London, UK, Saturday 2nd March 2019
In November 2018, 10-year-old Millie Iversen Gray from London, was crowned the winner of Equinor’s Young Imagineers competition – a nationwide competition which saw 1,200 children from across the UK share their ideas on how to make the world a better place.
Today (Saturday 2nd March) Millie’s design, a Solar Powered Pollution Sucking Robot Pigeon, was brought to life by a team of professional designers and unveiled at the Science Museum outside Wonderlab: The Equinor Gallery.
Millie’s Solar Powered Pollution Sucking Robot Pigeon invention would reduce toxins in the air, using its beak to suck in polluted air, and filter it through its tummy before releasing clean air through its feathers, while being friendly to other birds.
Millie said: “Seeing my invention come to life is so amazing – I can’t believe that an idea I came up with is on display at the Science Museum! When friends ask what made me think of my idea, I tell them that when I go to see my grandparents in Suffolk and Denmark, I always think the air smells so much cleaner than in London. Everyone knows that air pollution is really bad for the environment and people’s health. So, I came up with the idea of the Solar Powered Pollution Sucking Robot Pigeon which would not only clear the pollution out of the air but fit in with all the other pigeons flying around London.”
Millie will also be awarded the honorary position as Children’s Inspiration Officer at the Science Museum for a day. Millie will be given an exclusive tour of the museum with a friend, shadow one of the museum’s enthusiastic Explainers and receive a host of Science Museum goodies to take home.
The unveiling of this award-winning design marks the conclusion of Equinor’s 2018 Young Imagineers competition in partnership with the Science Museum where children aged 7-14 submitted their most creative, imaginative and inspirational ideas on how to make the world a better place. The competition was designed as an extension of Equinor and the Science Museum’s partnership around Wonderlab: The Equinor Gallery, and part of Equinor’s efforts to inspire children to bring fun and creativity to Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM).
An amazing 1,200 entries were received from all across the UK – from Inverness to St Ives. There were ideas from robots who supported people with disabilities, to devices to encourage exercise and innovative inventions to tackle the problem of plastic waste.
At the unveiling, Jill Tully, Investment Manager at Equinor Energy Ventures, said: “It’s been amazing to be involved with this process from start to finish – there were so many incredible ideas tackling such a wide variety of issues we see in the world. Millie’s idea was so creative, and I am so pleased to see it come to life. Millie’s idea really looks to combat a big problem that we all face – especially those of us who live in cities where air pollution is more prevalent.”