"Invention" Is Their Middle Name

Four selected students from the Abraham Pierson School in Clinton competed at the Connecticut Invention Convention (CIC), which was held at UConn’s Gampel Pavilion in Storrs.

Pierson teachers Dana Skidmore and Kate Martorelli co-chaired the Pierson School’s local convention for fourth and fifth graders.

The CIC was a half-day event gathering kids from across the state to demonstrate their inventions. 

A total of 606 inventors, ranging in age from Kindergarten through eighth grade, displayed their amazing problem-solving ideas.

Children and their inventions were organized in groups of nine and one to two judges reviewed all inventions in a group. 

Each child was given about 10 minutes to explain their invention and answer questions from the judges and the other kids in the group. 

After a lunch break, the whole assembly gathered to recognize the group blue-ribbon winners and special awards.  

Children and families were greeted by representatives from CIC, UConn and several Connecticut businesses and organizations.  The kids were able to visit demonstration tables from several of the UConn engineering schools and take tours of the UConn campus.

All kids went home with a CIC hat, T-shirt and a packet of souvenirs and gift certificates.

Ricky Koscinski, in the fourth grade, invented the “Snug-A-Bear,” the bear that cuddles you back.  Ricky is a Leukemia survivor and when he had to have a bone marrow transplant, he missed having his mom’s cuddles while he was in the hospital.  Ricky was a blue ribbon winner in his judging circle at CIC!

Angela Recine, another fourth grader, invented “The Water Filter,” which cleans water as it runs through several containers of sand, cloth and rocks, which remove bacteria and dirt particles in the water.  Angela made this invention for poor areas of the world, like Africa and India, where there is a shortage of clean drinking water for the people living there.

Fourth grader Matt Pendleton invented the “Scooter Rack 2000.”  It is a foldable rack that will hold a scooter upright (kind of like a kick-stand for scooters).  Matt was frustrated with trying to locate his scooter in his garage since it was always lying on the floor under other scooters.  Now he knows just where to find it!

Kaitlyn Maurais, representing Pierson’s fifth grade, invented “The Dancer’s Dress-Mate.” Kaitlyn is a competitive dancer and created the rack for convenience, organization and privacy when getting ready in a hurry at crowded dance competitions.  It is a garment rack, organizer and dressing room all in one!

All four inventors agreed that the CIC was a great experience! They enjoyed visiting a big college campus, meeting other talented inventors and seeing all of the clever ideas. 

Preparing for Invention Convention is a lot of work, but it is well worth the experience!