“N.J. kid inventors pitch green products at Liberty Science Center - NJ.com” plus 2 more |
- N.J. kid inventors pitch green products at Liberty Science Center - NJ.com
- Golden K Kiwanis Club delivers 157 pairs of shoes to kids in 10 Carmel schools - Indianapolis Star
- Bayonne kids bring home 3rd place honors at Liberty Science Center's first Student Inventors ... - NJ.com
| N.J. kid inventors pitch green products at Liberty Science Center - NJ.com Posted: 11 Nov 2010 08:25 AM PST Published: Thursday, November 11, 2010, 8:30 AM Updated: Thursday, November 11, 2010, 11:25 AMThe "aha moment" for Arjun Nagendran came one recent afternoon while he was mopping up the muddy paw prints his cocker spaniel, Rocky, had tracked across the house — again. "I thought, "Why not make shoes for dogs?'" the 10-year-old from Parsippany said. For most kids, the moment might have ended right there. But for Nagendran and five of his classmates from Littleton School, a random idea proved genius Wednesday when they won first place at the first-ever Student Inventors Day at the Liberty Science Center in Jersey City. The winning invention, "Green Paws" — an eco-friendly dog bootie made from bark, tree leaves and recycled rubber — got the group a $1,000 prize, two television appearances and a shot at being the next "As Seen on TV" hit product. More than 20 schools, mostly of them from New Jersey, gathered at the center to pitch their green inventions. Each team had 10 minutes to make their pitch to the judges. One team had the "Sprinkl'em," an umbrella stand that never molds because excess water trickles down to a planter, where herbs and flowers can thrive. Another invention, described as a noiseless vacuum cleaner, claimed to suck up trash by using air suction — though a demonstration with a prototype showed the process required a good amount of manual pumping. After listening to each presentation, the judges asked questions of the young inventors. "Have you done market research to show pregnant women will actually want to use this?" Emlyn Koster, head of the Liberty Science Center, asked after a pitch about the "Tire Savior," a long contraption that allows the user to clean car tires without bending down. The team, from Heights Middle School in Jersey City, nodded and spewed out Census statistics about pregnant women and disabled people — their target demographic — and repeated their point about preventing neck and back pain. Not everything went well. Two students were left momentarily speechless when their prototype for "Sci-Fizz," a drink carbonator, exploded and spewed sticky juice across the floor. "Oh, my God. Okay, it works, it definitely works," Sarah Brown, 11, a sixth-grader at the Jewish Educational Center in Elizabeth, said after composing herself. But despite the mishap, Sarah and her partner took second place. Many teams came with practical ideas inspired by their parents. Casey Popowski, a sixth-grader from Nicholas Oresko School in Bayonne, said she got the idea for the "Swing-It" — a high-heel shoe that can transform into flats by snapping and folding the heel under — after hearing her mother complain about foot pain. "After work, when she picks me up, I want her to be comfortable," she said. But Casey's team apparently had not thought out their pricing strategy. The students said they planned to sell the product for $19.99, even though it would cost $25 to make — a glitch they said would disappear after more people bought their shoes. The "Swing-It" took third place. A.J. Khubani, CEO of infomercial giant Telebrands and one of the judges on the panel, said his only concern with the "Swing-It" was that "women choose looks over comfort when it comes to shoes." In the end, Khubani said, it was the Parsippany team's Green Paws product that stood out, particularly because his company had been looking into the very idea of how to keep paws clean. Pet products are usually popular sellers, he said, noting that his company has marketed four pet contraptions this year alone. And while his executives had floated the idea of paw wipes, they had never thought of booties, he said. "We thought about cleaning pets' paws, but we never thought about keeping them clean in the first place," Khubani said after the event. "They actually have an idea that's marketable." The company will begin conducting market research on Green Paws this week, he said. But Arjun and his team will have to hold off another day before they receive congratulations from their classmates. The students will be interviewed about their invention this morning on Fox 5's Good Day New York, before appearing this evening on WNBC's New York Nightly News with Chuck Scarborough. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
| Golden K Kiwanis Club delivers 157 pairs of shoes to kids in 10 Carmel schools - Indianapolis Star Posted: 10 Nov 2010 10:45 PM PST Advertisement You will be redirected to the page you want to view in seconds. ADVERTISEMENT Golden K Club volunteers deliver 157 pairs of shoes to kids in 10 Carmel schoolsTop Stories ADVERTISEMENT Archives View the last seven days See our paid archives for news older than a week. Unusual Photos of the Week FOLLOW US ON TWITTER & FACEBOOK IndyStar's Headlines are now available on Facebook and Twitter. Don't miss a single headline! SAVE MONEY Find coupons, list your stuff for free, and discover hot deals. Get IndyStar on the Go with our iphone apps Use our mobile sites and iPhone apps to keep updated with what's going on around Central Indiana. Subscribe! sign up for home delivery today  This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
| Posted: 11 Nov 2010 12:54 AM PST Thursday, November 11, 2010 By ASHLEY STRAIN JOURNAL STAFF WRITER Nearly 20 groups of young inventors from ages 8 to 14 turned out for the Liberty Science Center's first-ever Student Inventors Day, co-hosted and judged by TeleBrands, Corp. The young inventors and their classmates were invited to create an environmentally friendly product and attend the event to pitch their product to AJ Khubani, founder and CEO of TeleBrands, Corp., Emlyn Koster, president and CEO of the Liberty Science Center, and a student judge.  "For years, I had the idea for a child inventors day and kids always come to the Liberty Science Center to learn about science, so this was the perfect place to do it," Khubani said. The judges picked the top three inventions they believed were useful and marketable to the public. The second-and third-place winners received a trophy while the first place winner received a trophy, a $1,000 scholarship and a possible chance to work with TeleBrands to sell their product. Third place went to Danielle Kanlewski, Vittoria Orlando, Nyla Mulcahy, Casey Popowski and Maggie Bocchino of School 14 in Bayonne for their invention, Swing It Heels, high-heeled shoes that can instantly turn into flats by swinging the heel into the sole of the shoe. Second place went to Neshama Fournier and Sarah Brown of the Jewish Education Center in Elizabeth for their invention, Sci-Fizz, a device that can turn any drink into soda by carbonating the drink with fumeric acid, baking soda and water. First place went to Samaya Pittim, Jeremy Thomas, Tara Rakkaramada, Akjun Nagendran, Aytara Musonajew and Rishi Yagappan of Littleton Elementary School in Parsippany for their invention, Green Paws. Green Paws are dog booties that protect a dog's feet from injury, keep them from irritating an existing wound or keep the owner from having to wipe their dog's feet every time they go outside. "Green Paws are made of biodegradable materials that can be found outside in the yard as well as felt and biodegradable glue. So it's safe if your dog bites them, and they can be safely thrown out when you want another pair," Thomas said. The event was such a success that Khubani is considering another Student Inventors Day. "Ideally we would like to do this all over the country," Khubani said. "But for now our goal is to return to the Liberty Science Center for another Student Inventors Day, possibly in the spring." This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
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