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Lisa Wright (above) addresses an
audience during her induction into the National Gallery for |
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The same ideas keep cropping up Great minds think alike. Even minds that aren't so fine
also evidently have similar thought processes. Over the years, Invention
Convention officials have compiled a list of oft-thought of ideas, a
"top 10 most invented inventions." · Slippers that light up · Devices for carrying trash · Toothbrushes that hold
toothpaste inside · Cereal pourers · Cat boxes that sift the litter
· Door alarm mats · Time-release feeders for dogs,
cats and even fish · Long-armed coat hangers · Remote control finders · Organizers "of every
shape and kind" Some concepts that have been
deemed distinctive enough for recognition at the annual event include: · Magnetic paint that eliminates
nail and tack holes in walls, 1998 · "Magnifying Prescription
Reader," in which the cap on a medicine bottle contains a magnifying
glass so people can be certain they're taking the correct medication, 2001 · A telephone that automatically
mutes the television when a call is incoming, 2004 -- Kevin Parks |
Invention Convention
By KEVIN PARKS
ThisWeek Staff Writer
One
year, Invention Convention executive director Cherylyn Rushton Bullock ruptured
her Achilles tendon just as the annual event for young would-be Thomas Edisons was approaching.
It
made getting around awfully inconvenient, not to mention extremely uncomfortable;
the boot cast kept banging against and bruising her good leg.
As
it happened, that same year saw one inventor come up with a "pillow
cast" to help healing people sleep more easily.
"Were
I allowed to judge I would, of course, have said that
was it that year," Rushton Bullock recalled.
It
wasn't just that the 2003 entry dealt with a problem the executive director had
come to know all too well. It was a show of genuine altruism, in Rushton
Bullock's view, the kind of thing rarely attributed to young people. That boy
or girl was thinking, "The next person who breaks their arm, I don't want
them to go through that," she said.
"If
we have had any impact in helping kids even be able to recognize someone else's
issues, that's a huge skill, and I think wrapping it in something fun and
creative and out of the box, I think there's a lot of things that are being
learned that are kind of under the radar screen," Rushton Bullock said.
Problems
and difficulties are all around us, and most people just learn to live with
them.
The
Invention Convention challenges young people to look around, identify problems
and then do something about them.
"And
that actually is a huge part of inventing that no one ever thinks about,"
Rushton Bullock said. "We all think about what they solve at the end, but
the first step to any solution is defining a problem: What are you going to
solve?"
What
would eventually evolve into the Invention Convention began life as a science
fair in
"It
couldn't be further from that," Zonars said.
Zonars
is now also general manager for ThisWeek Community
Newspapers.
"We
wanted anyone to be able to participate," he said. "We focus really,
really hard on making the students, their ideas, the
focus of the event. It's so magical that it just kept growing."
The
first Invention Convention in
This
year's event will take place Saturday, May 20, from
More
than $250,000 in college scholarships has been awarded to more than 200
students since the first event was held in
The
top prize each year is a $10,000 scholarship.
The
first of a series of expansion efforts to eventually take the concept statewide
took place this past fall with the establishment of an Invention Convention in
the
Within
six years, Just Think Inc. president Zonars estimated, the Invention Convention
should be able to "legitimately bill itself as a statewide event for the
best inventors" in kindergarten through the eighth grade.
By
2007-08, executive director Rushton Bullock said, the
If
5- and 6-year-olds seem a bit young to be solving the world's problems, Rushton
Bullock begs to differ.
"The
younger often also are the more creative," she said. "They haven't
been told you can't do that too much. They're still in the age where the
parents are still very positive, 'You can do it, you can do it,' and they
haven't hit that part, as we all do growing up, where it's more 'No, you can't
do that.' They really don't see any limits.
"What's
intriguing, though, is at the same time they have a very childlike wonder, they
seem to address some very grownup and adult problems, which is interesting and
wonderful, actually," Rushton Bullock continued. "They solve things
that they see that their grandparents have a problem with, or their parents.
They seem to be very savvy about what's going on in the world. Sometimes their
inventions involve, for example, a voice-activated gun lock so they might be
responding to one of their classmates who accidentally played with a gun and
got shot.
"They
have some very adult issues that they solve."
With
the program now entering its 11th year, some of the younger early-on
participants are starting to enter college.
"It
gives us a glimpse into 10 years down the road what they're doing,"
Rushton Bullock said. "They're not all becoming inventors, but they're all
becoming very polished and going to universities and following tracks maybe
into law, or some of them have interests in CCAD (Columbus College of Art and
Design) because of the design element of it. We're getting to see where they've
turned into mature people, not just kids with ideas.
