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Feb/March 2010 firm newsletter

Kids Use Their Inventive Minds

Bob Gardinier, staff writer for the Times Union Caption: JONATHAN FICKIES/TIMES UNION YOUNG INVENTORS at West Sand Lake Elementary School are seen outside their product headquarters. They are, from left, Stephen Martino, Nicholas Abrunza and Elise Patanian. DIAGRAMS for the inventions of West Sand Lake Elementary School fourth-graders include a Crayon Dispenser, top left, Read-A-Night and Scrub-a-Dub-Dub at bottom. Elise tosses and turns while reading in bed, Nick doesn't like dumping all his crayons out to look for a color, and Stephen hates mopping the kitchen floor. Three problems that inspired three 10-year-olds at West Sand Lake Elementary School to invent devices have made them semifinalists in the New York State Invention Convention 2002. Ideas for new products start when inventors ask themselves dumb questions. ``I'm a little lazy and one of the chores that's a little hard for me is mopping the floor,'' said Stephen Martino. ``I just asked how I could make it easier.'' And the Scrub-A-Dub-Dub was born, brushes that attach to the bottom of a pair of shoes to attack those tough linoleum stains. ``It really works and you don't get your feet wet,'' Martino said. The kids are among a group of 100, chosen out of 865 Capital Region entries, to go to the next stage of the Invention Convention 2002. The annual competition is designed to stimulate and teach students how to invent and apply problem-solving skills that may inspire the next generation of scientists and inventors. The next round, held at the Schenectady Museum, will whittle that field down to 25 by the end of this month. That group will go to the finals in Rochester on June 2. Elise Patanian has hopes her Read-A-Night will make the cut. It is a clipboard-like device with lights and padding that makes it comfortable and easy to sit and read a book in bed. ``Everyone who has used it says it's great,'' Patanian said. Nicholas Abrunza used a Tupperware container, clothes pins and some wire to make his Crayon Dispenser. Press a colored clothes pin lever and up pops that color crayon. There is also a sharpener built into the lid. He has asked his dad to help him patent his dispenser idea. If you think that's a long shot, think again. A few years ago an 8-year-old girl entered a Binghamton convention with the idea of a ``snake light,'' which Black and Decker added to its tool line. In 1998, an Albany third-grader, invented the High Reacher, a sawed off broom handle with a bike-brake apparatus fastened to it that can get books off high library shelves. Johnson needed it because she was only 4 feet tall, but the product found a market. Julianne Tate, a fourth-grade teacher at West Sand Lake and an adviser to kids there, said Abrunza's dispenser has possibilities. ``The occupational therapist at the school thinks the dispenser would be a good thing for kids with motor-skill problems,'' Tate said. The inventions, selected for the event from kids in more than 20 different schools from Albany, Montgomery, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schenectady, Schoharie and Warren counties, will be on display at the Schenectady Museum until May 30, said museum spokeswoman Joanne Gleba. The West Sand Lake kids admit they have some stiff competition in Schenectady. Some of the other inventions on display there include: Sippy Cup Bracelet, which attaches a toddler's sippy cup to the wrist. Power Plow, a tricycle with a snow plow attached. The Marvelous Diabetes Belt, which combines a tester, pump and supplies in one neat accessory. The Brusher of the Rusher, a brush for cleaning between your toes. Behind Your Ears Scrubber. The Puppy Paw Scrubber, for cleaning puppy's toes. Scrabble for the Blind. Potted Plant Pal, which waters your plants while you're away. The Flipper, which flips up the toilet seat so you don't have to touch it. The event is co-sponsored by GE Global Research Center, the GE Elfun Society -- Schenectady Chapter, Heslin Rothenberg Farley and Mesiti P.C., Schmeiser, Olsen & Watts P.C., Eastern New York Intellectual Property Law Association and the Schenectady Museum. rg/12/'>lung cancer systoms