CMU hosts annual regional Invention Convention competition
Student inventions on display in CMU's Education and Human Services building during the Invention Convention competition Saturday, Feb. 29.
Over 150 students from fourth through eighth grade competed alongside their family members and teachers Saturday, Feb. 29 in the regional Invention Convention contest on the campus of Central Michigan University.
Invention Convention is a competitive event that tasks students with identifying a problem, devising a solution and giving a presentation on their work. Students could compete individually or in teams.
Saturday marked the first time CMU’s Center for Excellence in STEM Education (CESE) hosted the event.
Projects ranged from blowgun sights, to fire-resistant sneakers, to air purifiers as students presented creative solutions to solve real-world problems, such as hunger, water pollution, energy shortages, seizures and anxiety.
“My favorite part is that the students get really invested in their own personal problems,” Julie Cunningham, Director of the CESE, said.
Third, fourth and fifth graders competed within a division, as did sixth, seventh, and eighth graders. Every school’s top two students within a division were awarded medals. After the top two, additional student winners were selected by highest percentage of grade-level participants within a division.
Regional student winners are eligible to go on to the state competition, taking place on April 25 at the Henry Ford Museum. Registration, admission for the competitor and four family members and transportation fees are all paid for on behalf of the Henry Ford Museum. From there, students will have an opportunity to advance to the national competition, which will also be held at the Henry Ford Museum.
The competition also saw People’s Choice Awards given to the day’s most popular inventions and presentations as voted on by spectators.
CMU-registered STEM-affiliated student organizations, such as Women in Technology and the National Science Teachers Association, helped to put on a variety of educational, STEM-related events for competitors and their families to participate in between presentations. College of Science and Engineering students helped as ambassadors, and STEM Education scholars worked as judges.
Among the schools in attendance were Fancher Elementary School, Mary McGuire Elementary School, Grayling Elementary School, Ithaca North Elementary, Alma Middle School and Fellowship Baptist Academy.
“The overall purpose of the event is for students to be problem-solvers,” Cunningham said. “I think the other purpose is to gain some confidence for themselves moving on.”
CESE hopes to continue hosting this event in the future and views it as a way to get young minds excited about college.
“I think it’s really important for these kids to be on campus, they and their families, to experience the dining hall and the Student Activities Center, and to be in the buildings and recognize that this is some place they might see themselves,” Cunningham said.
