K-12 InVenture Prize

The K-12 InVenture Prize Competition Celebrates a Decade of Discovery in Special Ceremony

lpark6 — Tue, 02 Apr 2024 11:43:01 +0000

The K-12 InVenture Prize Competition Celebrates a Decade of Discovery in Special Ceremony lpark6 Tue, 04/02/2024 - 07:43

Approximately 250 K-12 student inventors from 40 schools across the state — and for the first time, from select schools in Alabama — arrived on the Georgia Tech campus March 13 for the 2024 K-12 Inventure Prize State Finals 10th anniversary celebration.

In this year’s competition,108 student teams all advanced from the online qualifier and regional qualifying events of the STEM invention/entrepreneurship program. The students were joined by family, friends, teachers, as well as Georgia Tech students, staff and faculty and community partners, many of whom worked as volunteer judges or helped with registration or other event duties. More than 30 student inventors were honored at the ceremony with awards. Thirty-two winners, singled out by contest judges, will advance to the next round of the competition, Invention Convention U.S. Nationals at The Henry Ford in Dearborn, Michigan June 5-7.

The K-12 InVenture Prize, based in the Center for Education Integrating Science, Mathematics and Computing (CEISMC), challenges kindergarten through high school students to identify real-world problems and design novel solutions through analysis, creativity, and the engineering design process.

“We worked hard to make sure that this year’s State Finals event was very special because we were celebrating the 10th anniversary of our program,” said Danyelle Larkin, who was named as the new director of the K-12 InVenture Prize program at the ceremony. “There were so many amazing highlights and so much joy and positivity. It was truly touching.”

“We really saw how this work has continued to develop and mature over the years,” she explained. “Our panel discussion on patents included a student inventor/entrepreneur who is now enrolled as a college student at Tech as well as two high school student inventors who are successfully building a business around a school safety invention which they refined in our competition.”

“We were also so happy to be able to shine the spotlight on the truly incredible teachers who have worked as our partners over this last ‘Decade of Discovery.’ Our teachers make this program possible, so we created a new award to bring attention to their essential contributions,” Larkin added. “We are also seeing some of our students year after year, refining and redesigning, continuing to make improvements to their inventions, working hard to push things forward. And, really, that’s what this is all about.”

At the ceremony, each first-place team received a patent search or patent filing offered by longtime supporters, the Georgia Intellectual Property Alliance (GIPA). Cameron Schriner, an engineer with local software company IronCAD, also presented at the event.

Award-winning student projects included:

A prototyped water testing machine that provides real-time, accurate data on water safety conditions;
A battery constructed in part from sustainable carbon derived from tea leaves;
A game that encourages recycling;
An apron that puts out small house fires;
A collar that helps keep dogs cool in sweltering summer weather;
A drain storage device that removes microplastics from water;
A three-string guitar-like instrument that simplifies playing with an automated chord system;
A grocery-shopping app for sight-impaired people;
A device that uses molecularly imprinted polymers to detect allergens in food; and
An A.I.-powered research tool that transforms multiple web searches into organized, shareable notes.

In addition to the awards ceremony, students participated in hands-on STEM activities and visited the Paper and Clay craft studio for a wide variety of fun, creative projects. The day of events concluded with the annual InVenture Prize at Georgia Tech competition at the Ferst Center for the Arts that aired live on Georgia Public Broadcasting and online. Nicknamed "American Idol for Nerds," the Emmy Award-winning InVenture Prize at Georgia Tech is an interdisciplinary innovation competition open to all Tech undergraduate students.

To see a full list of winners and their projects, please visit https://k12inventure.gatech.edu/competition2024.

For more information on the K-12 InVenture Prize curriculum and competition, please visit https://k12inventure.gatech.edu or https://www.k12inventure.org.

—Randy Trammell, CEISMC Communications

Summary sentence

In this year's competition, 108 student teams all advanced from the online qualifier and regional qualifying events of the STEM invention/entrepreneurship program.

Summary

Dateline

Mon, 04/01/2024 - 12:00

Associated importer

Keywords

K12 InVenture Prize

K-12 InVenture Prize

CEISMC

Georgia AIM

K-12 education

K-12 STEM education

Categories

Community

Education

Exhibitions

Mercury ID

673883

Source updated

Mon, 04/01/2024 - 15:45

South Georgia Innovation Day Showcases Student Inventors

lpark6 — Tue, 27 Feb 2024 12:43:01 +0000

South Georgia Innovation Day Showcases Student Inventors lpark6 Tue, 02/27/2024 - 07:43

Some of the student inventions included: an app that matches discriminated dog breeds with their perfect human match; a solar-powered golf cart; a digital medical device that helps measure and prevent brain injuries from concussions; and an app designed to make studying more efficient for students.

