Inventors Fair Tests Inver Grove Heights Students' Creativity

An automated salt spreader to help snow shovelers fight a Minnesota winter. A power pack designed to convert solar energy into electricity.

They sound like the creations of experienced scientists or inventors — not the work of fourth-grade students from Salem Hills Elementary in Inver Grove Heights. But that's exactly the case for students Sarah Anaya and Thomas Trutna.

The two fourth grade students from Salem Hills were selected to participate in the “What If?” Young Inventors Fair last Saturday, which showcased the inventive talent of over 100 Twin Cities metro area students in the Best Buy Rotunda at the Mall of America.

To prepare for the fair, students create original inventions over a multi-month process that emphasizes creative ingenuity, scientific inquiry and problem solving. Then, each participating student submits an entry form into the YIP evaluation process in February to receive feedback on their inventions from dozens of volunteers. Finally, according to the Young Inventors Program website, the top entrants gather to exhibit their work at the “What If?” Young Inventor’s Fair.

Trutna's mother was looking for something to keep his lunches warm, which inspired the student and his parents to create a solar power converter.

"My dad helped me make a [lunch] bag out of banner material. We got a solar panel from an automotive store. We used lots of screws and wires which we got from Radio Shack, and also a big battery.”

The solar panel is “about the size of a piece of plywood,” according to Trutna's father, Tom. It took roughly a month for Trutna and his father to assemble the invention and test it.

At a table a few exhibits away, Sarah Anaya described how her idea for an automated salt spreader came about:

“My sister and I were in charge of shoveling this winter and there was this five-foot snowdrift in our driveway. [There was also] a sidewalk that had been shoveled already, and it had ice on it, and I slipped and hurt myself. So I made a shovel with a connected salt spreader. You can control what comes out by pulling a cord…my dad and I went shopping and it took a day to build it.”

Sarah's parents, Ann and Jeff Anaya, gave her access to the family garage — and anything in it — to help make her invention a reality.

 “They did awesomely – it was fun,” said Kim Westra, the students’ fourth grade teacher in the Atheneum program at Salem Hills. “What I’ve liked is that both Thomas and Sarah took on initiative with these things; they just spent a lot of time on it. They just had such an interest…being selected [for the fair] made them feel really excited.”

Though it was Anaya’s and Trutna’s first year participating in the fair, Westra’s class has signed up for the event for four consecutive years. In addition to building the invention, students must also test their creations, graph the results and write a short essay on the project, Westra said

Sarah received a $175 gift certificate to Leonardo’s Basement from a special drawing held at the fair, Westra said, while Thomas won an engineering book. The items were donated by YIP sponsors and supporters.

Inver Grove Heights Middle School sixth grade students Nicole Dougan and Laura Stickney were also among students chosen to display their inventions at the Fair. Dougan displayed her Shoe-Powered Generator, called an S.P.G., while Stickney exhibited her Double-Sided Clasp.

“It was a giant success — we had over a hundred kids,” said Kelly Ascheman, the Young Inventors Fair program coordinator. “Every year, I’m amazed with what they come up with — fantastic ideas — some that solve common problems, [and] some that [make me think], ‘Wow, how’d you come up with that?’”

The opportunity for third through eighth graders to participate in the Young Inventors Program is open to anyone, Ascheman added. This year, there was no registration or entry fee.

Ascheman, a former Inver Grove Heights resident, said that the elementary and middle school years are an important time to talk to kids about creativity and problem-solving.

"It’s good to teach them that there are no limits, no boundaries," Ascheman said. "And [also to ask them] how would you solve these problems?”