"And
they're confidence level is pretty high, largely because of knowing that they
could actually do something because they're in a program that's respected by
adults. They get listened to. They succeed, they
achieve some measure of success."
Annie
Jones of Bexley is the mother of Sarah Jones, a
former Grand Prize Edison Winner at the Invention Convention.
"She's
at
"The
year that she did win, she did something in graphics design with packaging,
which I think was eye-catching and I think was part of why her idea won. She's
looking into pursuing graphic design. So it really changed how she saw things.
She's always been interested in art, but this kind of brought her to the
graphic design aspect."
Some
past winners of scholarships and prizes, now in their late teens or early 20s,
have returned to serve as judges, according to the executive director.
"So
they've closed the circle," Rushton Bullock said. "They've become kid
inventors themselves and then as they're becoming an adult they've given back
in the form of helping to evaluate the new kids coming up, so it's really kind
of an interesting and quite wonderful experience."
Mark
Aseltine, now a senior at
"I
understand how nerve-wracking it can be to talk to this big person in a suit
who seems like he knows everything and he must; he's got a judge's pin
on," Aseltine said.
That
one-on-one talk with a judge, however nerve-wracking, can also greatly boost a
young person's confidence, Rushton Bullock indicated.
"They
get listened to and many of them, the older kids now going to college have
written to me and said, 'You know, I felt pretty good going into my college
interview process because I remembered what I was taught about describing my invention
and describing the problem and really selling the idea, and I kind of used that
in my college entrance interviews or even eventually what will translate into
job interviews,' " Rushton Bullock said.
"The
ability to articulate is a huge skill that they learn. They stand a little
taller, speak with more confidence."
"They're
asking about your invention and they're interested and you really want to talk
about your stuff," Mark Aseltine said.
"One
of the things we want to build in our students is self confidence, and because
he has done so well at this it has certainly helped his self confidence,"
said his father, Ted Aseltine.
Sandy
Weber of Pickerington is the mother of 1997 third-place Invention Convention
winner Alexander Weber.
"He
still wears his Invention Convention T-shirt," she said.
Like
many past successful participants, Alexander Weber made an appearance on
"The Tonight Show With Jay Leno." Now 21, he
lives in
"I
think it was a pivotal moment in his life because he got to be on the Jay Leno
show," Sandy Weber said. "When he came back he said, 'I'm either
going to be in front of the cameras or behind them.' "
Holly
Martineau, an administrator with the Ecole Francaise private
elementary school on
"With
Invention Convention, children are becoming problem solvers," Martineau said. "They're taking a look at whether it's
a simple problem in their lives like finding an easier way to make their beds
to solving things for people who have disabilities or diseases.
"It's
really what education is all about and where education for the 21st century has
to be. I really see it as such a beneficial program and I'm really so pleased
our students have been able to be a part of it."
Perhaps
the most famous alum of the Invention Convention is Lisa Wright of the
Northland area.
In
1999, a candle left unattended at the family's home shattered its glass fixture
and scorched a bathroom countertop. That inspired young Lisa to invent a self-extinguishing
candle, one that included metal washers inserted into the wax to put out the
flame at 15- and 30-minute intervals.
A
provisional patent was granted to the idea and Lisa was eventually inducted
into the National Gallery for
"We
never though it would come out the way it did," said her mother, Connie
Wright. "It was just an awesome experience."
Connie
Wright credited her daughter's teacher at the
"He
really thought a lot of her as far as her potential," Connie Wright said.
D'Aurora, who will be moving to
"That's
so amazing because usually in school you provide the kids with all the
materials ... and just give them a set of directions," he said. "In
this project it doesn't come like that.
"It
can be difficult for some kids, but the rewards are so great."
Connie
Wright feels her daughter's academic growth was aided a good deal by her
success at the Invention Convention.
"She's
not as shy as maybe she was," Connie Wright said. "It was like I saw
her comfortable, enjoying it. It was just like seeing her grow, blossom more,
coming out."
Lisa
Wright feels her ability to address day-to-day problems was enhanced
significantly by her Invention Convention experience.
"It's
like ever since then, I've kept adding to it and improved it and
improved," she said. "Everyday problems now, I look at them
differently."
Lisa
Wright had been taking classes at
"I'm
still deciding what to do," she said.
That's
something she's likely to solve.
<center>kparks@thisweeknews.com