The event took place at Southern Regional Technical College (SRTC) in Thomasville. Community leaders from local businesses judged the projects and presented awards.

“Through the Georgia AIM grant, we have been able to expand innovation, AI, and manufacturing education to more students in Southwest Georgia,” said Danyelle Larkin, educational outreach manager with Georgia Tech Center for Education Integrating Science, Mathematics, and Computing. “This grant continues to provide us with opportunities to highlight current and future career pathways within Thomasville and other Southwest Georgia communities. Next year, we plan to host more students as we continue to expand our work in rural communities through Georgia AIM.

The Georgia AIM project is supported by a $65 million grant Georgia Tech received in September 2022 from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration. The goals of the project are to support a statewide initiative that combines artificial intelligence and manufacturing innovations with transformational workforce and outreach. The grant is also designed to increase job and wage opportunities in distressed and rural communities and among historically underrepresented populations such as rural residents, women, veterans, people of color and members of the workforce without a college degree.

“We are partnering with local school systems in rural Georgia to foster innovative thinking in students with the K12 InVenture Prize competition, preparing them for their future careers,” said Willie Allen, SRTC’s director of innovation. “Events like this have the potential to strengthen our community here in Thomasville in both the short and long term. Our students are learning high-tech skills that will help them throughout their lives. This is a process of enriching our community, one student at a time.”

Community organizer Katie Chastain with Tisk/Task in Thomasville said that the event “has this magical element because you combine all the right elements that spark inventions — young people eager to solve real problems, industry experts willing to share their expertise, and a framework for continual improvement. It couldn't be done without the strong partnership between our local schools, our business community, Southern Regional Technical College and Georgia Tech.”

The following winners from the South Georgia Innovation Day qualifier are invited to participate in the K-12 InVenture Prize State Finals competition at Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta on March 13.

Elementary School Division Winners

First Place: Splash Guard Abigail Bone, Ellie Butler, Katie Bruce

Second Place: Cool Dog Collar Ivey Clapper, Isla Farlow

Third Place: Double Band Perry Chastain, Jillian Blodgett, Alice Fielding

Middle School Division Winners

First Place: See the Future Janiya Ivey

Second Place: Sol-Gear Emma Brannen

Third Place: Plug in Master Jace Johnson and Jayda Mathis

High School Division Winners

First Place: Know Fur-Buddy Tatiana Everhart

Second Place: Study Buddy Martha Edwards, Ella Rodd

Third Place: Squmfort Michael “Connor” Pringle

“Innovation Day lets kids share their great ideas with leaders in our community,” Chastain said. “We love celebrating the work they put into their innovations. The creativity, collaboration, communication, and critical thinking — those are the four C's we want to see in our future workforce — and we saw it all at Innovation Day!

Educators or afterschool program providers interested in participating in South Georgia Innovation Day 2025, can contact Katie Chastain at katie@tisktask.org.

For more information on K-12 InVenture Prize State Finals, click here.

For more information on the K-12 InVenture Prize competition, click here.

—Randy Trammell, CEISMC Communications

Subtitle

Summary sentence

Summary

Around 140 elementary through high school students participated in South Georgia Innovation Day on Feb. 9, presenting their own inventions as a part of Georgia Tech’s K-12 InVenture Prize competition. The event took place at Southern Regional Technical College (SRTC) in Thomasville. Community leaders from local businesses judged the projects and presented awards.

Dateline

Mon, 02/26/2024 - 12:00

Associated importer

Keywords

CEISMC

K-12 InVenture Prize

GA-AIM

Georgia AIM

K-12 education

K-12 STEM education

Categories

Community

Education

Mercury ID

673160

Source updated

Mon, 02/26/2024 - 10:54

Volunteer Judges Needed for K-12 InVenture Prize State Finals

lpark6 — Sat, 17 Feb 2024 12:43:01 +0000

Volunteer Judges Needed for K-12 InVenture Prize State Finals lpark6 Sat, 02/17/2024 - 07:43

Georgia Tech’s Center for Education Integrating Science, Mathematics, and Computing (CEISMC) is looking for Georgia Tech faculty, staff, and student volunteers to serve as judges for the K-12 InVenture Prize Competition's State Finals at Georgia Tech on Wednesday, March 13.

