Students show their ingenuity at event
Fourth-graders at Evans City Elementary School put their problem-solving skills to the test Thursday in the annual Invention Convention.
Students were tasked with figuring out “what bugs you” and creating an invention to fix that problem, said fourth-grade teacher Sandy Thompson. It's part of the motion and design unit in their science classes.
Projects included dog water bowl splash guards, floor mats that let you know when your dog needs to go outside, automatic pet rabbit feeders, glow-in-the-dark Legos and a phone charging cord holder.
Their inventions were displayed Thursday at the Invention Convention in the school's large cafeteria. Students also made display boards detailing their thought process and any features of their creations.
Gavin Cress, a fourth-grader, created the Conveyor Wash 3000, a tabletop dishwasher. He made it to avoid the chore of washing dishes.
“It's cheaper than a regular dishwasher, and it's portable,” he said.
Chloe Stevens, a fourth-grader, made a reading assistant called the Easy Breezy Reading System. A helmet holds the book in front of your face, to free up your hands. While a flashlight, attached to your torso by a strap, provides enough light to read in.Michelle Stevens, Chloe's mother, said she's been looking forward to the Invention Convention since she visited it last year as a third-grader.The five fourth-grade classes, which have about 120 students, showed off their inventions to third-graders at the school and to their parents. This is the fifth year the entire fourth grade has participated in the event.Each student had to give a pitch for their invention to anyone who walked up, practicing their public speaking skills, in addition to their engineering and inventing skills.“It's one thing to create it, but to present that idea to others,” said principal Lauri Pendred. “I think it's getting the kids thinking creatively.”
