Students from Year 3 to 8 are eligible to enter Origin’s littleBIGidea competition for a chance to win a trip to NASA’s Kennedy Space Centre in the USA.

Australia has a strong history of inventors, having produced the bionic ear, solar hot water, ultrasound, dual toilet flush and Wi-Fi hotspots.

Former host of the ABC’s The New Inventors and Origin littleBIGidea ambassador James O’Loghlin said thinking up a new idea or invention could sometimes be tricky.

“Is there something that’s already out there that you can make better, or can you improve an existing product to make it easier to use?”

His best advice was to experiment.

“Draw a picture of your idea, write down how it will work, and build a model or a prototype. Don’t get discouraged if it doesn’t quite work the first few times. Inventors almost always fail before they succeed.”

“Tell your family and friends about your idea. They may have some suggestions on how to make it better. Ask lots of questions and remember, no idea is too big or too small,” Mr O’Loghlin said.

Origin CEO Energy Markets Frank Calabria said judges will be looking for entries based on a demonstration of originality, creativity, practicality, imagination and innovation.

“In the first two years of Origin’s littleBIGidea, we have unearthed many great inventions, and the judges are very excited to see what this year’s batch of entries will produce,” he said.

The top four inventions in each of the three age groups (Years 3-4, one in Years 4-5 and one in Years 7-8) will win a minimum of $1000 in prizes for their inventor and $500 for their school.

The national winner judged to be have the best invention in each age categories will win an innovation trip of a lifetime to Florida, USA including a visit to the NASA Kennedy Space Center.

This is the last week to get your entries into Origin’s littleBIGidea competition. Entries close at 11.59pm AEST on Friday 30 September 2016. Visit www.littlebigidea.com.au for more details.