Students from across the state to share their innovations on UI campus

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Thursday, April 10, 2014
Written by: Heather Spangler

What are Tater Legs? How does the Bounce Back Target bounce back? Learn the answers to these questions and see big ideas from 24 of Iowa’s brightest elementary students at the annual Invent Iowa state scholarship competition Saturday, April 19, from 12:30 to 4:20 p.m.

A team of nine girls from Titan Hill Intermediate School in Council Bluffs pose with their 2013 award-winning invention, the Walk n' Wheel.
A team of nine girls from Titan Hill Intermediate School in Council Bluffs pose with their 2013 award-winning invention, the Walk n' Wheel. The light-weight, titanium wheelchair that converts into a walker helps elderly and disabled people get around. The device is so promising, it already has a provisional patent. Photo courtesy of the UI College of Education.

The event will take place at the University of Iowa College of Education's Connie Belin and Jacqueline N. Blank International Center for Gifted Education and Talent Development on the UI campus and is free and open to the public.

Students in grades 3-6 will present their inventions to a panel of judges, who will then interview each student and ultimately award six $500 UI College of Engineering Scholarships to the UI or Iowa State University.

Get a sneak peak of this year's young inventors talking about their inventions here.

Now in its 27th year, Invent Iowa is Iowa’s oldest STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) outreach initiative. The program encourages students to think creatively and solve problems through the invention process.

Invent Iowa is run by the UI College of Education's Belin-Blank Center. The annual convention, which is hosted by the UI and Iowa State University alternating years, brings together students to demonstrate inventions that they think will make life easier for people.

A list of the 24 students is available here by student name, name of invention, grade level, hometown, and school district when known.

Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to attend all UI-sponsored events. If you are a person with a disability who requires a reasonable accommodation in order to attend this event, contact Lori Hudson in advance at 319-335-6148 or lori-hudson@uiowa.edu.