Inventive Pupils : San Diego Schoolchildren Display Ingenious Creations at Contest

Whether it was for pooches or peepers, there was something for everybody as youngsters were at their creative best at the second annual Invent America! San Diego County Contest on Wednesday.

There was “The Peripeeper,” an invention by 10-year-old Kelly Henderson of Christ Lutheran School in La Mesa, that uses a plastic tube to enable children and short people to see through too-high peepholes in doors.

There was a “Fold-Away” skateboard invented by fifth-grader Jesus Cerezo of Encanto Elementary School that was just what it advertised--it folded in half for easy storage.

Third-grader Charles Colletti from Curie Elementary School showed up with a television-type remote-control box that turns on the TV set when the device is blown on.

And for dog owners there was the “Do It Yourself Dog Washer,” an invention possibly destined to revolutionize the way pooches are bathed in America. The canine-washer uses a dog walker harness that is strapped to both sides of a tub by clips so that your pet will be held fast while being washed.

These were just a few of the more than 450 inventions on exhibit at the Scottish Rite Temple in Mission Valley. The young inventors from kindergarten through 12th grade are competing for a variety of prizes for each grade level, including awards for the most creative use of simple material, most marketable device and most innovative idea. Winners of the contest will be named at an awards ceremony today at 7 p.m.

Jo Anne Schaper, a science resource teacher for San Diego City Schools, said the contest is designed to encourage the creativity and analytical thinking by students. It started last year when a panel of teachers from five Southeast San Diego schools came up with the idea of a contest for pupils from kindergarten through 6th grade, according to Miles Michael, a science resource teacher at Johnson Elementary School.

The success of the first contest, which had more than 300 entrants, resulted in the expanded contest this year, which included inventions from students of all grades and schools in the county.

According to Michaels, the idea of the contest came from Japan.

“In the 1940s, Japan began asking children of all ages to invent things, some as young as 4 and 5 years old. As we can see, they really do well with inventing things. We are now catching up with them with programs like this by getting our children’s thought processes to think in terms of inventing,” Michaels said.

Though it is too early to tell if any of the participants will really become inventors, Michaels said, the students are encouraged to fill out facsimiles of patent forms as practice for being innovative.

Joe Stanzione, a resource teacher at Johnson Elementary School and a member of the Invent America! committee, said the contest gives the children an opportunity to be creative.

“This is sort of like the science fair,” Stanzione said. “At the science fair, the students are science-oriented and they have to show how an experiment works. Here, any kid can do it by getting out in the back yard with a hammer and nails.”

More than 400 visitors, many of them students on field trips, got a chance to look at the youthful inventions.

A crowd pleaser was “The Smart Student’s Helping Hand,” invented by 5-year-old Shawn Fagan of San Diego’s Spreckels Elementary School.

Shawn said he got the idea for the hand when he became tired after holding his arm up in class for long periods before the teacher would call on him.

The green and white invention consists of an arm that bends at the elbow and, when raised, has light in the center of the hand to gain the attention of the teacher.

“I enjoyed making the hand,” Shawn said, shyly explaining how his dad had helped him.

“First, I traced my arm on a piece of plywood. Then, I practiced cutting on another piece of wood with a saw before I cut the wood with the drawing on it.”

Parent Rhea Bridy of Pacific Beach was looking over the projects with her daughter Laura, a fifth-grader at Kate Sessions Elementary School. Laura invented “The Angry Chair,” a device that you punch when you get mad.

Bridy said, “Some of the projects were humble, and simple. The wording was crooked, and the whole thing was imperfect. You could tell that the kid did the whole project. Others were perfect and you could tell that the parents stepped in to help.”

Michaels said contest winners will be encouraged to enter state Invent America! competition, which will be open to all participants of the San Diego contest. Winners in the state contest will be eligible to participate in the national Invent America! contest.

The exhibit, which opened Tuesday, will be open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. today and Friday. Admission is free.