Tootin’ Hills Student Heads to National Competition

The “Shopper Stopper” is one of those ideas where one wonders, “Now why didn’t anyone think of that before?” It took a Tootin’ Hills Elementary School fifth grader named Ellie Powers to figure out that rigging a simple brake on a shopping cart could not only help her control an overloaded shopping cart while she helped her mom shop, but it would make it easier for the elderly to load their carts, help moms keep baby from rolling away, and cut down on those pesky dings to car doors in the parking lot on windy days.

Ellie’s shopping car brake idea was the vehicle to get her to the STEMIE Coalition’s National Invention Convention and Entrepreneurship Expo (NICEE), presented by United Technologies Corporation. STEMIE stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math linked to Invention and Entrepreneurship (STEM+I+E). It is the final round of competition for students in K-8 who must navigate a series of school/district, regional, and statewide events. The Connecticut Invention Convention Finals took place on April 28th at UConn in Storrs. The national competition will be May 31-June 2 at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan. Ellie is determined to be there and to be ready!

Not only do students have to come up with an innovative idea and carry it through from initial concept to a fully engineered product, they also have to communicate why their idea works—given some formidable circumstances, too. Judging circles are comprised of groups of 7-9 inventors and their judges, configured to involve the entire group of young inventors in a discussion of each invention, led by the judges. Students’ creations are judged on several criteria, including originality, effectiveness, and practicality. The inventor’s presentation skills are considered as well as the thoroughness of written documentation of the creative process: the resources used, problems they encountered, reasons for choice of materials, final design, and testing.

On May 14th, Ellie’s teacher, Jessica Flaherty, invited her to practice her presentation in front of students from two other classes, who asked questions about her invention and about how she came up with the idea. She explained about her trial and error process, including substituting a drywall anchor for a mechanism when a screen door holder failed to hold the brake adequately. And she had clearly done her research on the topic of shopping carts. Ellie shared with the class that in the 1930s, when the shopping cart was invented, at first people did not trust them and preferred to hand-carry their items as they had always done before. The Piggly Wiggly, which was the first self-service grocery store, hired actors to walk around and use the carts in order to convince shoppers to utilize the new contraptions.

Ellie faces a couple of obstacles before she flies to Dearborn for Nationals. Sizing up her invention, she said ruefully, “I don’t think this is going to fit in my luggage.”

Want to Help Ellie Get to Nationals?

To help her family afford the registration fees and travel expenses, Ellie recently held a bake sale in front of Fitzgerald’s Foods in Simsbury. She raised $270 but is now faced with what could be expensive shipping charges. She will have a table where community members can make donations during the annual Tootin’ Hills annual PTO-sponsored Duck Race on May 25th, from 4-7PM at the Flower Bridge in Simsbury. Ellie will also be selling cold bottled beverages during the Memorial Day Parade in front of Eno Memorial Hall on Monday, May 28th. If you would like to help support Ellie in her quest, please email Jess Flaherty or call Tootin' Hills at 860-658-7629.

Seventh Grader Also Bringing His Invention to Nationals

Also heading to Dearborn to compete is Henry James Memorial School seventh grader Nathan Khuu, who wrote a computer program dubbed “Sign Out Helper.” This electronic sign out system has the capability to make students and teachers lives easier, limit the use of paper, save instruction time, and stop unnecessary interruptions, all while storing the data. Students walk up to a compact touch screen, where they type in their name and then choose from a preset drop down menu with the optional destinations listed (bathroom, nurse, office, library, etc.). The program automatically records the time students leave the room and when they return. Nathan’s favorite feature, he said, “The teacher sets time limits for each of the destinations and an alarm will buzz if students have not yet returned. Of course the alarm is optional, however students are quick to return to class when they know there is a time limit!”