{"id":37768,"date":"2026-03-13T07:50:06","date_gmt":"2026-03-13T11:50:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/?p=37768"},"modified":"2026-03-13T07:50:18","modified_gmt":"2026-03-13T11:50:18","slug":"creativity-set-to-be-unleashed-at-auroras-youth-innovation-fair","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/creativity-set-to-be-unleashed-at-auroras-youth-innovation-fair\/","title":{"rendered":"Creativity set to be unleashed at Aurora\u2019s Youth Innovation Fair"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Put on your thinking caps and get that creativity flowing as the Town of Aurora is now accepting student registrations for the 2026 Youth Innovation Fair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Set for Wednesday, May 13, York Region students in Grades 4 to 12 are invited to register for the event to \u201cshowcase their creativity through innovative ideas and real-world problem-solving,\u201d particularly in the areas of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math), social innovation, robotics, gaming, e-sports, green technology, and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Students can register as individuals or as a group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re really looking at innovations that focus on STEM, social innovation, robotics, gaming e-sports, green tech, and more, but we also don\u2019t want to focus too much on that so students only think their innovations have to fit those categories; we really want as much open-mindedness and creativity as possible \u2013 and we all know with the youth there is no shortage of creativity. It\u2019s always quite exciting to see what comes in from our youth,\u201d says Shelley Ware, Special Events Coordinator for the Town of Aurora.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What helps takes student submissions to the next level, adds Erin Hamilton, Sport and Community Development Specialist for the Town of Aurora, is \u201cpassion for their innovation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think it really speaks to the energy they put in and when they have a direct link to the passion and a connection to what they\u2019re developing, they really spend a lot of time working through how that impacts the community, how it impacts them, how it impacts their family, and a true understanding of what their ideas can do for the community and those people around them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking back over previous years, some of the projects Hamilton says stick out in her mind are those where students have focused on the wellbeing of themselves and others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think when we look at today\u2019s society and all the information around, whether it was something that would warm them up or something that would help them calm their nerves, I think we\u2019re seeing a bit more of that from our youth where they\u2019re looking at things that can bring them a bit more comfort where there\u2019s a lot going on around social media, they\u2019re online a lot, and they\u2019re really looking at ways that they can help with their own mental health and wellbeing of those around them,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Adds Ware: \u201cSome of the innovations I saw, there was a younger student who had coded and created from scratch this form of Frogger game, but the game was to settle stress levels. There were a couple of students that teamed up together on a weather thermometer-type innovation to predict the weather better than the Weather Network. When Erin mentions their passion, that is what you saw all throughout the night last year. You saw that first, then you saw their invention.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As students think ahead to the innovations they want to develop and bring to the fair, Ware suggests students lean in on their support systems to get it just right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou have the ideas, you have the capabilities, so once you come to your idea and develop it, practice it, challenge it, ask your friends, ask your family, because innovation is about evolving,\u201d she says. \u201cAs the idea evolves and snowballs, that\u2019s where it really comes to fruition. For some of the kids who perhaps might be shy to try something like this, just imagine what kind of adults, and what kind of community contributors they\u2019re going to be down the road; for them to come up with the confidence to participate in this, this is going to be the start of their innovation journey and they might as well start it off at a really fun, supportive event!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hamilton adds it\u2019s important to be flexible. Your first idea might not be the final one you bring to the Fair, and it\u2019s important to be open to evolving as you work through it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTest it out, practice your presentation \u2013 your first iteration of your idea or innovation may not work. Learn what\u2019s working, what\u2019s not working, and be able to speak to it and how you\u2019ve changed from the time you started,\u201d she says. \u201cDon\u2019t wait until the week before to put your product together. Try some different things because you\u2019d be surprised at how your product or concept can evolve and become better over time by your willingness to try it, engage with other people, or do whatever you can.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For more information on Aurora\u2019s 2026 Youth Innovation Fair, including how to register, visit aurora.ca\/YouthInnovation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Brock Weir
Editor
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter<\/strong><\/p>\n\r\n\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"mail\"<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Put on your thinking caps and get that creativity flowing as the Town of Aurora is now accepting student registrations for the 2026 Youth Innovation Fair. Set for Wednesday, May 13, York Region students in Grades 4 to 12 are invited to register for the event to \u201cshowcase their creativity through innovative ideas and real-world […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-37768","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general_news","category-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3D2k4-9Pa","publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-07 11:03:55","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37768","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37768"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37768\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":37769,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37768\/revisions\/37769"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37768"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37768"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37768"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}