A snack utility belt, laundry-doing robot and 15 other inventions from Michigan 3rd-8th graders

Genesee County students showcase inventions at 9th Young Innovators Fair

FLINT, MI -- A heated pair of glasses that never fog.

Slippers that double as mops.

A robot named Lucy that does your laundry.

Those are just three of the 100 most innovative inventions from 9- to 13-year-olds in Genesee County.

Of those three, each were chosen to move on to the state competition after the Young Innovators Fair at Kettering University on Tuesday, March 8, where young inventors made their wildest ideas a reality.

Related:Elementary and middle school students show inventions, creativity at Kettering University

Students at Grand Blanc schools, Carman-Ainsworth schools and Swartz Creek schools were all given the opportunity to invent something that would solve a problem.

That’s it. The rest was all up to them.

Some may think that simple premise isn’t enough guidance for 3rd through 8th graders to latch on to and learn from.

In the classroom, however, that vague guidance has the opposite effect.

Perry Innovation Center teacher Jason Vallimont said that using this curriculum allows the students to drive their own learning.

“I don’t think they understand that they are working on a school project anymore,” Vallimont said. The students become so invested in their own inventions that they hit learning benchmarks without even recognizing.

Here are 17 different Innovation Program inventions from Tuesday’s showcase:

The Snack Belt

Callen Brown, who turned 10 years old today, 4th grader at Myers Elementary, developed a snack-focused utility belt that holds snacks while playing video games. Brown, who plays Fortnite and promoted his invention with a Fortnite dance, said he tried the invention himself and stored Hot Cheetos and a water bottle.

“When you are watching TV and you have no place to set food or drinks, you can put in the pouches,” he said.

Swiffer Slippers

Mason Kia, 9 years old, 3rd grader at Indian Hill Elementary, invented slippers that also dry up the wet floor to be used in the bathroom after taking a shower or a bath. Kia said this way you do not have to get the mop every time you get out of the shower.

“I was brainstorming and thinking about how my mom could clean better when I was in the bathtub,” he said.

The Butler Bot

Josie Philipp, 9 years old, 4th grader at Perry Innovation Center, invented a butler robot to do house chores like washing dishes, cleaning, and picking up after playdates. With The Butler Bot, Philipp and her friends are able to save more time for play.

“I originally did not like cleaning, so I decided to make a robot do it for me,” she said.

Reminder Container

Paxon Laube-Clary, 10 years old, 4th grader at Perry Innovation Center, invented a storage container for kitchens where you can store anything from a carton of milk to a jar of peanut butter that alerts the user via LED light and push notification when the product is getting low. The accompanying app is still in development.

“Then you know when you are out of something immediately on your phone,” he said.

Bluetooth Camera

Julian Pauli, 10 years old, 4th grader at Perry Innovation Center, developed a Bluetooth camera that allows wildlife photographers to do their jobs safely without risking any danger. He developed a remote-operated camera that can be operated from your mobile phone.

“If you want to take a picture of an animal, then you can take a picture with your phone, and it actually takes a picture with the camera – so you can get a good photo of the wildlife without it attacking you,” he said.

The Drip Katcher

Zara Patel, 11 years old, 5th grader at Indian Hill Elementary, invented a collection pad for liquid in home garbage cans that is made out of cardboard, aluminum foil and microfiber cloth to absorb water.

“You put in your garbage can and put the bag over it. My mom said that the garbage can would always leak if you poured water into it, so I came up with this,” she said.

Cozy Towels

Lacey Smith, 9 years old, 4th grader at Myers Elementary, invented a full-body towel that has heating and cooling capabilities that dries you off and saves you from the inconvenience of changing clothes after a swim.

“You know when you are in the shower or the pool for a long time – you get out and you are cold. You just want to get into the house immediately,” she said. “Without having to do that, you can just put this on in three seconds.”

Defog Glasses

Eyas Al-Zouba, 11 years old, 5th grader at Brendel Elementary, developed a pair of glasses that are lined with a heating device to make it so water vapor can never reach your lenses. It would save thousands of people from getting foggy glasses while wearing facemasks.