K-12 InVenture Prize is an invention and entrepreneurship program that challenges students to identify real-world problems and design novel solutions through analysis, creativity, and the engineering design process.

Judges provide critical feedback to student teams as they compete amongst their peers. The 2024 competition will include elementary, middle, and high school students, and the winners of each division will be eligible to compete at the annual National Invention Convention.

Judges for in-person State Finals on March 13 can sign up here: https://b.gatech.edu/3uxFZJA

If you need more information, please email Randy Trammell at rtrammell8@gatech.edu.

--Randy Trammell, CEISMC Communications

Subtitle

Summary sentence

Judging will take place during the in-person State Finals on March 13.

Summary

CEISMC is looking for Georgia Tech faculty, staff, and student volunteers to serve as judges for the K-12 InVenture Prize Competition's State Finals at Georgia Tech on Wednesday, March 13.

Dateline

Fri, 02/16/2024 - 12:00

Associated importer

Keywords

K12 InVenture Prize

K-12 InVenture Prize

CEISMC

Categories

Community

Computer Science/Information Technology and Security

Education

Mercury ID

673024

Source updated

Fri, 02/16/2024 - 13:05

Judges Needed for K-12 InVenture Prize Competition Online Qualifier

lpark6 — Wed, 20 Dec 2023 16:35:22 +0000

Judges Needed for K-12 InVenture Prize Competition Online Qualifier lpark6 Wed, 12/20/2023 - 11:35

K-12 InVenture Prize is an invention and entrepreneurship program and competition in which students identify real-world problems and design novel solutions through analysis, creativity, and the engineering design process. Competition judges provide critical feedback to student teams as they compete in a series of qualifying events amongst their peers and qualify for a spot at State Finals.

"Our volunteer judges make a huge impact on this program and in the lives of young inventors and entrepreneurs across the state,” said Danyelle Larkin, Educational Outreach Manager with K-12 InVenture Prize/CEISMC. “By taking just a little time, judges provide critical feedback to student inventors as they follow the iterative design process and perfect their inventions.”

The next qualifying event for the competition is the Online Qualifier, in which student teams showcase their developing inventions through recorded video presentations. Judging will be conducted virtually and asynchronously between Feb.12 -16. The entire process is online, can be completed on your mobile device and only takes about an hour.

To volunteer as a K-12 InVenture Prize judge, visit https://b.gatech.edu/3RO2zpX

For more information, visit https://k12inventure.gatech.edu/current-competition#qualifiers .

--Randy Trammell, CEISMC Communications

Summary sentence

Judging will be conducted virtually and asynchronously between Feb. 12-16.

Summary

CEISMC is looking for Georgia Tech faculty, staff, and student volunteers to serve as judges for the K-12 InVenture Prize Competition Online Qualifier that will take place in February 2024. The entire process is online, can be completed on your mobile device and only takes about an hour.

Dateline

Wed, 12/20/2023 - 12:00

Associated importer

Keywords

K12 InVenture Prize

K-12 InVenture Prize

CEISMC

Categories

Community

Computer Science/Information Technology and Security

Education

Mercury ID

671653

Source updated

Wed, 12/20/2023 - 09:33

$25,000 Constellations STEM Grant Funds New Solar Robot Car Curriculum in Southwest Georgia

lpark6 — Thu, 16 Nov 2023 12:43:01 +0000

$25,000 Constellations STEM Grant Funds New Solar Robot Car Curriculum in Southwest Georgia lpark6 Thu, 11/16/2023 - 07:43

Through the grant, solar cars and robotics coding kits will be available and on loan to any rural school in the Southwest Georgia area through Georgia AIM grant partners, beginning in Spring 2024.

“This grant allows us to bring a brand-new solar energy focus to our work in rural areas of the state where we are already collaborating with teachers and schools in a number of programs that help prepare students for the high-tech jobs of the future,” said Danyelle Larkin, educational outreach manager with the Center for Education Integrating Science, Mathematics and Computing (CEISMC). “Students really love getting to work with cutting-edge technology including robots and solar-powered cars, so this is a great opportunity to really engage young learners in a fun, innovative STEM project.”

