District News

Student inventions chosen for convention

 

April, 2011

 

With summer right around the corner, it's a good bet lots of kids will be eating their fair share of ice cream cones. Sometimes they eat it all before it melts, but if they don't, what happens?

They usually end up wearing it on their hand.

To battle the melting problem, Madeline Eliiott, a student at East Hill Elementary School, invented a "catcher cone," or a cone that catches the melting ice cream. She is one of three fifth grade students including Dale Plant and Bailey Smith whose inventions were chosen for the Capital District Invention Convention this week at the Schenectady Museum. Overall, the museum chose 100 semifinalists from 1,336 entries in grades 3 through 8.

On May 26, the museum plans to select and announce 25 regional winners.

Fifth grade teacher Kathleen Dopp said creating inventions is part of the science curriculum and students came up with some great ideas.

"We talked about creating something that would help them in their lives," she said.

Bailey Smith, whose on the swim team, invented a "shammy hat" which looks like a towel, but keeps the back of your shirt from getting wet.

"I'm a swimmer and the back of my shirt always gets wet and I didn't want that to happen," she said. "It actually took me longer to create it than think about it."

Dale Plant invented a hockey puck made completely from ice. His reason was simple:

"This is so people don't have to buy a new one when they lose it," he said. "They can just make it at home."