Invention Convention enters fourth year

The creative minds of Minden Elementary School were on full display Tuesday for the school's fourth annual invention convention.

"Some of the kids in sixth grade this year started this in third grade and have kept coming up with different ideas every year," said Minden Elementary teacher and event organizer Lauren Spires. "They start with a problem around the house, something that bugs them that they want to solve. If they have seen a similar invention, we ask them to think about that, too, and also, once their invention is complete, how they could improve it or change anything else."

This time around, the third-, fourth-, fifth- and sixth-grade students produced 75 projects. More than 15 judges from the community volunteered to evaluate the inventions.

"I'm always frustrated when my zipper gets stuck," sixth-grader Kelly Gonzalez explained to judges Rich Alexander and Lyn Gorrindo.

The 11-year-old had designed a prototype for her idea the Zipp-Zipp. Consisting of string with strategically split plastic cups on either end, the Zipp-Zipp can be attached along the length of a person's front zipper, weighing down the low end to prevent fraying, and extending up toward the neck to smooth the track and prevent snags.

"What's the major reason zippers get stuck?" Alexander asked.

"Sometimes, you zip them up too fast, or they're old," Kelly answered.

She clarified that her prototype is only a model, and that she would like to use more suitable materials if possible.

"(It could be made) out of needles that can hook up," she said. "And maybe metal to make it portable."

The effect would be the same, though.

"One part clutches and weighs down, and the other pokes around for material that might have gotten stuck and straightens out the zipper," Kelly said.

Fifth-graders Flavi Lopez and Brian Leon, both 11, teamed up for the Switchable Cane.

"My mom uses a cane and sometimes slips in the snow when it's icy," said Flavi. "I don't want anyone to fall and get hurt."

In fact, Flavi's older brother Carlos, now a seventh-grader, won top honors at last year's invention convention for his electronically lighted Dual Cane invention. The Dual Cane was created to help the boys' mother, Maricela Lopez, who was badly injured in a car accident in 2008.

This year's Switchable Cane had a hand-lever from an old snowplow fastened to its handle. Attached to the lever was a long rod that extended to a stopper near the bottom of the cane. The stopper was made from an old shoe tread, cut small and studded with tiny nails.

In the snow, the duo demonstrated, the stopper can be lowered to provide additional traction. Indoors, the same hand-lever will raise the nailed stopper to a comfortable distance off the ground.

"You don't want it on the carpet," said Flavi. "My mom will use this because it probably works."

Leon said he and his partner also wanted to make the cane aesthetically appealing and fashionable.

"My mom and dad helped us spray paint it gold and white," Leon said.

Third-grader Jon Antti's invention was conceived while feeding his cat Dosja.

The Cat Self Feeder is comprised of an emptied water tank, full of cat food, mounted on a plastic tray. A horizontal bar attached to the tank, the perfect size for cat paws, dispenses food into the tray with the right pressure.

"The cat steps on it, and food goes into the bowl," the 8-year-old said proudly. "I haven't tried it out with my cat, but I'm going to."