Five kid inventors to inspire you this Kid Inventors’ Day
Did you know every year on January 17, Kid Inventors’ Day is celebrated? Well now you do!
This fun holiday celebrates kid inventors from the past and present, such as Benjamin Franklin, and coincides with his birthday. Benjamin Franklin, a kid inventor himself, designed swim fins about 300 years ago. Not only do we use swim fins today, but we also benefit from other kid inventions such as popsicles, earmuffs and Braille!
Society for Science has a plethora of alumni who are kid inventors across our programs including Lemelson Early Inventor Prize winners from the past few years.
We have also seen through invention educators like Laurel Bingman that these young innovators not only win awards at their local science fairs, but also go on to become great leaders and scientific minds in the world of STEM.
Check out just a few of our Lemelson Early Inventor Prize winners from all over the country.
Tackling the invisible threat of black ice
As winter brings icy roads this season, we are inspired by young inventors like Sanvi Kannoori. Sanvi who lives in San Jose, California, created a solution to the frightening dangers of driving on black ice. She designed a prototype that can differentiate between ice and pavement using something called a photoresistor, a sensor that changes its resistance based on the amount of incoming light—the greater the light reflection, the lower the resistance. Sanvi also added a monitor that alerts drivers when they are approaching black ice, helping to keep drivers safe.
A sidewalk that sips water? One middle schooler makes a new concrete mix to stop flooding
After observing flooding in his neighborhood from extreme rainfall, Luca Durham, a sixth grader from Miami, Florida, tested different concrete mixes to find which would best absorb water and help prevent flooding. Luca crushed oyster shells, seashells, charcoal, gravel and diatomaceous earth to create his absorbing concrete. He found that the best mix was 30% diatomaceous earth and 70% cement with gravel, demonstrating how sustainable materials in concrete can help reduce flooding.
Making a house a home with energy all year round
Tochi Ugochukwu, a seventh grader from Rochester, New York. combined his passion for engineering with his desire to help his community by creating a solar protection and absorption system. His innovative blinds harness energy from the sun, keeping homes powered all year-round. Tochi designed the solar-powered blinds to store and use the energy to power LEDs. Not only were the blinds effective, but he also tried to make the blinds affordable as well, bringing the total cost down to $30.
Akhil Gandikota completed three prototypes of the Emergency Wristwatch Inhaler, the third of which had a near-100% success rate after he witnessed a friend struggling to find his inhaler hidden deep in his backpack. His research led him to dry powder inhalers and capsules, and he then began the process of designing a wearable device capable of breaking a capsule to deliver prescribed medicine to the user.
Young inventor generates ideas for future energy sources
Lilly Downs decided to focus on an environmental and engineering project for her local science fair project. Inspired by sustainable energy solutions, she designed and built a prototype for an ocean wave electricity generator that powered an LED light, demonstrating how renewable energy can contribute to a sustainable future.
To learn more about the Lemelson Foundation and their support for students and educators in STEM, check out their website.
