Chicago Toy & Game Fair 2015 Young Inventor Challenge Winners with Julie Blake, Cara Wendt and Julia Shoppach

The winners of the 2015 ninth annual Chicago Toy & Game Fair’s Young Inventors Challenge and Event Director Julie Blake were interviewed by host Brian Fried of Got Invention Radio www.gotinvention.comListen to this show and hear what our innovative young inventors have come up with, what inspired them and listen to the advice they give to aspiring inventors of all ages.CHICAGO, Ill. (November 25, 2015) – The winners of the ninth annual Young Inventor Challenge have been announced! Chicago Toy & Game Fair’s popular youth invention contest showcased a total of 107 original toy and game entries created by nearly 200 children on November 21st at Chicago’s Navy Pier. Almost one third of those entries came from the British International School of Chicago, whose student Athena Gottleib (6) took home the 2nd place prize in the Junior Category. Entrants came from as far as Mexico and California, with the Senior Category 2nd place winners, Nathaniel Grgurina and Kodo Elder (both 17 years old) flying from San Rafael, California.“This was, without a doubt, the best Young Inventor Challenge yet. To see so much creativity packed into such a small space is incredibly inspiring. Given the growing importance of STEM education, we were thrilled to see so many games, including our two grand prize winners, that demonstrated how much fun science and technology can be,” said Young Inventor Challenge Director, Julie Blake.Fantastic prize packages were on offer by the event’s presenting partner Spin Master including Meccanoid robot, Meccano building sets, Legendary Yoda, Air Hogs Millennium Falcon and Zoomer Kitty. Grand prize winners and their families were also treated to dinner following the event where they got one-on-one time with Spin Master marketing and toy design professionals.Senior category winner Steven Huetteman (11) was beyond excited to take home the first place prize for his game, Chromo Tag. He explained that the game is like playing paintball without the paint, and instead, players t-shirts change color when they get wet.Junior category winner, Kedar Narayann (7, aka “Little Code Ninja” www.littlecodeninja.com) won the first place prize for his game, Storibot, which teaches blind kids to code using braille and velcro game pieces. Kedar is on a mission to help children not only play games, but also learn to make them. As part of their prize package, first place winners will have the opportunity to present their original creations at New York Toy Fair courtesy of Toy Industry Association in February 2016, and present an award at the Toy of the Year awards gala at The American Museum Of Natural History. They will also receive a behind the scenes tour of the New York Toy Fair, and Lund and Co. headquarters where Tickle Me Elmo was developed.This year’s People’s Choice award went to Malik Haleem (9) and Miguel Segovia (10) for their creation Hoop Shooters, which proved to be a favorite amongst the fair’s 30,000+ attendees.Next year’s contest promises to be even bigger in celebration of Young Inventor Challenge’s 10th Anniversary. Stay tuned for updates and interviews with the winners at http://www.chitagfair.com/young-inventor-challenge/About the Chicago Toy & Game Group, Inc.The Chicago Toy & Game Group, Inc. oversees toy industry initiatives designed to encourage and promote the power of play and invention in social, educational, and professional environments. Chicago Toy & Game Group initiatives include the Chicago Toy & Game Fair (ChiTAG), the playCHIC Fashion Show, the Toy & Game Inventor of the Year (TAGIE) Awards, the Young Inventor Challenge, the International Toy & Game Innovation Conference (T&G Con), the International Summit for Professional Inventors (I-SPI), Games for Educators, Discover Games and the Chicago Toy & Game Foundation. For more information, visit www.ChiTAG.com.