more entries for the 2026 award”.
