Children in Britain today are demonstrating a strong sense of responsibility towards the planet if the results of a recent poll, commissioned to open this year’s Equinor Young Imagineers competition, are to be believed. 

Findings revealed that almost half of UK children (42%), said they want to solve the global problem of plastic pollution when they grow up. More than a third (37%) said they wanted to fix global warming and around the same (35%) said they would like to end animal extinction.

When asked who they thought could make the world a better place, almost half said scientists and a third championed inventors (34%). Interestingly, more than a quarter (26%) said it was people their own age that had the power to bring about positive future change.

The poll also asked them which inventions they wish they had come up with themselves. Over a third (37%) said the Internet, 1 in 3 (29%) said computers and more than a quarter (28%) said YouTube.

But while 16% admitted they would most like to be a “YouTuber” when they grow up, the findings suggest it’s wrong to assume that young people have little or no appreciation of scientific achievement. 

Indeed, when asked to name the people they most admired, renowned scientists such as Stephen Hawking (17%), Albert Einstein (15%) and Marie Curie (14%) fared much better than internet celebrities like Joe Sugg (8%) and Zoella (6%). 

Other key findings from the poll include more than half (52%) of children saying they would like to see science find a cure for cancer, while 29% are hoping to see time travel become a reality!

Children aged 7-14 years are now invited to get their own inventive-thinking caps on, as Equinor and the Science Museum have opened the Young Imagineers competition for a third year, asking: what invention would you create, to make tomorrow’s world a better place? 

Entrants need to sketch their invention, describe it in up to 100 words, then submit it with the online entry form by 27th October at: https://youngimagineers.equinor.com/entries/

Ten finalists will be shortlisted and have the chance to pitch their ideas to a panel of judges, who include TV/radio presenter and author Konnie Huq, at an event in late November at the Science Museum. The winning entry will have their idea created as a 3D model, which will then be exhibited inside the Science Museum in early 2020.