Lacoochie pupils invent the unconventional

At their Invention Convention, they come up with such novel ideas as a lighted purse and a water-squirting alarm clock.

By MICHELE MILLER

© St. Petersburg Times, published December 15, 1999

ZEPHYRHILLS -- What to do about those nasty old nail clippings or globs of glue that can mess up even the best thought-out school project?

When in doubt, why not ask those in the know -- like the students at Lacoochee Elementary School. They've been spending the past six weeks coming up with all sorts of solutions for all sorts of problems for the annual school Invention Convention.

Third-grader Yorel Spaights shows off her invention fair entry, Nail Clipper Basket. [Times photo: Carrie Pratt]

Invention Conventions are under way at many Pasco schools. Winners on the school level move on to a district competition May 6, 2000, at River Ridge Middle High School. From there, it's on to state competition.

As evidenced by the submissions in the media center last week, there's been a lot of brainstorming going on at Lacoochee Elementary.

Some students put forth a collaborative effort. Mrs. Mooney's class of first-, second- and third-graders came up with a handy toothpaste holder that would keep the tube upright and out of the way simply by using a plastic cup, some cardboard and of course, the toothpaste.

Mrs. Proctor's class of kindergarteners built an elaborate prototype of a "Future City in Space," using colorful Tinkertoys.

Indy Brumbraugh and Cesar Limas also worked together on their "Clock-o-matic," an alarm clock that squirts water on those not-so-early risers.

"I wake up late and my mom and dad wake up late, so I was thinking of an idea to wake them up early," Cesar said.

As for the glue problem, the students in Mrs. Carpenter's class experimented with a concoction of glue, water and a hair spray bottle. Their invention worked, as evidenced by the Santa picture that stuck fast to a piece of construction paper as their submitted example.

Some other clever ideas came from students like third-grader Yorel Spaights, who came up with the idea for her "Nail Clipper Basket" after her dad suggested she "make something with nail clippers to catch the nails." Yorel decided to tape an old plastic teacup to a pair of nail clippers.

Fourth-grader Sadie Adams invented a "Light-up Purse."

"I was just thinking about my mom's purse and how she couldn't find her keys, so I thought about putting a light in it," she said. The project took about two to three days, from start to finish, said Sadie, who fashioned her invention using an old purse, a flashlight, string, and of course, some batteries.

Cindy Jones, who is prone to forgetting things, invented memo glasses.

"I taped a minimicrophone to my dad's old glasses, and you talk into it," Cindy said. "Then it helps you remember." As coordinator of the Invention Convention, reading specialist Alita Hendricks spent some time in the classroom telling students about inventors of days gone by.

"The kids always want to build robots that do their homework or do the dishes for them," said Mrs. Hendricks. "But we wanted them to come up with something that would solve a simple problem, something that would be marketable."

Science Fairs and Invention Conventions help to get children's minds rolling and turns them on to the subject of science, said Mrs. Hendricks.

It definitely works for students such as Sadie Adams.

"I like science because I like the things people made, like computers and TVs because we wouldn't be living like this if it weren't for inventors," she said.

"We used to hate science but now we think it's pretty fun," Cesar Limas said. "Something happened to our mind. I think the Inventor's Fair helped change our mind."

The top 10 winners at the convention at Lacoochee Elementary School: Maribel Vega and Lupe Sanchez for their color eraser; D.J. Roberts for the hat changer; Jonathan Hendricks for his super squeeze peanut butter; Cindy Jones for her memo glasses; Carlos Garcia and Ben Meyers for their square fan; Dravonte Bates for the lunch and book holder; Sadie Adams for the lighted purse; Jason Clemmer and Erica Hawkins for the pro fly swatter; Karina Garcia and Amanda Triplet for their light-up collar; and Chris Spangler for the glove dictionary.

Class projects: First place to Ms. Mermelstein and Ms. Graham. Honorable mentions to Ms. Gallagher, Ms. Mooney, Ms. Carpenter, Ms. Seymour.

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