Fun City applauds UAE's “Little Inventors”

• With her creation of an innovative home cleaning kit,  eight year old Ruchita Lalla was truly a well-deserved winner for the grand prize to the famous Cité Des Sciences museum in Paris
• The three category winners also received trophies and gift hampers
• Emirati Scientist Dr. Eesa Bastaki and Parenting Expert Aamnah Husain judged the innovative entries from children between 6-12years

Dubai, UAE – 28th September, 2013: Fun City, the largest Family Entertainment Centre in the region announced the winner of its “Little Inventors 2013” innovation competition that was launched with an aim to augment children's development and engaging them in scientific activities outside their school environment.

The competition that was a first in the region by a non-educational organization concluded with a grand finale at Oasis Centre on 27th September in the presence of honorable judges, participants, their families, guests and members of the media. The event had a lot of fun and frolic moments in addition to the presentations by the shortlisted participants explaining their entries to the audience and ended with a gleaming prize distribution ceremony. The competition received a heartwarming response with a wide range of entries. Interestingly, the most innovative entries were seen in the age group of 6-8 years that reflected the enthusiasm of children in this age group.

Commenting on the entries and the winner, Emirati scientist Dr. Eesa Bastaki stated, “I am quite intrigued by some of the unique entries received at the ‘Little Inventors' competition. It is platforms like these that hone talents for these young scientists of tomorrow by leading them on the right path of becoming achievers and thinkers that result in practical applications at a young age. The winning entry was extremely well deserved as the child was not only able to create an innovative concept but was also able to explain it to us with the same ease and confidence.”

Aamnah Husain – qualified Counseling Psychologist & Parenting expert to Fun City also expressed her views, “I am pleased to have been on the judging side of this competition. In the present day, children are brimming with ideas and possibilities and it is a warm experience to be able to witness these ideas taking shape by these Little Inventors”.

Celebrating the finale, Silvio Liedtke – COO, Landmark Leisure said, “We are delighted with the response to this initiative by Fun City. This is an extension to our child development programme which promises to provide value to all our little visitors in addition to fun filled play moments at our centres.

Our honorary judges Dr. Eesa Bastaki and Aamnah Husain, who are both experts in their respective fields evaluated the participants and their entries through the same criteria albeit differently which resulted in a thorough evaluation of the entries. I congratulate all the little scientists who participated in this competition thereby proving that they are eager to contribute towards a better future,” he added.

The Little Inventors event was launched in April 2013 and hosted on https://www.facebook.com/funcitycomeplay where parents and teachers could register their children or class pupils in an individual capacity or in groups. Registration was open for three categories and judged as per age (6 to 8 years), (8 to 10 years) and (10 to 12 years). The participants competed with each other for the grand prize of a family visit (up to 6 members) to the world renowned museum Cité Des Sciences in Paris. The winners of each category also won a trophy each. Participation certificates were awarded to all participants.

The submissions were judged and shortlisted by the honorable Emirati scientist Dr. Eesa Bastaki, who believes that today's children are the scientists of the future, along with Aamnah Husain, a qualified Counseling Psychologist & Parenting Expert to Fun City and Mr. Silvio Liedtke, Chief Operating Officer, Landmark Leisure.

The evaluation of the entries were done on the basis of quality of innovation, age appropriate innovation, utility and feasibility to integrate it into everyday usage, environment-friendliness of the creation and lastly the child's level of independence in creating the entry.

Little Inventors is a step forward in the direction of the previously announced first ever Children's Play Index, which has been instituted by Fun City to understand children's playing patterns and behaviors in the UAE. It also seeks answers to parents' requirements in having their children participate in team work and social activities.