We have grown to 2 state events. At our first-ever Northern & Central California Invention Convention, 130 young inventors from 28 schools came to the California State Railroad Museum to present to the judges and see each other’s inventions.
Our deepest thanks to our Premier Sponsors, the California State Railroad Museum Foundation and the California State Railroad Museum who opened their fabulous museum to our inventors and their families. It was a fantastic location for our convention — and everyone was so impressed.
The Awards Ceremony was broadcast on April 19th. If you missed the awards ceremony or would like to view it again, the video is 40 minutes.
Check out the list of participants and their inventions.
Our judges can attest to how difficult it is to just choose a few top winners. There were so many creative solutions to real problems at the Convention. These few represent the best.
Ashleigh Nixon and Connor Voyles are 6th graders from Lawrence E. Jones Middle School in Rohnert Park.
Their Problem / Solution Statement: Our dog would always stick his arms and head out of the window when we are driving. Soon after we noticed scratches on the car door and it made us think of the Scratch B Gone. Our solution does not mar the door and protects it from dog scratches.
Param Jain & Abhinav Raja are two 11th grade Independent Inventors from San Jose.
The problem that our invention solves is a very crucial one: the affordable detection of dental issues. Depending on an individual’s insurance status, location, and other environmental factors, in addition to issues like service fees, a dental x-ray costs $30 to $750 and the average cost of a dental x-ray without insurance by state ranges from $90 to $128. Policies related to insurance and location may mandate long drives and extensive calls with customer support systems, or worse, a lack of dental care, to certain communities. Our invention OraVise addresses both the economic and equity concerns around simple dental care by providing a cost-effective and easily performed method for patients to self-screen for dental issues such as dental caries (cavities and tooth decay) and periodontitis (periodontal/gum disease).
Anaya Bera is a 5th Grader at Joshua Chadbourne Elementary in Fremont and she is an Independent Inventor.
Heel Healer detects the risk of Plantar Fasciitis early. With an early diagnosis, patients can have a better quality of life due to better mobility and do not have to spend a lot of money on expensive tests like X-Ray, CT Scan, Ultrasound, MRI Scan or even an invasive surgery.
Congratulations to all the Merit Award winners and their winning inventions. This award is given to students in each grade level whose inventions are deemed by the judges to be exemplary for the grade and age level. Each student will receive a Merit Award ribbon just like those pictured above as well as a set of Inventor Trading Cards provided by the Silicon Valley US Patent Office. Many thanks to them!
Inventions are categorized into one of 12 industry categories. A winner is chosen in each category by independent Judges in their areas of interest and expertise. If the category is supported by corporate or organizational sponsors, they choose the winner and provide an award. The category with the most submissions, by far, is Consumer Goods & Fashion. This year, two winners were selected in this category. Each winner will receive a plaque representing their category and a prize from either the California Railroad Museum in Sacramento, or Rolling Robots, Palos Verdes.
These inventors are invited to present their inventions to teams of judges as part of the National Invention Convention hosted by The Henry Ford. They will join an estimated 500 inventors from all over the United States in Dearborn, Michigan from June 5-7, 2024. They will meet with other inventors and see what is happening among young student inventors – as well as tour The Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation – one of America’s outstanding museums.
The California Invention Convention is a registered 501(c)(3) with a tax-exempt EIN 84-3492216. We currently do not charge the schools for the curriculum. We rely strictly on sponsors and donations for which we are most grateful.
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