Williamstown students participated in the Invention Convention on May 29 at Williamstown Middle School
One of the greatest American innovators, Thomas Edison, was no stranger to adversity when it came to his inventions. He once said, “The three great essentials to achieve anything worthwhile are: hard work, stick-to-itiveness and common sense.”
That is just what the students in the Williamstown School District did when preparing for the annual Invention Convention.
Kathy Ungvarsky, a teacher specializing in talented and gifted students, is one of the maestros behind the Invention Convention. She explained there are assemblies in all of the elementary schools and the middle school in January to drum up interest. After the students have time to think about it, there are sign-ups in mid-February, and the event is held in May.
“The goal is to create an invention or innovate a current invention,” Ungvarsky said. “The event is open to any student in grades three to six.” While the event was open to sixth graders, there weren’t any representatives from that grade level.
The Invention Convention started five years ago and is a mainstay for the Williamstown district. This year, there were 17 inventions and 24 inventors. Ungvarsky said in years past there have been upward of 35 inventions presented.
The judging for the competition is split up by grade level. In the third grade, there were six inventions. Roman Fanelli invented the “Cereal Spout,” Isabella Casalunova and Ceclia Rocco came up with “Germeze,” Alivia Whitemore and Giavanna DePersia invented “Easy Riders,” Gianna Arnold innovated “My Best Bookbag,” Katelyn Gevey invented “Stay Put Safety Buddy” and Kayla Weikel came up with “Dog on a Roll.”
Weikel won the third-grade division. Weikel’s invention involved installing locking, retractable wheels on a dog crate so the owner can move a dog crate with a dog in it. Weikel’s inspiration came from her inability to move her dog once inside the cage because her dog, a 94-pound boxer-ridgeback mix, would be too heavy to move.
The fourth-grade division saw six inventions with seven inventors. Addyson Szawronski came up with the “Cap Caddie,” Colette Flanagan and Madison Brown invented “Glowtains,” Ameen Chaouch invented the “Remote Buddy,” Xander Bovio innovated the “Select a Scent Soap Dispenser,” Maelyn Tansky came up with “The Hair Tie Brush” and Thomas Valdez invented the “Book Ninja.”
Valdez took home first place. The “Book Ninja” will assist users in removing books from their box sets. One would simply slide the “Book Ninja” between two books in a box set and slide one out. Valdez presented his invention at a library board meeting and had a member of council say he would be interested in buying one.
While the Invention Convention is open to grades three to six, the highest grade level present on May 29 was fifth grade. In this division there were five inventions and nine inventors. Addison Saver and Mackenzie White invented “Fun Frames,” Aidan Middleton innovated “Fix My Zip,” Broklynn McGough, Nyeema Torres and Gianna Riccio invented “The Comfy Snack,” Maiya Wade and Addison Inge came up with “The Clean Fly Swatter” and James Passaro invented “The Shade Helmet.”
Passaro won the division. His invention added tubing to the foam inside a baseball helmet to allow sunglasses to slide in. Without the tubing, sunglasses dig into the temple of a batter. The invention also included a chin guard that is attached by Velcro to switch sides from right to left to protect the batter’s chin and jaw.
The majority of work the students do is on their own. The students keep a journal logging every step. They do thorough research to keep track of patents and how close they are to what the students are trying to invent. Ungvarsky added she will check in with the students every couple of weeks to see how they’re doing.
This project teaches students many valuable lessons. Whether it’s public speaking, understanding marketing or learning price points and profit margins, there is a lot that students can take from this event. The most important lesson is problem-solving, as there is nothing that translates better to life than learning how to overcome problems.
“This is problem-solving at its best.” Ungvarsky said.
