We all know Kiwis are an inventive bunch. But who knew some of our best inventors might be as young as 8 years old? Luke Nola obviously did. He's the clever creator and producer behind the popular kids' TV show 'Let's Get Inventin'', which has been nominated in the Kids: non-scripted entertainment category for the Emmy Kids Awards.
The multi-award winning show, which features kids aged 8 to 14 and their inventions, was created about 10 years ago. It currently screens in more than 30 countries around the world.
The programme follows a simple enough format. Kids put forward their invention ideas, and each season about nine are selected to build and test their inventions with a team of top engineers and scientists. AJ Park patent partner, Anton Blijlevens, who also has a Masters degree in mechanical engineering, was a judge on the show for nine seasons, providing kids with advice on the patentability of their inventions. The best inventions received $10,000 pro bono patent packages. In total, 12 patents have been granted for inventions from Let's Get Inventin', including one that was granted to an 8 year old inventor, the youngest ever patent owner in New Zealand.
The International Emmy Kids Awards recognise excellence in television programmes produced outside of the United States. The seventh series, which earned the Emmy nomination, featured an invention dubbed the 'Papernator' - a remote-controlled, robotic paper delivery machine designed to fire newspapers with a canon. The inventor, Martin Van Blerk, was just 11 years old at the time.
Let's Get Inventin' is one of only 23 nominees from 17 countries competing in six categories.
Luke Nola, his wife Sandy, and business partner Neil Stichbury are all in New York to attend the red carpet awards event, which takes place around lunchtime tomorrow, New Zealand time.
On behalf of AJ Park, Anton Blijlevens said, 'We congratulate Luke and his team on this awesome achievement and wish them all the very best at the awards tonight. Congratulations also, to all our young Kiwi inventors. It's super exciting to see the home-grown creativity of New Zealanders being recognised internationally, and AJ Park is proud to have been involved the whole way'.
To find out more about the show, and other initiatives that Luke and friends are working on, check out www.lukenola.com.
