Carrie Lee Students participate in Invent Iowa competition

A Carrie Lee third grader has been wowing judges with her invention lately. Abby Moen presented "Chair Raisers" in the local Invent Iowa competition held at Carrie Lee Elementary in January.  Judges there were impressed with this simple yet effective device for raising a kitchen chair to a better height for youngsters and recommended the invention for advancement to the state competition.  Her invention then had to pass the scrutiny of judges at the University of Iowa Belin-Blank Center for Gifted Education.  Abby received a Meritorious Certificate and a $100 award to encourage her innovative efforts.
 
Abby's invention was among the top twenty inventions selected to participate in the Scholarship Convention being hosted by The College of Engineering at the University of Iowa campus in Iowa City.   She will display and present her invention in hopes of securing one of six $500 College of Engineering scholarships.
 
Also submitting their invention to the state competition and receiving a
Certificate of Recognition were Carrie Lee third graders Sofie Grouws and Kaia Neal.  Their invention, CTP 3000 (for Christmas Tree Pump), offered a safe and convenient method of watering a holiday tree.  This certificate recognizes students for their efforts in successfully solving a problem through the invention process and submitting it to the 2012 Invent Iowa Competition.
 
The preliminary round of the Invent Iowa competition was open to third and fourth graders from Carrie Lee, North Winneshiek, and St. Benedict
Elementary, and was facilitated by Rhonda Thompson, Carole Sand, and Mary Ann Krammen, teachers at those schools.