The K-12 InVenture Prize, an invention and entrepreneurship program and competition at CEISMC, challenges kindergarten through high school students in Georgia to identify real-world problems and design novel solutions through analysis, creativity, and the engineering design process. Through the Georgia AIM federal grant, the K-12 InVenture Prize team is collaborating with school districts and businesses in rural parts of the state including Southwest Georgia, Southeast Georgia and Northeast Georgia with an overall goal to create new high-tech job pathways and wage opportunities in distressed and rural communities and among historically underrepresented and underserved people.

Constellation is the nation’s largest producer of carbon-free energy, a leading supplier of energy products and services and is this year's Energy Award sponsor for K-12 InVenture prize State Finals. Through their E2 Energy to Educate Grant, Constellations supports hands-on student projects focused on science, technology, engineering and math and supports the company’s focus on workforce development, equity and education by encouraging young people from diverse backgrounds to get excited about STEM.

Students who are selected to participate in K-12 InVenture Prize State Finals in March at Georgia Tech will also get a sneak peek at the solar cars and a chance to code the cars and run them through an obstacle course.

—Randy Trammell, CEISMC Communications

Subtitle

Summary sentence

Summary

The K-12 InVenture Prize/Georgia AIM project at Georgia Tech was awarded a $25,000 E2 Energy to Educate Grant from Constellation Energy Corporation that will bring solar robot cars to schools in rural parts of the state along with a new STEM curriculum that focuses on harvesting solar energy. Through the grant, solar cars and robotics coding kits will be available and on loan to any rural school in the Southwest Georgia area through Georgia AIM grant partners, beginning in Spring 2024.

Dateline

Wed, 11/15/2023 - 12:00

Associated importer

Keywords

Georgia AIM

K12 InVenture Prize

K-12 InVenture Prize

CEISMC

Categories

Community

Computer Science/Information Technology and Security

Education

Mercury ID

671073

Source updated

Wed, 11/15/2023 - 13:34

New Lab at Southern Regional Tech Helps Connect Students, Artificial Intelligence

lpark6 — Fri, 10 Nov 2023 12:43:01 +0000

New Lab at Southern Regional Tech Helps Connect Students, Artificial Intelligence lpark6 Fri, 11/10/2023 - 07:43

Members of the Georgia Artificial Intelligence in Manufacturing (Georgia AIM) team from the Georgia Institute of Technology met with local partners, manufacturers, and business leaders in Thomasville last week to discuss how investments from the $65 million statewide federal grant can accelerate the transition to automation in manufacturing in South Georgia. The meeting was held at Southern Regional Technical College (SRTC), one of the Georgia AIM partners.

“This grant is an investment in a better and brighter future for communities all across the state including Thomasville,” said Danyelle Larkin, educational outreach manager with the Center for Education Integrating Science, Mathematics, and Computing (CEISMC) at Georgia Tech. “By harnessing the power of AI, we can open up new, better-paying manufacturing jobs while preparing workers and students with the skills they need to succeed in an increasingly high-tech world.”

The meeting highlighted one of the recent developments of the Georgia AIM project: A future lab at Southern Regional Technical College dedicated to manufacturing technology. CEISMC is providing instructional support and curricula, thanks to the program’s expertise in STEM education, while collaborations with other experts at Georgia Tech and the Southwest Georgia community are identifying new technologies and opportunities for jobs in the area.

At the meeting, Aaron Stebner, co-director of Georgia AIM and associate professor of mechanical engineering and materials science and engineering, talked about the potential for AI to revitalize the economy in areas of the country that have struggled for decades.

“The reason a lot of the manufacturers are coming back and growing in the U.S. is because the automation and the AI creates a logistics model that makes it advantageous again to manufacture in the U.S. instead of overseas,” he said. Stebner also talked about how AI is automating many jobs “that humans just don’t want to do anymore and creates more space for the creative jobs that tend to create better internal motivation and higher pay.”

In addition to talking with local manufacturers and touring their facilities, Stebner participated in the Thomasville-Thomas County Chamber Connects panel discussion “Scary Smart: How AI Can Drive Your Business” with Jason Jones, president/CEO of S&L Integrated and Haile McCollum, founder and creative director of Fountaine Maury. The panel was hosted by Katie Chastan of TiskTask, a local workforce development company that is a partner in the Georgia AIM project.

During the meeting, SRTC announced the creation of a new Precision Machining and Manufacturing Lab on its Thomasville campus with an anticipated opening in the fall of 2024. The lab will host two new programs, including Precision Machining & Manufacturing and Manufacturing Engineering Technology. The Georgia AIM grant provided $499,000 in funding for the lab, as well as staffing support.

