From imagination to invention

Lakewood elementary
students show off
their science know-how
By Joyce Blay
Staff Writer

Students from the Ella G. Clarke School, Lakewood, get ready for the judging during the Science Invention Fair April 11.

LAKEWOOD — They were not old enough to have known Thomas Edison, but participants in the Lakewood Board of Education’s 2003 Science Invention Fair may someday be just as famous.

On a rainy Friday morning, the hopeful entrants in the final round of a competition open to students in the district’s elementary schools were stationed next to their inventions in a room on the second floor of the school district’s Princeton Avenue offices. As they waited for judges to determine whose inspiration would be given top honors, several youngsters patiently explained to a visitor how their inventions worked.

Best friends since third grade, Nicole Ellis and Danielle Baer, both 11, attend the Oak Street Elementary School. Their invention was called The Easy Feeder.

"It’s an easier way to feed your rabbit," said Danielle as she demonstrated the device using her friend Nicole’s pet rabbit.

Danny Kelly of Spruce Street School, Lakewood, discusses his invention, The Desk Mate, with a judge.

Nicky - short for Nicholas - foraged from the food dish inside its cage as Danielle inserted a silver disk with a hole to one side into the upper end of a long, clear tube attached to the food dish from the exterior of the cage.

As she began to explain how to insert a hook through the hole in the side of the silver "tray," Nicole picked up where her friend left off, demonstrating how a spool could be used to wind the string, pull the tray out of the tube, and result in a controlled amount of animal pellets being released into the food dish of the pet rabbit.

"It keeps the animal healthy by (regulating its dietary intake)," said Nicole.

The invention was one whose time had come, according to Danielle.

PHOTOS BY VERONICA YANKOWSKI Marylee Sumeriski of Clifton Avenue School, Lakewood, displays the Jumper Basket she invented with Azzia Hardy for the Science Invention Fair final rounds held April 11 at the district’s Princeton Avenue offices.

"One day I was at Nicole’s house and we were in a hurry, so we tried to think of a faster way to feed Nicky," she said. "Mrs. Anen, our sixth-grade teacher, announced there would be an invention fair, and we were overjoyed because we knew our Easy Feeder would help a lot of pet owners."

But Danielle also had a word of caution for anyone who might want to use the invention for larger animals.

"I have two cats, but this invention is not recommended for large appetites," she said. "It would defeat the purpose of the Easy Feeder since you would have to keep refilling the dish."

Nearby, Corey Hudak, 11, a 6th grade student at Clifton Elementary School, stood before a model of a classroom with a full-size fire alarm attached to one of its walls. He demonstrated how his project, called A Life Line, worked by making the alarm go off using a hand-held switch, and several seconds later, watching guide lights on either side of the model’s room become illuminated. He explained that the guide lights would lead people to safety if they were trapped in a room filled with dense smoke by helping them find the emergency exits.

David Weintraub (l) and Herb Noack helped perform the judging at the Lakewood school district invention fair.

"My dad’s a firefighter in Roselle, and he helped me with it," said Corey.

Although the boy’s thoughts were on the father who was not able to be there, his mother watched him from her chair at the back of the room.

Cari Hudak, 41, aimed a digital camera in her son’s direction as she captured the moment for future reference in the family photo album.

As she lowered the camera after taking the photo, she explained that her son had come up with his idea in order to keep his dad, Ken, 40, safe. That revelation didn’t surprise Richard Speiser, science specialist at Spruce Street Elementary School.

"We encourage the family unit to get involved, too," he said.

Although the contest is now administered solely on a local level among the elementary schoolchildren in the fifth and sixth grades, it was originally a statewide competition, according to Speiser.

"This was originally called the SITE program – Student Inventions Through Education – about 10 or 15 years ago," said Speiser. "They started charging money (to enter it), so we do it in-house now. We keep it (on the) elementary (grade school level) so we can help them with their projects, to keep their enthusiasm going."

There was no lack of enthusiasm evident that day as an announcement was made for students to go around the room explaining their inventions one at a time, using a microphone. After each student had taken a turn describing his or her invention, everyone was invited to eat lunch until the winners had been announced. But for one visitor, that information would be provided shortly before any of the students themselves knew.

"The best inventions are the ones that usually work," said Doug Tomkins, Director of Science and Social Studies for the district, in explaining how the judges’ decision was made. "They’re not just models, but the ones you can usually put to use."

The winners would receive a plaque and a certificate, but in the opinions of those present that expressed them, all the children had accomplished something important that day.

First place was awarded to Allison Henry, a student at Spruce Street School, for her Mag-Tag; second place was awarded to Kyle Scannell of the Ella G. Clarke School for his Clean Air Filtration System; third place was awarded to Fiona Aaron and Heather Reddin, who also attend the Ella G. Clarke School, for their Cart Guard; and fourth place was awarded to Mariela Mendez and Cristina Silva, students at the Ella G. Clarke School, for the QNNH.

Honorable mention went to Simona Sulcaite and Aisa Uguumursaikhan, students at the Clifton Avenue School, for their magnetic necklace, as well as to Jessi Brito and Robert Viviano, students at Oak Street School, for the Two Sided Peanut Butter Jar.

The other entries from the Oak Street School included The Easy Feeder by Daniella Baer and Nicole Ellis; Tooth Paste Squeezer by Brian Gilbert and Kyle Wilkes; Re-usable Post-It Notes by Kate Sorenson and Monica Cleven; and Solar Lantern by John Nappi and Steven Downey.

Entries from Clifton Avenue School included Caddy Daddy by Xananisha Powell; A Life Line by Corey Hudak; Self Water by Eneira Ortega; and Jumper Basket by Azzia Hardy and Marylee Sumeriski.

Spruce Street School entries also included Desk Mate by Danny Kelly; Magnetic Gloves by Grant Dykeman and Steven Rodriguez; Non-Spiller Cereal Pourer by Stephanie Potter and Cynthia Rojas; and Tooth Shark by Sarah Cannon.

Ella G. Clarke School entries also included The Little Critter Litter Box by Peter Bilgrav and Ryan Bilgrav, and The Solar Game by Matthew Mikkelson.