Six Connecticut students were honored recently for their ingenuity at the ninth-annual RTX Invention Convention U.S. Nationals, powered by The Henry Ford. They were among over 78 award-winning K-12 inventors from across the nation who were celebrated on June 7 at the awards ceremony hosted by The Henry Ford’s Innovation Nation correspondent Albert Lawrence, featuring a pre-ceremony activity led by The Lemelson Foundation’s Senior Program Officer David Coronado. More than 80 awards, including cash prizes, trophies, medals and patent applications were presented.
The Fairfield County area honorees include:
Evelyn, Sixth Grade, Ridgefield
Patent Application Award, Presented by WilmerHale for The Hound Hoodwinker
"All dog owners face the same challenge when someone enters their home. Their dogs will either get excited if it is someone they know well, or aggressive if it is a stranger to them... When your dog acts in these ways, it can have many negative effects: it may scare or injure visitors, ruin you and your dog's relationship, or injure the dog.
To change your dog’s behavior, you need to assign them a new “job” and motivate them with a reward. I have invented the Hound Hoodwinker which gives your dog a second “job.” When you come home, or someone comes to your house an alarm signals to your trained dog that they must go to the Hound Hoodwinker to receive a treat... The activation of the Hound Hoodwinker exposes the food-infused puzzle, which occupies your dog while you are busy and keeps your entryway chaos-free."
Michela, Sixth Grade, Southport
"For my patent-pending invention, I chose to upgrade a regular softball pitching rubber with a self-retracting string to act as a measuring tape to set the perfect distance. It was important to me that the string came back automatically like in a vacuum cleaner, this was the most important part of my invention. Under the mound is a self-retracting torsion spring inside a 3D printed base...with different covers so that it can be customized to use with multiple sports and activities."
Invention Convention programs develop tomorrow’s innovative problem-solvers through a culturally responsive learning approach that ignites creativity, curiosity and collaboration. By engaging in this learning process, students are challenged to create novel solutions to real-world problems that often reflect their interests, cultural identities and community. Through participating in Invention Convention programs, students feel empowered to use their voice, regardless of their age, gender, race, education, skill level or ability.
Students compete at local and regional levels before advancing to the U.S. national competition. To participate, students must submit a video presentation of their invention, a prototype, an inventor’s logbook showing the journey of their invention process, and a poster board highlighting key points of the invention process. Select finalists from U.S. Nationals will be invited to compete virtually against Nationals programs finalists from Mexico in the Invention Convention Americas 2024 presented by RTX, with an awards ceremony taking place on August 22, 2024.