“A lab for precision manufacturing at Southern Regional Technical College breathes innovation into Thomasville’s existing industry, fueling their growth and ensuring they stay at the cutting edge of technology and competitiveness,” said Shelley Zorn, executive director of the Thomasville Payroll Development Authority.

“The result is a stronger industry base and higher paying jobs for Thomas County citizens and the region,” Zorn said. “It is also a wonderful recruiting tool for new advanced manufacturing partners.”

This could lead to new jobs for the region that reflect the roles that AI automation can create.

“As we heard from the industries gathered at the table, there is a big need for predictive and prescriptive maintenance from our industries,” added Vic Burke, vice president of academic affairs at Southern Regional Technical College. "Our manufacturers are automating more processes, which means fewer low-paying assembly jobs and more higher paying technician jobs.”

--Randy Trammell, CEISMC Communications

Summary sentence

Members of the Georgia AIM team traveled to Thomasville to meet with local partners, manufacturers, and business leaders to discuss AI impact.

Summary

Dateline

Fri, 11/03/2023 - 12:00

Associated importer

Keywords

Georgia AIM

CEISMC

k12 InVenture

K12 InVenture Prize

K-12 InVenture Prize

Categories

Computer Science/Information Technology and Security

Education

Robotics

Mercury ID

670981

Source updated

Thu, 11/09/2023 - 14:21

CEISMC Teaching Partner, Valerie King Publishes New Book on Inspiring Young Learners

lpark6 — Sat, 11 Mar 2023 12:43:01 +0000

CEISMC Teaching Partner, Valerie King Publishes New Book on Inspiring Young Learners lpark6 Sat, 03/11/2023 - 07:43

Center for Education Integrating Science, Mathematics & Computing (CEISMC) teaching partner Dr. Valerie King likes to say that teaching is being a magician, an actor, and a movie star. It’s part inspiration, part magic and part performance. But more than that, it’s the ability to connect to students and inspire them that defines a good teacher.

In her new book, Make it Relevant: Strategies to Nurture, Develop, and Inspire Young Learners, Dr. King focuses on how educators can become more relevant than ever and excel in the profession by forming deeper emotional bonds with their students.

Published by Scholastic Teaching Resources, the book shows teachers how to have more impact on their students by leaning in, establishing implicit understanding, tackling emotionality, transforming culture, looking around, and creating experiences. Practical strategies, engaging anecdotes, and ready-to-use mini-lessons are also included.

“Educators today often feel out of touch with their students,” King says. “To effectively teach children, teachers must first connect with them and understand them.”

While this book is practical and relevant, it is also very personal, she says. “It is a voice that illustrates what learners need and what little things teachers can do to meet those needs in a big way. Each chapter is intentionally framed with a personal vignette that influenced the idea in the chapter. Within each chapter are practical rituals, routines, and tasks teachers can implement with their own learners.”

King, an Advanced Learning/gifted teacher at Kennesaw Elementary School with 23 years of teaching experience, works with CEISMC as a K-12 InVenture lead teacher. The K-12 InVenture Prize Competition at Georgia Tech encourages elementary, middle, and high school students to present projects that identify real-world problems and design unique solutions.

She has led local student teams to compete at Georgia Tech at the 2021 K-12 InVenture Prize State Competition – Write on and Whole Otter Love. As a CEISMC GIFT (Georgia Intern Fellowships for Teachers) fellow, she co-wrote K-12 InVenture curriculum for kindergarten and grades 1-3.

"Dr. Valerie King is a treasure to the teaching profession and a tremendously valued member of the K-12 InVenture Prize Community. It can be challenging for teachers to encourage students to be inventive even at older grade levels, and the way Valerie has shown leadership in defining what it means to teach invention at the K-3 levels is unprecedented, “says Dr. Roxanne Moore, Senior Research Engineer and Director of the K-12 InVenture Prize. “I am so proud of her for writing this book and sharing more of her teaching wisdom and passion.”

King says she hopes the book will inspire educators to dig deep. “My aspiration for this book is that anyone who works with children, both little and big, will see themselves in these pages, recognize and reflect on their intent, and use that personal lens to ensure their learners are nurtured to a sense of belonging, developed to believe in themselves, and inspired to become who they are meant to be,” she says.

“Teaching is equal parts challenge and laughter and reflection and action. There are so many facets of being a teacher and dissecting what really matters is sometimes our greatest hurdle,” King says. “I know this for sure: What matters most in classrooms is building relationships with learners through presence, engagement and humanistic efforts.”

