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Polk County Living Polk County Itemizer-Observer • May 4, 2016 7A LUKAS EGGEN/ Itemizer-Observer Kings Valley Charter School second grader Blake Hauck shows off the Egg Dispenser at the Invention Convention on Thursday afternoon. By Lukas Eggen The Itemizer-Observer PHILOMATH— Kings Valley second-grader Blake Hauck stood proudly in the Kings Valley Charter School gym on Thursday after- noon, ready to explain how his invention worked to anyone who asked. His project, after all, was- n’t just for fun. It was an invention born from necessity. “I was in my car thinking of uses for something,” Blake said. “Then, I thought of something. It’s hard for me to lift the chicken coup and get the eggs.” And thus, the Egg Dis- penser was born. The contraption featured a spot for chickens to lay their eggs, which then roll down through q duct into a basket where the eggs will fall in harmlessly. “It’s easier for me to get the eggs now,” Blake beams. The project was one of many at Kings Valley Char- ter School’s Invention Con- vention on Thursday. The items ranged from the tasty (squishy fruit pops) to the practical (mo- bile desk) to ones like the Goobsoo, which addressed the timeless problem of boredom. Of course, while Kings Valley’s inventors were hard at work, they were learning more than they realized. Christian Petrovich, fa- ther of Cedric Petrovich, the inventor of the Goobsoo, saw his son fully embrace the inventor’s process. “It was really great be- cause he came up with this idea, which was neat to see,” Petrovich said. “I’d ask him questions so he could figure out how to make it happen and put things to- gether. It was really super fun.” While Kings Valley’s stu- dents put their minds to work to solve some of the world’s problems, the hope from staff and parents is that it may inspire some to one day find major break- throughs. “Getting kids to create solutions to problems or making a product better is a great start in developing fu- ture scientists and inven- tors,” Kings Valley director LUKAS EGGEN/ Itemizer-Observer The Yo-Yo case was one of several inventions on dis- play on Thursday at Kings Valley Charter School. LUKAS EGGEN/ Itemizer-Observer Second-grader Hailie Eckhold presents the Pillow with a Pocket during Kings Valley’s Invention Convention. Jamon Ellingson said. One of those future in- ventors could be first-grad- er Hailey Eckhold, the mas- termind behind Pillow with a Pocket, something so simple, but aims to fix a problem everyone can re- late to. “It’s so when you’re in bed you don’t lose small items,” Hailey said. Each project had a prob- lem it tried to address. In- ventors often worked through a number of itera- tions before they got their inventions just right. While we’ll have to wait and see if Thursday inspired the next Steve Jobs, the In- vention Convention was al- ready a success in teaching kids to not be afraid to put their imagination to use. “I think the best thing that kids learned is to start with an idea and then try many different prototypes until they get the best one,” Ellingson said. LUKAS EGGEN/ Itemizer-Observer Jeshua Bush presents his invention, the Sour Nutty Bites, to Christian Petrovich at Kings Valley Charter School’s Invention Convention on Thursday evening. LUKAS EGGEN/ Itemizer-Observer LUKAS EGGEN/ Itemizer-Observer Acacia, left, and Noel Bush present their Squish Fruit Pops on Thursday evening. Cedric Petrovich, right, demonstrates how the Goobsoo works during the Invention Convention on Thursday as Faith Bush, right, watches.
