Welcoming John McGill and Brent Geppert to the Innovation World Young Collaborators Podcast Series.

The Innovation World Podcast Team was honored to be a part of the Young Inventors Challenge hosted by People of Play at the Chicago Toy & Game Fair on November 8, 2025. The podcast team collected interviews from student innovators, volunteers, judges and sponsors. It was incredible to spend the day with such wonderfully innovative individuals!

The mission of the Young Inventor Challenge® (YIC) is to inspire the next generation to use creativity, critical thinking, and STEAM skills in the invention and innovation process and to connect professionals within the toy and game industry to mentor these young innovators in their design process.

The annual Young Inventor Challenge® provides an opportunity for children ages 6 to 18 to develop and pitch their original inventions to major toy and game companies, industry professionals, members of the media and general public. This unique and educational experience ignites imagination, creativity and presentation skills like no other, providing a means of taking these inventions to greater heights, with professional critiques from People of Play industry experts.

Learn more about the Young Inventors Challenge: https://www.chitag.com/yic

Podcast Team:

Aarin Bothra is a 16-year-old high school student from Aurora, Illinois. He is an inventor, innovator and the Co-Founder and Director of Seeds of Hope, an environmental nonprofit. Aarin speaks English, Hindi, Japanese, South Korean and Spanish. Aarin is the Growth and Social Media Intern for Innovation World and a regular co-host and translator for presenters at the Global Innovation Field Trip.

Maxwell (Max) Miller is a 12-year-old student from Lewis Center, Ohio who attends the School of Humanity. When he is not podcasting, he enjoys creating music, cooking, and other artistic projects and playing games.

Listen to more young innovator podcasts: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1589629

Learn more about Innovation World: https://innovationworld.org/

#Chitag #PeopleOfPlay #YoungInventorsChallenge #YoungCollaboratorsPodcastSeries #InnovationWorld #Toys #Games