For more information on the K-12 InVenture Prize curriculum and competition, visit https://k12inventure.gatech.edu or www.k12inventure.org.

Summary sentence

Dateline

Mon, 02/28/2022 - 12:00

randy.trammell@ceismc.gatech.edu

Contact

Randy Trammell | K-12 InVenture Prize Communications

Location

Atlanta, GA

Associated importer

Keywords

K-12 InVenture Prize

CEISMC

CEISMC - Savannah Campus

Categories

Community

Education

Mercury ID

656063

Source updated

Thu, 03/17/2022 - 10:47

Judges needed for K-12 InVenture Prize competition

lpark6 — Sat, 11 Mar 2023 12:43:01 +0000

Judges needed for K-12 InVenture Prize competition lpark6 Sat, 03/11/2023 - 07:43

Judges provide critical feedback to student teams as they compete amongst their peers and qualify for a spot at State Finals. The next upcoming qualifying event is the Online Qualifier, which will be held virtually on Wednesday, February 15. That is followed by in-person state finals at Georgia Tech on March 15. Judges are needed for both events.

"We count on our volunteer judges to give feedback and encouragement to our young inventors and entrepreneurs,” said Senior Research Engineer Roxanne Moore who serves as the K-12 InVenture Prize director. “We are creating the next generation of engineers and entrepreneurs, and we make it easy to volunteer to judge. Online qualifiers can be done online on your mobile device, and it usually takes less than an hour. The in-person event is about a 2–3-hour commitment and will brighten your entire year.”

To volunteer as a K-12 InVenture Prize judge, visit https://tinyurl.com/bddncwp9.

For more information, visit https://k12inventure.gatech.edu/current-competition.

--Randy Trammell, CEISMC Communications

Summary sentence

Georgia Tech volunteers sought as judges for K-12 InVenture Prize competition.

Dateline

Mon, 01/30/2023 - 12:00

Contact

To volunteer as a K-12 InVenture Prize judge, visit https://tinyurl.com/bddncwp9.

Location

Atlanta, GA

Associated importer

Keywords

K-12 InVenture Prize

CEISMC

entrepreneurship

K12 STEM Education

inventiveness

Youth

engineering

K-12 Inventure Challenge

Georgia Tech's K-12 InVenture Challenge

K-12 InVenture Prize @ Georgia Tech

Categories

Institute and Campus

Alumni

Mercury ID

665224

Source updated

Fri, 03/10/2023 - 15:12

South Georgia Innovation Day Showcases Student Inventors

lpark6 — Sat, 11 Mar 2023 12:43:01 +0000

South Georgia Innovation Day Showcases Student Inventors lpark6 Sat, 03/11/2023 - 07:43

Approximately 140 elementary through high school students participated in South Georgia Innovation Day last Friday, February 10, presenting their own inventions as a part of Georgia Tech’s K-12 InVenture Prize competition.

The event was held at Southern Regional Technical College in Thomasville. Community leaders from local businesses judged the projects and presented awards.

“We are so pleased to see invention education continuing to grow in South Georgia. Georgia Tech is committed to promoting innovative teaching and learning in the area and with new funding provided by the Georgia Artificial Intelligence Manufacturing Corridor coalition grant, we hope to see even more students engaged next year,” said Danyelle Larkin, educational outreach manager with Georgia Tech Center for Education Integrating Science, Mathematics, and Computing.

The GA-AIM project is supported by a $65 million grant Georgia Tech received in September 2022 from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration. The goals of the project are to support a statewide initiative to combine artificial intelligence and manufacturing innovations with transformational workforce and outreach. The grant is also designed to increase job and wage opportunities in distressed and rural communities and among historically underrepresented and underserved people.

Through GA-AIM, the K-12 InVenture Prize will collaborate with rural communities, school districts, and businesses in Southwest Georgia, Southeast Georgia and Northeast Georgia to provide invention, entrepreneurial, and artificial intelligence manufacturing education to expand knowledge and future career opportunities accessible to K-12 students in rural areas.

In addition to the competitions, students also participated in hands-on STEAM learning activities, like the Rigamajig building kits presented by Thomasville Center for the Arts, as well as simulators and Virtual Reality experiences provided by Southern Regional Technical College. The Thomas County Central High School FIRST Tech Challenge team also demonstrated their robotics and coding.

