2-Sided Peanut Butter Jar? Believe It

The “2-Sided Peanut Butter Jar” may be the most practical – impractical? – invention featured at the annual Invention Convention and Science Fair at in Barrington last week.

You know how difficult it is to get that last bit of peanut butter at the bottom of the jar. With Cameron Murray’s jar, you just turn it over, unscrew and lid and have fresh peanut butter to dig into.

“Hovercraft Performance” by Brendan Crowe might have been the most difficult to pull off. Brendan built a hovercraft out of a powerful back-yard leaf blower, plywood and a skirt. It did get off the ground.

Cameron’s and Brendan’s inventions were just one of more than 100 science projects and inventions on display in the gymnasiumon on Waldron Avenue. St. Luke’s principal, Maureen Jannetta, gave out awards for many of the projects and inventions Thursday afternoon in front of staff and parents.

Twelve of the “excellent” science projects now go on to competition at the state science fair, said Doreen Schiff, a science teacher who coordinates the St. Luke’s event each year.

The excellent science projects in eighth grade include:

• “Starry Night” by Grace Biagetti and Megan Niederberger
• “Hovercraft Performance” by Brendan Crowe
• “Basketball Follow Through” by Patrick Fogarty
• “Smell & Taste” by Grace Senra

 Excellent seventh-grade projects include:

• “Gendery & Gullbility” by Danielle Thompson
• “Gender & Book Genre Performance” by Rachel Grenier
• “Fluoride & Water Filters” by Michael Moreira
• “Jump Shot vs. Standard Shot” by Jacob Fitting

 Sixth-grade excellent projects include:

• “Gluten Free Taste Test” by Camille Bucci
• “Gender & Volume Estimation” by Patrick Fitzhugh
• “Practice Makes Perfect” by William Taylor

 Among the other inventions were The E-Z Carry ramp for carrying heavy objects up and down stairs, a K-9 Utility Collar, a Bandage Poof, a No Frost car windshield protector, and a Phone Sack to keep your cell phone free of moisture.

See photos for some of the projects and the students who go on to the state science fair.