Lake View Primary held its 5th Annual Science and Inventors Fair last week, and many of the students showed a great deal of creativity and inventiveness with the items they submitted.
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Lake View Primary held its 5th Annual Science and Inventors Fair last week, and many of the students showed a great deal of creativity and inventiveness with the items they submitted.
The inventions and science displays were created by Lake View’s 2nd graders, some of whom spent weeks developing their projects. On the day of the fair, the 2nd graders set up their inventions on tables in Lake View’s gym. The students’ parents and grandparents were allowed to visit and peruse the displays. The school’s kindergarten and first graders also viewed the displays.
The Science and Inventors Fair was organized by Lake View’s second grade teachers, headed by Julia Redman.
Studying inventors and scientists is part of the 2nd grade science curriculum, and having students create their own inventions is the final part of that curriculum.
“The essential question we pose throughout the curriculum is, how do inventors come up with their ideas?” said Redman.
“They usually start with a problem, and the invention is usually the solution to that problem. When they’re trying to come up with ideas for their own inventions, this is a good place for our students to start. We have them think of
a problem they have at their house and come up with a solution to solve it. They did it and they came up with some awesome solutions. I saw some great displays of imagination and entrepreneurship. Some students took their inventions to the next level and laid out how they could be marketed.”
The first-place prize in the Inventors category came from Brooklyn Swinton, who developed a dog exercising device called The Dog Runner.
The second-place winner was Dario Porras, and third- place was Charlotte Begay.
First place in the Science category was Theresa Brown; second place was Gracia Garcia and third place was Gabriel Jackson.
In order to win, the inventions have to be created by the students, not their parents. It’s okay for parents to help with part of it, but student involvement is a must. The inventions and science displays are made at home in the days and weeks ahead of time.
The judges judge the inventions and science displays on three criteria: The idea itself; how well the idea was implemented into a practical, usable form; and how well the student explained it. Did the viewer understand the concept and practicality of the invention?
This year's Inventors and Science Fair had more than 50 entries. Students are not required to submit an invention.
Redman was impressed by how well the students did.
"One of the big parts of this is being at your table and explaining and demonstrating how your invention works," said Redman.
“It was interesting to see some of our kids who are normally shy come out of their shell when they got to be the center of attention with their project. They really liked it. One of the main goals with the Inventors unit is to make the next generation of creative thinkers and problem solvers, and a lot of our students really came through.”
