06/15/2026
You go girl!
A 12-year-old girl from Glasgow just proved that big hearts can change the world. 🌟 Rebecca Young, a student at Kelvinside Academy in Scotland, designed a solar-powered heated blanket to help homeless people survive freezing winter nights on the streets. She entered the UK Primary Engineer competition against over 70,000 pupils and won the prestigious MacRobert Commendation Medal. Her invention, a heated blanket built into a backpack and powered by foldable solar panels, charges during the day and keeps people warm through the night without any electricity.
Engineering giant Thales was so moved by her idea that they built a working prototype using copper wiring, flexible frames, and solar panels. ☀️ Thirty blankets were already donated to a homeless shelter in Glasgow, with plans for 120 more in production. In 2025, TIME Magazine named Rebecca one of its Girls of the Year and she even became a Lego mini-figure. 🧱 By March 2026, the blanket entered wider production through the Royal British Veterans Enterprise. A child saw suffering on the street and decided to fix it.
Source: Primary Engineer, STV News, TIME Magazine, BBC Scotland