December 23rd, 2011
It’s that time of year again! at Cracking Ideas HQ we just wanted to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year and thank you all for your support during 2011.
It’s been a fabulously busy creative and innovative year what with competitions, challenges, games, facebook, Twitter not to mention our successful exhibition ‘Wallace & Gromit Present a World of Cracking Ideas’ at Newcastle’s Life Science Centre.
We’d just like to take a minute to say a big thank you to everyone who has help make Cracking Ideas such an exciting adventure over the past year. We love hearing all about your innovations, creating, making and inventions, keep them coming!
Here’s to 2012 and even more enterprising Cracking Ideas!
Season’s Greetings from everyone at Cracking Ideas HQ.
December 2nd, 2011
Ring the bells, hang out the banners, blow your party whistles and clap your hands … we’ve just been told the Wallace and Gromit Present a World of Cracking Ideas exhibition has reached a milestone of vast proportions!
Since the Intellectual Property Office sponsored exhibition launched back in 2009 at the Science Museum, London, and subsequent residencies at the Glasgow Science Centre and Newcastle’s Centre for Life, it has seen a massive 500,000 plus visitors through it’s 62 West Wallaby Street doors.
This figure is splendid news: It means that over 500,000 people from the UK and plenty of international visitors have had access to the creative world of Wallace & Gromit and have seen the important role innovation plays in our everyday lives. They’ve got involved in the fun interactives, been impressed by the inventive duo’s cracking contraptions and pitted their wits in challenges and games all about the important role of intellectual property in the world around us.
If you want to add to the growing list of impressed and satisfied visitors, there is still time … just! Wallace and Gromit Present a World of Cracking Ideas is currently at Newcastle’s Life Science Centre until 22 January 2013. Why not get along to this top venue and become one of the lucky visitors who’ve taken the opportunity to have fun and learn from this cracking interactive exhibition experience.
Thank you every one who has contributed to the success of the Wallace & Gromit Present A World of Cracking Ideas exhibition so far … Here’s to the next cracking milestone!
November 15th, 2011
Wow …. we’ve met some fabulous innovators here at CI HQ before now but this lot take the cracking biscuit!
We’re talking about 7 young inventors from Cypress Schools in South Norwood, London who’ve used their creative ingenuity to come up with a potentially life-saving medical health-band device. The cracking team consisting of 10 to 11 year old Olivia, Shanay, Milhan, Indija, Charlie-Joy, Jessica and Daisy came up with their helpful innovation whilst taking part in a school programme involving its thriving inventors club. They were mentored by Bill Currie, himself a cracking creator and inventor of Trappit (a gadget for trapping a bug – and not despatching it!) who was named British Inventor of the Year in 2008.
The Cypress team’s bangle like device is designed to be worn by vulnerable people and can be used in case of crisis to contact the emergency services directly. Science and Technology co-ordinator for Cypress Schools commented that the health-band, created from the girls own experience of a relative who was taken ill suddenly, was a brilliant idea that showed application of technology in the real world. Just what the UK needs right now. You won’t find us disagreeing with that – the Cracking Ideas team are in full agreement – there is nothing like needing to find a solution to a conundrum you’ve experienced to get your creative juices flowing!
The girls have yet to decide on a suitable name for the health band but have assured us that registering a trade mark will be top of their list of things to do. They already have a good knowledge of the usefulness of design and patents and know that all their material used for advertising their product is automatically covered by copyright.
It was an honour to be present at the British Invention Show Awards held 21 October to see the team receive the much coveted Double Gold International Young Inventors Award: Invention of the Year 2011.
Congratulations all of you. Carry on with your cracking creativity!
November 11th, 2011
Cracking Ideas is pleased to announce that we’ve been awarded the prestigious ‘High Impact Badge of Honour’ for our achievements in encouraging innovation, creativity and intellectual property awareness amongst young innovators in the UK. This award has been bestowed upon the Intellectual Property Office’s educational resource as part of Global Entrepreneurship Week 14 – 20 November.
Global Entrepreneurship Week is a celebration of the past 51 weeks, and sets the scene for the next year ahead. It aims to connect people and share ideas to drive the next generation of business owners. To these ends Cracking Ideas is honoured to be involved.
The GEW UK team told Cracking Ideas “We highlight the very best events by awarding them a ‘Badge of Honour’, promoting them to attendees and supporters and shouting about their achievements.”
Thank you – Cracking Ideas is proud to be part of Global Entrepreneurship Week but the High Impact Badge award wouldn’t have been possible without the support of all our cracking followers. Why not continue with the good work and join in some of the Global Entrepreneurship Week activities on offer and take advantage of the opportunities available to help innovate and create the businesses of tomorrow.
November 2nd, 2011
Hello,
All day today we have been celebrating a very special Birthday and have been tweeting and posting on facebook sharing this extraordinary anniversary with you.
It’s not a person’s birthday we’ve been commemorating but an anniversary of a cracking event. Of course us being Cracking Ideas it had to be an event of a certain stature in the world of innovation and we feel it is all that with bells on … well, birthday candles really!
