Children win young inventors' award with drone and food tracker

A drone designed to tackle air pollution and a smart tracker that monitors the condition of stored food. These two inventions have earned young inventors the 2026 Young Inventor Award. The Dutch Association of Inventors (NOVU) presented the awards on Sunday, November 8, during National Inventors' Day at the NEMO Science Museum in Amsterdam.

Ten entries made it to the final. Visitors to National Inventors' Day could explore the inventions, ask the young creators questions and vote for their favourite. During the final, each participant had one minute to present their idea to the audience. They had to explain which problem they wanted to solve and how their invention worked.

The Young Inventor Award aims to encourage children to come up with their own solutions to problems they see around them.

The winners

The winning ideas ranged from environmental solutions to practical applications for everyday life. Not all the inventions were fully developed yet. The focus was on coming up with solutions and having the confidence to present original ideas.

In the category for children aged 6 to 11, Philip, Skyler and Abel won with their EcoBotDrone. The drone is designed to tackle air pollution. It can fly to locations where large amounts of CO2 are released and suck in polluted air. The air is stored inside the drone, which then converts it into renewable energy.

In the 12 to 17 age category, Puffy and Josh took home the award. Their invention, NutriTrackPro, is a smart tracker designed to monitor the condition of stored food. The young inventors aim to tackle a familiar problem: food left unused in the fridge that eventually ends up being thrown away.

Two other inventions also received awards. Mees, Faas and Jens won with their Hoornbladplanter, an invention designed to plant hornwort in water and help improve water quality. Lou, Aiden and Federico received an award for an application scanner designed to make recruitment processes fairer.

Space exploration and cultivated meat

The Young Inventor Award was part of National Inventors' Day, which also brought together adult inventors, entrepreneurs and other interested visitors. At the Inventors' Market, inventors presented their latest prototypes and products. Visitors could also receive advice on developing their ideas further through confidential consultations.

The programme also featured talks on various innovation topics. Guus Welling, serial inventor and NOVU expert, explained how inventors can develop their ideas step by step without immediately making large investments. Other talks covered space exploration, cultivated meat, nature and technology.