Good ideas: Starpoint students show off problem solving skills at Invent-a-Thon
Mar. 22—Starpoint students in grades 3 through 5 got to put their bright ideas on full display at Invent-a-Thon on Wednesday night.
Hundreds of people packed the Regan Intermediate School gym to check out the students' unique inventions.
This was the school's first in-person Invent-a-Thon since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, co-adviser Peter Eberz said. For the past few years students had presented their inventions virtually.
In all, 160 students participated in Invent-a-Thon. Ebert said their goal was to create things that could solve problems and be helpful in the community.
Several of the inventions looked to address outdoor issues.
Fourth grader Dean Antonetti, 9, created a hands-free snowplow, a series of snow shovels strung together with a strap that hangs from the back of the neck. This allows someone to shovel just by walking.
"It was taking too much energy to shovel the snow the normal way," Antonetti said.
Third grader Caitlin Belling, 8, created the Awesome Umbrella, which has a shower curtain-like attachment to prevent a student's backpack from getting wet in the rain.
Fifth grader Dylan Wojciechowski, 10, invented the Pole Lock, which consists of a long, rectangular piece of wood that has a place to hold a fishing pole, helping to stop the pole from falling into the water when a fish tugs on the line.
Some inventions were intended to prevent messes, particularly with food.
Fifth graders Natalia D'Aloise and Vianna Gross-Tagliarini created the Taco Nator. The invention features a plastic holder for a taco shell and a funneling system on top. One would eat a taco over the funneling system, and when meat and toppings fall out of the taco during consumption, they land right in another taco shell.
"So that way you're not wasting food," D'Aloise said.
Gross-Tagliarini said her dad helped inspire the Taco Nator.
"This is good for all the messy taco eaters," she said.
Some students utilized imagination to become inventors.
Fourth grader Lucas Pecoraro, 9, created the Salt Sprayer, which enables the user to wear a backpack loaded with rock salt and disperse it via a tube, like a leaf blower.
"I was thinking of Ghost Busters," Pecoraro said.
Third graders Audriana Phoenix and Colette Joseph created the Snoggle, a pair of goggles with various lenses. They say the goggles can be used while underwater to spot sea creatures such as sharks and jellyfish from long distances.
Following public viewing of the inventions in the gym, select students were awarded ribbons and medals in the middle school auditorium.
