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David Nicholas: Young inventors from seven northwest Michigan counties will be competing this Saturday (March 14) at the area's first regional Invention Convention in Kalkaska.
WCMU's Tina Sawyer recently talked with Sarah Roche from the MiStem Network of Norwest Lower Michigan.
The MiStem Network sets up statewide strategies for STEM education and worked with 4-H of Grand Traverse County to bring the Henry Ford Museum Invention Convention hub to K-12 students.
Roche started the conversation by explaining about what the convention is all about.
Sarah Roche: The Invention Convention provides students in grades K-12 an interactive opportunity to use the invention process. They create and pitch an original product. There are hubs around the state of Michigan, and this year we are a brand-new hub, so we're excited to have almost 50 inventions. We will have 30 students that advance to the state competition, and they will receive a 3D printed trophy customized for our tournament. And then those students that advance to the state tournament, there are monetary awards and also potential to advance to the national competition.
Tina Sawyer: Sarah, can you give us an overview of some of the most creative inventions or the ideas that you've heard or seen?
SR: Oh my goodness, we have everything from the Ocean Saver to a bowling ball hole cleaner, a snack shoe. Oh, and one is a robot that will deliver condiments to your dinner table.
TS: And to get more in depth on the ideas, I talked with three young finalists in Mrs. Thorin's fifth grade class from Central Elementary in Petoskey. Nora Karr began by telling me about their invention called the Ocean Saver.
Nora Karr: It's a robotic turtle that goes into the ocean and lakes and picks up trash and filters out oil.
TS: I then asked Leela Luckhardt how they came up with the idea.
Leela Luckhardt: Well, we all came up with it. But we were out on the playground and actually we were just thinking about stuff, and we saw a bunch of trash on the playground. Originally, we were thinking about making a robot for the land, but we decided that it's too easy for us to pick up trash on land. So we decided to make it in the ocean.
TS: And then Stephanie Boyd explained a little how it worked.
Stephanie Boyd: We have like sensors on it so it doesn't eat the other fish.
TS: So does it float on top of the water or does it go down on the floor of the ocean?
SB: So it goes both. We have propellers that makes it do that.
TS: Fifth grade teacher Mrs. Thorin says some help from local watershed conservancies also added inspiration.
Mrs. Thorin: So, we had Eli Baker from Tip of the Met Watershed in Petoskey come in and he spoke to the kids about invasive species, both animal and plants. And that was a really neat catalyst for a lot of these projects. The kids not only enjoyed learning about it just because it's interesting in its own right, but it was neat that it hit home and A lot of the kids had personal stories and were able to be like, hey, I want to make something that fixes that problem. But really, I just let the creativity flow from them. And it was neat to see that since they were choosing these problems, they were passionate about it. And that's why I really encourage was choose something that you care about because that's going to take you the furthest.
TS: And with that passion of 80 inventors involved in this year's event, I had to get back with Sarah Roche from Mi STEM Network to ask if there were plans to bring it back year after year.
SR: Yes, we hope to continue it and sustain the program. We're partnered with 4-H of Grand Traverse County to sort of be the hub leaders. The MiSTEM Network is excited to continue the partnership with the Henry Ford Museum, and hopefully this is here for years to come.
