Invention Convention

Mission:  To encourage science education for young people       

This year's Invention Convention will be on May 31, 2008 at the Rochester Museum and Science Center

• Information for Parents & Teachers
• 2008 Invention Convention Schedule of Events
• Invention Convention Disclosure Form for Students to Complete & Submit

Objectives:

• To capture the imaginations of as many young people as possible, while they are in elementary and middle school, and direct their attention to the science discipline;
• To involve them in the intellectual process of creativity and invention;
• To provide them with the understanding of the method of conceiving inventions and reducing them to practice; and
• To extend science education beyond the classroom.

The Program:

The Rochester Area Invention Convention began in 1998 and has been held each year since then through the efforts of volunteers and contributions from various area businesses and individuals, including Kodak, Bausch & Lomb, Xerox, Jaeckle Fleischmann & Mugel, Nixon Peabody, and Bob Spatola's Party Rental. The Rochester Regional Program Directors are Anna Rivoli of the Spencerport School District and Deborah Massey, of the Rochester Museum & Science Center. Other New York cities that participate include Albany, Binghamton, Buffalo, and Syracuse.

Each region conducts its own regional Invention Convention through distribution and judging of invention disclosure forms to area schools for children in grades 1-9. This part of the Program usually occurs in January-March each year. A Parental Guide explains the program to the students' parents, who are encouraged to work with their children in creating and explaining the invention on the disclosure form.

If the schools desire, a patent attorney will come to their school for a presentation to the students on the patent system. In the past, Katie McGuire of Jaeckle Fleischmann & Mugel has given such presentations with excellent results. Other attorneys are available this year if Katie can not present.

Once the disclosures have been submitted, students are invited to build models of their inventions for display and judging at the Rochester regional ceremony, usually held in May of each year. At the regional ceremony, judges, including patent attorneys, patent agents, and other individuals associated with the program, walk around and talk to the students about their inventions. The judges select 25 students as Rochester regional finalists. All who submit invention disclosures receive a certificate to encourage participation in subsequent years.

Each region sends its 25 finalists to the state-wide Invention Convention held in May or June each year. The state-wide event has been held at the Rochester Museum & Science Center most of the last five years. Students travel from all regions to attend the state-wide ceremony with their parents. The event has always been a huge success, with the students displaying their inventions for all to see, followed by refreshments. A formal presentation, with various speakers invited from the technical and local government communities praising the students for their creativity, is also included.

Each student state finalist is presented with a beautiful medal inscribed with the words, "NY State Invention Convention Finalist." It is a very special day for these students and their relatives, and the feedback we have received has been very positive.