NESTA sets apprentice-style challenge for young people

20/03/2007

"This competition is designed to make science both practical and engaging, as well as helping to develop the kind of entrepreneurial attitudes recognised as being increasingly important for the next generation."

Open to teams of children aged between 7-14, the competition will see entrants given a pack of mint seeds to make as much money from them as possible, by the 2nd July. Ideas could range from making and selling mint tea to producing a booklet about 101 uses of mint. With few guidelines, children are being encouraged to be as creative as possible.

Each team must come up with its own name and record its activity, including profit and loss, on specially designed balance sheets. At the end of the competition, NESTA will look at the top 50 entries, which have made the most money, and award a prize to the most creative money-making scheme.

With the competition designed to educate kids on the science behind growing a plant from seed, as well as teaching them valuable entrepreneurial skills, teachers are being urged by NESTA to enter groups of children from their classes. Packs can be secured by visiting our Planet Science website. Youth groups and individual teams can also enter.

The winning team will receive £1,000 worth of garden vouchers for their school or group plot, with £250 of vouchers for the four runners-up.

Katie Walsh, head of Planet Science, NESTA's online resource designed to support and improve science education, said:

"For many young people, science is intangible and far removed from their every day life. This competition is designed to make science both practical and engaging, as well as helping to develop the kind of entrepreneurial attitudes recognised as being increasingly important for the next generation. We're really looking forward to seeing the results".

For further information, please contact the NESTA press office on 0207 438 2643.

NESTA
NESTA is the National Endowment for Science, Technology & the Arts. With endowed funds of over £300 million, our mission is to transform the UK's capacity for innovation. We do this in three main ways: by working to build a more pervasive culture of innovation in this country; by providing innovators with access to early stage capital; and by driving forward research into innovation, with a view to influencing policy.