“We decided to do K-12 InVenture Prize this year because we were looking for an enrichment project that the kids could participate in that would challenge them but would also be engaging,” said Daneen Ingles, a 4th grade math, science, and social studies teacher at Cross Creek Elementary School. “We have learned so much through our experience and the kids have really enjoyed the process even on the hard days. We hope to be able to improve our instruction and guidance next year to help the kids be even better problem solvers and innovative.”

The following winners from the K-12 InVenture Prize are invited to participate in the state finals competition at Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta on March 15.

Elementary School Division Winners

First Place: “The Egg Saver,” Guthrie Sprague, Ruby McInnis, and Trinity Sloan, Cross Creek Elementary School
Second Place: “Train Hackers,” Milo Lindsey, Marrik NeSmith, Sarah Stewart, and Colton Cooper, Cross Creek Elementary School
Third Place: “Littertron,” Caden Singletary, Brayden Greene, Anam Barkat, Ander Oliveto, and Preston Vanheingen, Cross Creek Elementary School

Middle School Division Winners

First Place: “Organ Eezs,” Ava Dennis, Cassidy Watts, and Emma Brannen, Thomasville YMCA
Second Place: “Star Seer,” Janiya Ivey and Olivia Phillips, Thomasville YMCA
Third Place: “Meddie Reminders,” Lindsay Hinson, Thomasville YMCA

High School Division Winners

First Place: “Smart Feeder,” Dixie Rose Blue and Hailey Hudson, Thomasville High School
Second Place: “Smart Bird Feeder,” Hull Krech, Jr., Thomasville High School
Third Place: “Wash n’ Go,” Rebecca Holt, Abby Kennedy, and Avery Hurst, Thomasville High School

In addition, “Your Counselor Phone App” invented by Jacqueline Serrano from Thomasville High School, won the People’s Choice Award and the “Pool Drowning Lights” by Antania Thomas from Thomasville High School won the Georgia Tech Judge’s Award.

“The energy and enthusiasm of the students as they described their vision was refreshing and provides a glimpse of the future, and it is bright! We look forward to continuing our support of this program to inspire the dreamers of tomorrow,” said Corey Risden, director of operations at CheckMate Industries in Thomasville, who served as a judge at the event.

Educators or afterschool program providers interested in participating in South Georgia Innovation Day 2024, can contact program coordinator Katie Chastain at katie@tisktask.org.

For more information on State Finals, click here.

For more information on the K-12 InVenture Prize competition, click here.

--Randy Trammell, CEISMC Communications

Summary sentence

Summary

The event was held at Southern Regional Technical College in Thomasville. Community leaders from local businesses judged the projects and presented awards.

Dateline

Fri, 02/17/2023 - 12:00

Location

Thomasville, GA

Associated importer

Keywords

K-12 InVenture Prize

CEISMC

entrepreneurship

K12 STEM Education

inventiveness

Youth

engineering

GA-AIM

south georgia

K-12 Inventure Challenge

Categories

Institute and Campus

Alumni

Mercury ID

665893

Source updated

Fri, 03/10/2023 - 15:11

2018 K-12 InVenture Prize at Georgia Tech For Fifth Year

lpark6 — Wed, 08 Mar 2023 12:43:01 +0000

2018 K-12 InVenture Prize at Georgia Tech For Fifth Year lpark6 Wed, 03/08/2023 - 07:43

On March 14, 2018, Georgia Tech hosted the K-12 InVenture Prize for the fifth year. The competition is modeled after the Georgia Tech InVenture Prize. It encourages elementary, middle school, and high school students to engage with invention and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) concepts. The mission is to develop the next generation of engineers and entrepreneurs by making invention education accessible to all students and teachers across the state of Georgia.

To prepare for the competition, students are encouraged to immerse themselves in the engineering design process by identifying real-world problems and designing solutions that consider essential aspects of invention and design – such as ethical issues, environmental sustainability, and marketability. Student teams first compete within their schools before advancing to the Georgia Tech event. Industry experts and Georgia Tech faculty judge the inventors and their inventions according to practicality, knowledge base, design-based thinking, creativity, marketability, social responsibility, enthusiasm and communication, and manufacturing.

Jasmine Patel, Educational Outreach Coordinator at CEISMC, says inviting members of Georgia Tech faculty and the business community to engage with the young competitors makes a big impact on participants. “It gives the students a more meaningful experience,” Patel said, “because the feedback is not just from their classmates or their teachers; it’s from someone outside of whom they normally see every day. It feels more real to them.”

