In its first annual competition featuring students and their Final Pitch presentations, our first ELM partner, Inventionland, selected winning end-of-year student projects. Where else but at Inventionland could students come and compete in a fun and educational contest featuring a castle and knights in shining armor?
Throughout the course, students follow a method of product development from seed idea, through design and testing, and on into marketing. Students present their project in a Final Pitch that showcases their new communication and technical skills.
The competition took place in a fun and competitive environment that resembled the show, Dragon’s Den: Al Aareen. Awards were given in categories that highlighted the technical and creative skills students acquired through hands-on practice throughout the school year. Students received awards in the following categories:
Best Pitch
Best Package Design
Best Logo Design
Best Concept Model
Best Manufacturable Design
Best Prototype
Best Video Presentation
Students from West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Maryland traveled to the Invetionland factory on May 17, 2017 to compete the inaugural Inventionland Institute Regional Invention Contest. An esteemed panel of judges that included Harris Jones from Adams Capital Management, Trip Oliver from Chevron, and Laura Hummell from the Pennsylvania Department of Education reviewed and voted on student presentations.
As the winners were announced by Inventionland’s Founder and CEO, Mr. George M. Davison during the closing ceremony, they paraded out of the castle and through the Creator’s Guard, a group of knights that saluted each winner!
Two groups competed: High School Students and Middle School Students. The Top High School Inventor was Joey DeMario of Burgettstown. The Middle School winners were Lucas Swartz, Bailey Jones and Hunter Voithofer from Carmichael.
There were plenty of other winners in numerous categories. Other High School winners included:
Best Pitch: Fort Cherry High School (Gavin Ehrgood, Joshua Wilhoit, Joshua Borovich)
Colonial (Amerika Cragette)
Best Package Design: John Marshall High School (Lori Johnson)
Best Logo: East Franklin High School (Logan Cox)
Best Concept Model: Clark High School (Dylan Arroyo , Jonathan Gray)
Best Manufacturable Design: Cannon McMillian High School (Alex Vavin)
Middle School winners included:
Best Concept Model: Fort Cherry Elementary Center (Sydni Celani, Dravyn Halyak, Dylan Leonard)
Best Prototype: Washington Jr. High (Alexandra Berumen)
Best Manufacturable Design: Avonworth (Joshua Perry, Roman Simkins)
Best Video: Avonworth (Cooper Groll, Aaron Fresh)
Thank you to all the schools, administrators and judges that made this event so unforgettable. We look forward to seeing all the new student projects at Inventionland’s competition next year!