Aspiring Kid Inventors Invited to Enter Toy and Game Creations to the Young Inventor Challenge®

People of Play Returns for Its 19th Annual Young Inventor Challenge® International Championship

August 20, 2024, Chicago, IL - People of Play (POP), a leading community of toy industry professionals, is announcing the kick-off of the 19th annual Young Inventor Challenge® International Championship. Registration is open now through October 27 for kids ages 6-18 to submit their original toy or game creations for a chance to win prizes and an opportunity to have their original creation published.

The Young Inventor Challenge® is a unique, global competition designed to inspire and encourage creativity, innovation, and problem-solving skills in children. This wondrous event has offered innovative kids from the United States, Canada, Mexico, Germany, Spain, United Kingdom, and other countries the potential to have their winning inventions published. More than a dozen winners from previous years have seen their concepts manufactured and sold on store shelves from independent retailers to mass retail stores like Target.

Longtime toy industry professional and certified play expert, Ahren Hoffman, will lead the sought-after event for the second year as the Young Inventor Challenge Director. Ahren brings a unique perspective to the program and continues to champion the importance and power of play to the competition.

“The Young Inventor Challenge provides a one-of-a-kind platform for young minds to explore their ideas! We believe that every child has the potential to be an innovator, and this competition can help ignite that spark of creativity,” shares Hoffman. The championship is a culmination of both individual kid creators and kids’ that designed their toy or game through a school project or even regional events in their communities.

Over 10,000 ‘kidpreneurs’ have entered the Young Inventor Challenge® in the past 10 years with the support of regional events. Summer camps, independent toy stores, school clubs, scout troops, libraries, and more host events in their community to help kids get a head start on their toy and game submissions to the annual Young Inventor Challenge® International Championship that coincides with the Chicago Toy & Game Fair.

Winners of the Young Inventor Challenge® International Championship will be announced live during the Chicago Toy & Game Fair on November 9th. Participants do not need to be present to win! One junior and one senior invention will be awarded from each of the following categories:

Best Pitch

Most Innovative

Most Engaging

Most Original

Most Marketable

Best Potential

Tony Serebriany, Vice President of The Op/USAopoly shares, “I love this event! It celebrates kids and their creativity, and gives them a platform to make something of their own. We never know what amazing new toy and game ideas we will see when we leave it to the kids!”

The Young Inventor Challenge is funded this year through the generous support of sponsorships from Mattel, The Op/USAopoly, Crazy Aaron’s, Goliath, Fun in Motion, and Hasbro along with individual contributions to the program that are accepted year-round.

People of Play invites kids between the ages of 6-18 years old to register for the 19th annual Young Inventor Challenge®! Resources, rules, and registration information can be found at www.chitag.com/yic.

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About People of Play

People of Play (POP), a division of The Toy Association, the global toy and game industry in promoting innovation, creativity, and connectivity. A one-stop source of community for industry professionals, aspiring inventors and people of all ages who love to play, People of Play hosts a play platform packed with resources and connection points as well as a wide range of events including the Chicago Toy & Game (CHITAG) Fair, the Toy & Game International Excellence (TAGIE) Awards, the Young Inventor Challenge, the Toy & Game Inventor Pitch and Innovation Conference, The Bloom Report and more.

Media Contacts:

Amy Friedland (afriedland@freemanpr.com, 973-470-0400)

Emily Potrzuski (epotrzuski@freemanpr.com, 973-470-0400)

Susan O’Sullivan (susanos@freemanpr.com, 973-470-0400)