Young Inventors Recognized by Board of Education
25 Southington students were recognized by the Board of Education on September 10 for their achievements at the state Invention Convention.
Each year, classrooms across Connecticut learn about the inventing process. Students present their unique inventions to friends and family, and select inventors can show their products at a state competition. This year’s competition was held at the University of Connecticut in May.
This year, 25 Southington students in fifth and sixth grade were applauded for their state competition entries. The process of getting to the big stage is a long one, said Oshana fifth-grade teacher Sandy Chavez.
“We talk about ‘what is an invention.’ We talk a lot about the fact that it's okay to make mistakes. We're always revising,” said Chavez. “Each teacher chooses one student to represent that classroom, to move on to the states. When we went to states this year at the University of Connecticut, it was on a Saturday, and the students were down on the floor. Parents and teachers had to leave the floor, and then the students were interviewed by a team of three to five judges. The judges can be science teachers or business owners from around Connecticut that come in to interview the students on the invention process.”
Some students present at the award ceremony earned special recognition from judges for their inventions, but all worked diligently on their projects. Board chairman Zaya Oshana said the students represent the values that the Southington school system tries to inspire in students.
“Many students here have come up with very creative, thoughtful ideas that would pose solutions to everyday problems, and we want to recognize their creativity tonight and their innovation,” said Oshana.
Viktoria Backiel is now a sixth grader at Kennedy Middle School. Last school year she invented the “Gummy Guard” while in Chavez’s class. She represented her class in the state competition at the University of Connecticut.
Backiel’s invention was inspired by a personal situation. When she noticed an issue with her younger brother’s hearing aids, she set out to create a solution.
“My little brother has hearing aids, and he always chews on them, which corrodes the battery. So I was thinking that maybe I could make a protective cover for it,” said Backiel.
Her hard work and unique problem-solving skills earned her the US Innovator Challenge Award.
Another student recognized for her work was Alana Armack, a sixth-grade student at Kennedy. She received the Troutman Pepper Locke Emerging Innovator Award after competing at the state competition.
Armack’s invention, Sweet Sleeves, aims to solve a common problem in an innovative and sustainable way.
“My invention is Sweet Sleeves. You know when you have an ice cream cone, and you go to peel off the paper sleeve, how it gets stuck on the cone? Me and my friend made edible cone sleeves,” said Armack. “First, we built it with paper. Then we took the measurements and put it on edible paper, and then sealed it with white chocolate.”
Both Backiel and Armack found solutions to personal problems through their inventions. Those projects with personal connections are often the ones with the most success, said Chavez. The inventions on display Thursday night certainly proved that.
“The kids really like it because they take a lot of ownership over it,” said Chavez. “The best inventions are those that they're super passionate about and that have some type of a personal connection and meaning to them as well.”