“I did further research and found out that glasses fog up when water vapor from sweat and humidity land on your lenses and freeze,” he said. “So, my invention is to stop that.”

Mail Detective

Mohamed Elbakheet, 11 years old, 5th grader at Brendel Elementary, developed a security system for mailboxes that will only allow the resident and the mail delivery person to access the inside of the mailbox through fingerprint technology. Up to five people can access, Elbakheet said, and fingerprints can be set up through the app still in development.

“As you can see, there will be a motion sensor, fingerprint lock, and steel flaps and of course, a mailbox,” he said.

The Controller Shell

Randell Howell, 11 years old, 5th grader at Brendel Elementary, developed a skin to place around videogame controllers to cover it from dirty fingers. Howell came across this problem when playing with friends and realizing that he was losing game-time by having to wipe off your hands after each bite.

“When you are playing your games and eating something and get food in it – you sometimes have to buy a new controller,” he said.

Lucy, The Laundry Robot

Ava Lulaj, 9 years old, 4th grader at Rankin Elementary, invented a robot that handles laundry duties for the entire household, freeing up that time for other uses. The robot, named Lucy, can fold, hang, dry and wash clothes from beginning to end.

“I don’t think anybody likes doing laundry, so she helps you do it. Laundry is just basically a waste of time for me,” she said.

Clippable Travel Toothbrush Case

Bella Winkfield, 11 years old, 5th grader at Indian Hill Elementary, invented a carrying case for your toothbrush to use while travelling. Winkfield was tired of traveling to her friends’ houses and having to worry about bacteria getting on her toothbrush, so the case was born.

“Say you have a toothbrush and you put it in your backpack or something – I personally find that disgusting. It makes it easier so you don’t have to run through a backpack or suitcase just to find one simple thing,” she said.

Waffle Sponge

Zeyland Holden, 13, Will Dean, 14, Connor Burton, 14, and Adam Bacon, 13, 8th grader at Perry Innovation Center, invented a sponge specifically engineered to clean one of the hardest-to-clean kitchen appliances – the waffle maker. This invention “optimizes the waffle cleaning experience” using Teflon-safe cleaning pads that fit the waffle maker’s grooves.

“We call ourselves waffle enthusiasts,” the group agreed.

ASTP: A Soundwave Treatment for Parkinson’s

Genevieve Monterosso, 13, Donald Haywood Jr., 13, Cadon Waattii, 14, and Isaiah Marble, 13, 8th graders at Perry Innovation Center, developed a non-surgical treatment for Parkinson’s Disease using a patch that sends out sound waves to the brain, calming the symptoms.

“As it progresses, there are less and less treatment options for the patients,” the group said. “We developed a patch that uses sound to stimulate the brain to alleviate the symptoms.”

Comfort Collar

Aubree Purdue, 10, 4th grader at Myers Elementary, developed a Bluetooth-connected collar for her pets that allows you to send voice and video messages to your furry loved ones while out of the house. Purdue, who has three dogs of varied sizes at home, made her invention in two days and already put it to work.

“I have lots of dogs at my house and sometimes nobody is home with them so I do not want them to be alone,” she said.

The No Fall Hanger

Nyla Usi, 10, 4th grader from Myers Elementary, invented a “no-fall” hanger that allows you to pull clothes from your closet freely without taking the risk of a hanger falling. Her prototype took a normal clothes hanger and added a carabiner clip.

“I saw something online where there was this hanger that would not fall, but there was no way to take them off,” she said. “So, I came up with this.”

The Homeless Shelter/Restaurant Food Donation App

Akram Fadl, 11, 5th grader at Perry Innovation Center and Nina Boyles, 11, also in 5th grade, invented an app that gives people the opportunity to donate unused food to local homeless shelters.

Fadl started to develop the code for the application, which he says will one day eliminate food waste.

Read more on MLive:

21 Genesee County teams competing at FIRST Robotics competition at Kettering University

FIRST Robotics competitions to begin this week at Kettering University

24 Freeman Elementary students drafted to ‘Never Been Absent’ league for perfect attendance

Note to readers: if you purchase something through one of our affiliate links we may earn a commission.