2015 Southwest Region Final Press Release
Transcription
2015 Southwest Region Final Press Release
For Immediate Release April 15, 2015 Contact: Michele Mooney, 614-620-1507 $11,000 in Scholarships awarded at Invention Convention Southwest Ohio Regional Finals Cincinnati, Ohio—Aspiring inventors in grades K-8 brought their solutions to everyday problems to the 2015 Invention Convention Southwest Regional Finals presented by Time Warner Cable’s Connect a Million Minds, on Saturday, April 11 at the Cincinnati Museum Center, 1301 Western Ave. Scholarships totaling $11,000 were awarded to young inventors for their creations. The grand prize award, the Edison scholarship for $2,500, was presented to Riley Hodson, a 4th grader at Valley View Intermediate in Germantown, for her invention, “The Handi-Washer”. Her invention is a low cost, durable and sustainable hand-washing station to help alleviate illnesses caused by spreading germs. First Place Winners of a $500 college scholarship were: Grade 2, Matthew Allison, Monticello Elementary, Huber Heights, for “Safety Tips”, an invention that keeps fingers safe when grating cheese; Grade 3, Anna Harris, South Vienna Elementary, Northeast Local, for her invention, “The Gear-in-Here Hat” designed to keep winter gloves, scarf and hat together; Grade 4, Colin Sinner, Seipelt Elementary, Milford Exempted Village for “Cool Legs”, an invention to keep his legs cool while playing soccer; Grade 5, Ryan Martz, Concord Elementary, Troy, for his invention of “The Fire Melter 2000”, created to prevent snow build up around fire hydrants; Grade 6, Christian Threm, St. Andrew-St. Elizabeth Ann Seton School, Milford, for “Toilet Sheriff”, created to prevent toilets from overflowing; Grade 7, Loring Leitzel, St. Gabriel Consolidated, Cincinnati, for his invention, “Deleitsalinator”, created to provide access to clean water (Leitzel also received The Ohio Soybean Council Foundation’s Beyond the Bean scholarship for $1,000); Grade 8, Yo’Maris Powers, ECOT, Cincinnati, for “The Chip Dip Sprayable” invention that provides a clean bowl for dips and salsa Second place awards were given in each grade as well as ten Superior Awards and three Ohio Soybean Council Foundation's specialty awards, "Beyond the Bean for Excellence in Agricultural and Environmental Innovation” worth $250, $500 and $1,000. The Teacher of Excellence award was given to Karen Keeran of Piqua City Schools. Nominated by Sarah Pleasant, a parent whose daughters attend Piqua City Schools, “Keeran creates a positive atmosphere for innovation and keeps children excited and engaged.” -more- Sarah Jones, an Invention Convention alumnus whose invention, Anti-Bac Wrap, a plastic wrap that changes color with the presence of bacteria, earned her a scholarship in 1999, was awarded the Alumni Ambassador Award for her continued support of the Invention Convention Program. A complete list of winners from the Southwest Ohio Regional Finals can be found at www.inventionconvention.org. The Northeast Ohio Regional Finals will be held on Saturday, May 2 followed by the Central Ohio Regional Finals on Saturday, May 9. About Invention Convention The mission of Invention Convention is to inspire curiosity, confidence, invention and creative problem solving in our youth. Our goals are to enhance student performance in Ohio’s Core Curriculum Standards including math, science and language arts through administration of The Invention Convention program and to increase the interest of Ohio’s students in science, technology, art, engineering and math (STEAM) careers. Invention Convention is a program of the Ohio Academy of Science. About Connect a Million Minds In 2009 Time Warner Cable (TWC) launched a new philanthropic initiative, Connect a Million Minds (CAMM), that challenged parents, mentors and others to connect over one million students to after-school STEM activities to address this “inspiration gap”. To date, TWC has provided cash and in-kind investments far in excess of its original $100 million commitment to inspire student interest in STEM. Program highlights include: original PSAs that challenge public perceptions of STEM; a unique website, ww.connectamillionminds.com, where parents and community members can pledge to connect young people with the wonders of science; “The Connectory”, a one-of-a-kind online resource that makes it simple and easy for parents and students to find informal science and technology learning opportunities in their communities; grants to support non-profit organizations that bring stimulating, high-quality and affordable after- school STEAM learning to students; TWC employees, over 47,000 strong, who volunteer their time at community events like science fairs and robotics competitions, and share their passion for engineering and technology with students at CAMM career days. In May 2014, together with its partners, TWC exceeded its goal of connecting one million students to STEM opportunities and today, continues connecting students to high quality STEM learning opportunities. 2