June 8, 2011
Two BKW sixth grade students have been named state finalists for
Invention Convention 2011.
Patrick Farnan and Stephanie Mason were named two of the state’s 28 finalists at a reception and awards ceremony held May 26 at the Schenectady Museum & Suits-Bueche Planetarium, during which 100 student inventors were recognized — eight from BKW — as regional semi-finalists from more than 1,300 student submissions.
Farnan designed the Reach No More Cabinet, focusing on an invention to help the handicapped and people who have trouble reaching the higher shelves. His cabinets pull out and down, allowing anyone to access the top shelf without needing a step stool.
Mason created No Excuse to Miss the Bus. She was tired of missing the bus because of not being able to see it coming at the end of her long driveway. Her invention puts a transmitter on the bus and a receiver in the student’s house. The student could program the receiver to alert the student when the bus was 1 mile, ½, ¼ or 1/8th mile from his or her stop. Each bus would work on a different signal.
Invention Convention is an annual invention competition open to Capital District students in kindergarten through eighth grade. Students are invited to submit an original idea for an invention that solves a problem they have encountered in their lives. The top 100 entries are then invited to create a model of their invention. A panel of patent attorneys and engineers chose the 100 semi-finalists based on creativity, originality, complexity, innovation, practicality, and impact.
Congratulations to all BKW inventors!
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