Invention Fair

I want to take you back a couple of weeks to one of my favorite days of the school year.

Some background: We spend a good month discussing inventions and inventors in class. We discuss qualities that inventors need, like persistence, imagination, and curiosity. After discussing patents and their purpose, my students turned in their own to me, complete with detailed pictures and descriptions.

When the day of our Invention Fair came, my students were a bundle of nerves. Two asked to go to the nurse. One went to the bathroom because they thought they were going to throw up. For most of them, it was their first big presentation, and they were scared.

We set up tables and taped down display boards. The students readied their stations and then in came their parents, other classes, teachers, and staff.

Need slippers that clean the floor, a fun way to feed your dog, a handy gadget that keeps your book open, or a nifty cover that keeps your water bottle cool? We have them!

How about a quadruple pencil, a fruit chopper that catches fruit as it is cut from a tree, or a shoe covering that conveniently has a pocket for your money? We have those too.

After each student presented a couple of times, their confidence grew. I saw hand motions, big smiles, and enthusiastic demonstrations. As I walked around, they told me things like: "I'm really good at this!" "People want to buy my invention!" and "I was never really nervous, Miss Eberly. I was just pretending." Not sure I believed the last statement, but I was proud of them nonetheless.