Roxanne Moore, Director of the K-12 InVenture Prize, added: “Whether they win or not, the students are given very valuable feedback. It is really empowering having somebody who is an adult and who is successful in business tell you that your idea is a good one.”

More than 4,000 students from 22 Georgia counties participate in the K-12 InVenture Prize. In 2018, the program established a K-2 division to accommodate the growing participation among students in these grades. Eighty-nine teams advanced from school competitions to the K-12 InVenture Prize at Georgia Tech, where many young inventors enthusiastically shared their plans to continue pursuing STEM education.

Young inventors Haleigh Bagwell and Reese McCarthy from Kelly Mill Elementary School voiced excitement for STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics). “We have a class for gifted students every Thursday where we do different STEAM challenges,” Bagwell said. “Thursdays are always exciting because we have fun new projects to do.”

“STEAM is important to us because we learn the four Cs – creativity, collaboration, communication, and critical thinking,” McCarthy said. “The four Cs are important because they help us think outside the box when we’re trying to solve our different challenges at school.” McCarthy said.

Bagwell and McCarthy applied those concepts to their invention, “Butter Butter Butter,” a device that distributes butter evenly through tubs of popcorn.

Meanwhile, Hana Awad from Meadowcreek High School drew upon her coding skills – developed from interships – to create her invention. “Linx” is a home security app for people who cannot afford expensive security systems. “This project got me really interested in mobile app design,” Awad said. “I would like to pursue the field as a possible eventual career.”

Like Awad, Isabella Parker from Harrison High School also has long-term STEM goals. Parker invented “A Kinesthetic Approach to Muscle Memory.” It is a device to help individuals with dysgraphia – the inability to write coherently – and children who are learning how to write. “From a very young age I decided that I wanted to be a doctor, so I’m currently following the biomedical engineering track at Harrison,” Parker said. “I’m hoping to study biomedical engineering here at Georgia Tech.”

Parker’s invention won second place in the high school division. She and the other K-12 InVenture Prize winners will qualify to represent the state of Georgia at the National Invention Convention & Entrepreneurship Expo (NICEE) later this year.

By: Rosemary Pitrone - CEISMC Communications

Subtitle

Young inventors in 89 teams from all over Georgia addressed real-world problems

Summary sentence

On March 14, 2018, Georgia Tech hosted the K-12 InVenture Prize for the fifth year.

Summary

On March 14, 2018, Georgia Tech hosted 89 elementary through high school teams in the K-12 InVenture Prize tournament. The competition promotes student engagement with the engineering design process and empowers participants to pursue their innovative ideas. Competition winners will advance to the National Invention Convention & Entrepreneurship Expo (NICEE) later this year.

Dateline

Thu, 03/29/2018 - 12:00

k12inventure@gatech.edu

Contact

Roxanne A. Moore, Ph.D.
G. W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering
Center for Education Integrating Mathematics, Science, and Computing (CEISMC)
Director, K-12 InVenture Prize
roxanne.moore@ceismc.gatech.edu

Keywords

CEISMC

CoS

College of Sciences

Georgia Tech's K-12 InVenture Challenge

K-12 InVenture Prize

K-12 InVenture Prize @ Georgia Tech

Categories

Institute and Campus

Core research areas

People and Technology

Mercury ID

604592

Source updated

Fri, 04/06/2018 - 11:38

K-12 InVenture Prize

The K-12 InVenture Prize Competition Celebrates a Decade of Discovery in Special Ceremony

Keywords

Categories

South Georgia Innovation Day Showcases Student Inventors

Keywords

Categories

Volunteer Judges Needed for K-12 InVenture Prize State Finals

Keywords

Categories

Judges Needed for K-12 InVenture Prize Competition Online Qualifier

Keywords

Categories

$25,000 Constellations STEM Grant Funds New Solar Robot Car Curriculum in Southwest Georgia

Keywords

Categories

New Lab at Southern Regional Tech Helps Connect Students, Artificial Intelligence

Keywords

Categories

CEISMC Teaching Partner, Valerie King Publishes New Book on Inspiring Young Learners

Keywords

Categories

Judges needed for K-12 InVenture Prize competition

Keywords

Categories

South Georgia Innovation Day Showcases Student Inventors

Keywords

Categories

2018 K-12 InVenture Prize at Georgia Tech For Fifth Year

Related links

Keywords

Categories

Core research areas