Today we’ve been celebrating the 1936 first television broadcast from the BBC. It was the World’s first TV service and it came from studios and transmitters at Alexander Palace in north London.
It’s difficult to believe today when there are multiple channels available in a myriad of subjects to educate, inform and entertain us, that just 75 years ago the broadcast service was available for only 2 hours a day from 3-4 pm and 9-10 pm and not on Sundays at all!
We tend to take the technology of TV and broadcasting for granted today and the range of services this affords us but WOW… what cracking innovation that first television broadcast was just 75 years ago!
We’d love to know what you think about the amount of TV available today; do you think it is a good thing or is there too much? What is your absolute favourite programme of all time and what is the viewing highlight you just can’t live without?
Let us know and join in the birthday celebrations!
October 14th, 2011
… and the sun is shining at Cracking Ideas HQ. We’ve got some cracking activities arranged for this weekend and are interested in what you might be spending your time doing Saturday and Sunday.
One of the CI team is going to footie training then planning ‘extreme’ lawn mowing, another is going to paint pottery and followed by scheduling a conkers tournament whilst several of us are planning on watching the Rugby World Cup semi finals (Exciting stuff!) All in all a weekend ahead full of activity (whether participating or watching!) and therefore plenty of inspiration for sporty ideas for this year’s Cracking Ideas competition.
What are your plans for the next couple of days? Are you proposing a weekend chock-full of playing and watching sport or are you looking forward to a Saturday and Sunday engrossed in crafty creativity? Maybe you’re planning to spend some time walking in the fresh outdoors to the cinema, bowling or a shopping trip with friends. Whatever your arrangements this weekend don’t forget to keep your mind open for opportunities to generate cracking ideas for this year’s competition. Inspiration is around us all the time, so keep your eyes peeled for that special trigger that will kick off your train of thought for that winning cracking idea!
October 11th, 2011
Great news everyone!
The Wallace & Gromit Present a World of Cracking Ideas exhibition is extending its stay at the Life Science Centre, Newcastle – the North East’s premier science research centre and tourist attraction.
We are thrilled that this longer term of residency, now into the New Year to 22 January 2012, will give so many more people the chance to visit, take part and enjoy.
Why not make the most of the cooler, shorter days of Autumn and take a trip into Wallace & Gromit’s 62 West Wallaby Street home and experience all the novel gadgets and contraptions there? It’s great fun and educational too: you’ll have the chance to see innovation in action and find out how intellectual property surrounds us all in our everyday lives.
Have fun and enjoy!
September 26th, 2011
Get your thinking caps on. At Cracking Ideas HQ we need your help! We would like to compile a list of cracking Wallace & Gromit style sporty activities to act as inspiration for your next competition entry.
Use the comments box below, post on Facebook or tweet your suggestions @cracking_ideas to let us know your suggestions for our very special alphabet of cracking sports and activities. We’ll select the best ones (not always the most obvious ones!) and add them to our special inventory of Wallace & Gromit super sports and publish the exclusive alphabetical list here on the Cracking Ideas website.
If it’s your idea that gets picked as a medal worthy winner you’ll get your name up in lights next to your sporty cracking suggestion. Oh and did we mention for the best overall idea there will be a suitably cracking prize?
So what are you waiting for? Ready, steady, go … get cracking! Whether you think C should be for crumpet croquet (buttered of course) or a more cerebral cheerleading chess; D for disco dancing discus and E for extreme egg eating … we want to know. Tell us your ideas for our alphabet of cracking sports and you could be a letter-tastic winner!
Oh, and we are especially interested to see what zany sport you come up with for Z!
September 22nd, 2011
Hello Cracking Fans,
The Cracking Ideas Team are on an excursion this week to Scotland!
We have left Cracking Ideas HQ and headed north to Glasgow to take part in the Scottish Learning Festival at the SECC. If you are in the area please pop in and say hello, we are in Hall 4, stand L16 … you’ll recognise us because we are surrounded by images of our wonderfully creative ambassadors Wallace & Gromit.
We’ve already met loads of inspiring, innovative people … lots of teachers, educators, parents and students … it’s great to find out what you’ve done with the Cracking Ideas resouce and hear about all your fantastic ideas for our sporty competition.
If you are in the area and want to find out more about using innovation in the classroom and making learning about intellectual property fun come and see the Cracking Ideas Team. We’d love to meet you.
September 9th, 2011
Wow, it’s the end of another week and for some of you the end of the first week of a new academic term.
We want to know what cracking new things you’ve been up to and how you plan on developing your inner innovator this new term. Let us know in the comments box below what new creativity you plan on exploring this Autumn.
Are you going to develop an existing skill, like playing a musical instrument or drama script writing? Are you improving a current favourite, like life drawing or photography maybe? Are you persevering with something you find tough, like creative writing or IT problem solving perhaps?
Whatever pursuits you are planning for the new term don’t forget that you can protect your creativity using intellectual property rights. You can find out more about how IP can help here and if you have any specific questions we are here to assist. Just post your question in comments below or email the Cracking Ideas team at help@crackingideas.com We’d be happy to help.
Have an innovative Autumn term full of cracking ideas!
