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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.