Creative young people in Shropshire can let their imaginations soar and come up with ideas of where they would travel with Charles Darwin in a newly launched competition.
‘Dear Darwin’ is the theme of the 2019 Shropshire Young Thinkers’ Competition organised by Morris & Company with University Centre Shrewsbury (UCS).
Entrants aged seven to 16 are invited to write a letter to entice Shrewsbury’s most famous son to take a journey either into the past, present or future, in the real world or an imaginary place.
Winners will be chosen from three age categories with prizes including day tickets to Legoland for four people, a helicopter flight experience for two, and OCULUC Go virtual reality goggles.
The second Young Thinkers’ Competition follows the success of the inaugural competition last year on the theme of ‘one great idea to change the world’, with this year’s Finals taking place in February and kicking off the 2019 Darwin Shrewsbury Festival. Next year’s celebration is set to be bigger than ever before with over 40 events taking place in and around the town to bring to life Shrewsbury’s connection to Darwin.
Professor Anna Sutton, Provost of UCS said: “We could not have imagined how much the competition last year would capture the imagination of the contestants and we were blown away by the ideas, enthusiasm and the professionalism of the children. This year’s theme is equally open to interpretation and we cannot wait to see what 2019 Dear Darwin will deliver.”
Katie Morris from Morris & Company added: “2019 is destined to be a very special year for our fifth-generation family company as we will be celebrating our 150th anniversary. Championing the 2019 Young Thinkers is a great way of celebrating as part of the Shropshire community. We are all thrilled to have Jake on board this year as he is a great inspiration with his imaginative approach to storytelling.”
The competition will be judged by a panel comprising Professor Sutton, Robin Morris and this year, storyteller Jake Evans, who won the U18 category of the ‘National Young Storyteller of the Year’ when he was just 15.
All Shropshire youngsters are eligible to enter, for details visit morrisandco.com/youngthinkers
The competition closing date is Friday November 30th.
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