Episcopal Day School kindergartners showcase their invention ideas
Published 6:00 pm Tuesday, March 20, 2018
Kindergartners at Episcopal Day School showcased their invention ideas Friday during the school’s 15th annual Kindergarten Invention Convention.
The event seeks to encourage and develop the “leaders of tomorrow” by focusing on STEM courses — science, technology, engineering and math — at an early age, said the Rev. Frances “Boo” Kay, director of EDS.
Alicia Goodwin, preschool coordinator and kindergarten teacher, said the students study a famous inventor and their accomplishments each month in preparation for the convention.
“The culminating activity of this unit is the Kindergarten Invention Convention where students present their own invention,” she said. “It is an opportunity for the students to practice public speaking and enhance their creativity.”
{{tncms-inline alignment="left" content="<p><strong>‘The culminating activity of this unit is the Kindergarten Invention Convention where students present their own invention. It is an opportunity for the students to practice public speaking and enhance their creativity.’</strong><br /><br /><strong>Alicia Goodwin</strong><br />Preschool coordinator and kindergarten teacher</p>" id="597c378c-221b-4a20-9be4-e452503381c8" style-type="quote" title="Pull Quote" type="relcontent"}}
The students showcased their creativity with a variety of inventions that seemed to leap out of the pages of science fiction books, including a teleportation device, a mind-control machine and even robots that can assist with daily chores.
Several projects took a turn from the more imaginary to focusing on real-life animal conservation efforts such as the “Turtle Trap” invention created by Miles Sickey.
Sickey’s turtle trap catches, cleans, feeds and ultimately releases turtles back into the wild where they can thrive.
Other students offered a more pragmatic approach to inventing such as Beck Springer whose “Coffeeus Prime” robot can prepare coffee and even deliver it a chosen destination based on its internal GPS.
Gibson Tumey’s “LEGO Sorter Machine” helps keep the building blocks sorted and organized for optimal ease of playing.
Attitude and self-image was tackled with Amelia Chung’s “Happy Flower Box,” which elicited an audible “aww” from the crowd when she announced, “You instantly feel happy when opening the box!”
Goodwin said the school starts early teaching foundational science principles with curriculum that includes recycling, conservation and experiments to prepare students for the more advanced elements of STEM education as they age.
<strong>‘The culminating activity of this unit is the Kindergarten Invention Convention where students present their own invention. It is an opportunity for the students to practice public speaking and enhance their creativity.’</strong>
<strong>Alicia Goodwin</strong>
Preschool coordinator and kindergarten teacher
