Monroe Students Headed to State Fair with Invention Convention
A contingent of student-inventors from the Monroe Local School District has qualified to compete in the Ohio State Invention Convention and Entrepreneurship Competition this month at the Ohio State Fair in Columbus.
The students will be judged on the inventions they created this past school year as part of the Invention Convention program offered by the Ohio educational non-profit group, the Invention League. Invention League (http://www.inventionleague.org/) challenges students to think of problems that could be solved with new inventions. This year’s theme was “Problem Solving is Our Superpower.”
Backed by major technology sponsors, including the title Supporting Partner, Honda of America Mfg. Inc., the state finals will take place July 29 in the Cardinal Hall Building. Five hundred students from eighty-five school districts are expected to participate. https://www.prweb.com/releases/2018/07/prweb15630516.htm
Zach Bachmann with his no-mess S'mores maker.
Several of Monroe’s finalists and semi-finalists are expected to compete at the state finals. State finalists will then have an opportunity to advance to the National Invention Convention and Entrepreneurship Expo (NICEE) in 2019. Last year Monroe was represented at the national convention by Vanessa Wolf, whose invention was a portable cat playhouse.
State finalists, their grade level at time of participation, and their inventions include :
Kendall Bowen and her highlighting eraser.
Zach Bachmann, Grade 6, a no-mess S’mores maker (will compete) ; Kendall Bowen, Grade 5, highlighting eraser (will compete) ; Sam McCausland, Grade 5, a sewer saver to prevent items from falling into a sewer (will compete); Ian Race, Grade 5, a soccer ball with a touch/dribble tracking device (will compete) ; and Connor Witte, Grade 5, a school desk organizer.
State semi-finalists, their grade level at time of participation, and their inventions include :
Sam McCausland and his Sewer Saver
Cailyn Gallagher, Grade 5, heated hoodie with pillow (will compete) ; Belle Reese, Grade 5, light switch turn-off warning ; Haley Gajus, Grade 5, easy sailboat assembly for kids (will compete) ; Micah Tarin, Grade 6, magnetic baseball retriever ; and Matt Melone, Grade 7, “Attention App” with virtual and augmented reality for focus.
Under the guidance of Anne Howard, library specialist at MidPointe Library Monroe (which partnered with Monroe schools to bring Invention Convention to the district), the student inventors gathered regularly in the Monroe Elementary classroom of Susan Cooper, STEAM (Science Technology Engineering Art and Math) teacher.
Haley Gajus and her Kiddo Cruiser
Using a curriculum developed by Mrs. Howard, the students became immersed in the invention process. Community mentors regularly visited the class, providing real-world advice about all stages of product development.
Ian Race and his soccer ball tracker.
Mentors included Cincinnati State Technical and Community College Business Professor Dr. Sara Shierling and CS students Benson Oreweh, Leslie Maxwell, and Kelly Naylor; Mark Solomon of Quaker Chemical; Ryan Jones of PAC Worldwide; Dr. Doriane Le Bourse of AK Steel; Sara Knox of AK Steel; Scott Collins, President/CEO of Link-age Corporation; Rich Keller of McGraw/Kokosing; Bryan Ziegler of McGraw-Kokosing ; Brandon A. Foley of McGraw/Kokosing; Kristie Abbott of Bway Plastics; David Adams of Monroe High School; Tom Burklow and Mrs. Andrea Carovillano, Monroe Local Schools Business and Technology Department; Mrs. Heidi Tarin, parent and marketing major.
Cailyn Gallagher and her pillow hoody.
Several of the student inventors also received feedback on their presentation speeches from Robert Vogel, Ph.D., professor emeritus of Media and Culture at Miami University.
Connor Witte and his school desk organizer.
Judges for the local competition were Cincinnati State Technical and Community College Business Professor Dr. Sara Shierling, Monroe Superintendent Dr. Phil Cagwin, Stan Kappers, Director of Ohio Living Retirement Center ; Cari Hillman, MidPointe Library System Public Relations Manager ; Rick Pearce, Chamber of Commerce President/CEO; and Christina McElfresh, Sibcy Cline Realtor, member of Monroe City Council, Monroe Local Schools Facility Advisory Committee, President of the Monroe Historical Society and the Monroe Rotary Club.