Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust and Kids Invent Stuff are inviting children and young people across the world to invent something that will make a child smile when they’re feeling poorly.
Children can help design the future – the winning idea will not only inspire future healthcare technology for children and young people, but it will be brought to life by the Kids Invent Stuff team to be displayed at Sheffield Children’s National Centre for Child Health Technology (NCCHT) which opens next year.
As a national leader in children’s health, Sheffield Children’s delivers world-class care for some of the most complex and rare conditions, while supporting children’s everyday health needs across our region. Based at the Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park, the National Centre for Child Health Technology (NCCHT), will bring together world leading experts from across academia, healthcare, industry and technology and aims to be the cornerstone of world leading research and care development for children and young people.
Sheffield Children’s will turn 150 years old in 2026, and this latest project will continue to build on 150 years of experience and the focus on innovation, putting new healthcare technologies at the heart of service and care delivery to create a healthier future for children and young people.
Kids Invent Stuff, the Sheffield-based YouTube project created by engineers Ruth Amos and Shawn Brown, is known for turning children’s wildest ideas into real working inventions. Every month, children aged 4-11 submit creative concepts and the team chooses one to build on camera. Their previous projects include world record attempts, collaborations with Taskmaster Education and famous creators, and a huge range of child-led inventions from the world’s largest electric toothbrush to a giant electric furry dog car. The channel exists to show children everywhere that their ideas matter and that engineering is for everyone.
Following a Sheffield-based pilot project delivered in partnership with Sheffield Children’s, the team visited eight primary schools across the city, engaging around 3400 pupils face to face. Children explored what it means to invent for healthcare, shared their ideas for improving hospital experiences, and helped shape the themes and inspiration behind this global competition. The enthusiasm and creativity shown by local pupils has paved the way for the challenge now being opened worldwide.
This new competition builds on that mission. Children and young people are being invited to imagine something that would make a child feel happier or more at ease when they are unwell. That could be a creation that makes a child smile if they’re feeling poorly, helps them feel calmer and more confident, less worried, or something that makes waiting for an appointment more fun. Kids Invent Stuff will choose one winning idea to turn into a real invention. The finished build will be unveiled at the new NCCHT, giving the winning young inventor the chance to inspire future healthcare innovation for children across the world.
Inventor and Co-founder at Kids Invent Stuff, Ruth Amos, said: “We believe children are natural inventors and see problems in wonderfully imaginative ways. This competition gives them a chance to shape the future of children’s health by sharing ideas that might make a poorly child smile or feel just a little more at ease. We cannot wait to see what they come up with and to bring one of those ideas to life for the new National Centre for Child Health Technology.”
Children aged 4-to-11 can enter from anywhere, whether they are local to Sheffield, elsewhere in the UK or based anywhere around the world. Ideas can be submitted from December 2025 with a closing date of 26 February 2026. Full guidance and the submission form can be found on the Kids Invent Stuff website https://kidsinventstuff.com/#current-challenge
This global competition is funded by The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Sheffield Children’s Commercial Research Delivery Centre (CRDC). It is the only CRDC in the UK dedicated to delivering commercial clinical trials treating children and young people. Evidence shows that clinically research-active hospitals have better outcomes for their patients. The Sheffield Children’s CRDC will act as a regional hub for pioneering clinical trials, creating opportunities to test innovative new treatments with the latest equipment and technology – enabling children and young people to be at the heart of designing potential health technology solutions is part of this work.
Submit your idea and read the full guidance here: https://kidsinventstuff.com/#current-challenge