Way Elementary Students Win State-Level Award for STEAM Invention

Congratulations to Way Elementary grade 5 students Maggie Boersma, Ariana Howard, Lily Murray, and Ronnie Vannier! Their invention, The Dog Stopper, was named the winner of the Animal Care and Pets category at the Invention Convention (ICM) Michigan state-level competition last weekend. The Dog Stopper solves a serious problem for dog owners: it is a mat that prevents dogs from stealing people’s shoes.

Invention Convention Michigan (ICM) is a program available through The Henry Ford, offered as a curriculum resource to educators to inspire the next generation of innovators. Bloomfield Hills Schools uses the ICM program in STEAM, guiding students to identify a problem and create a solution to the problem, and some classes submit their inventions to the ICM competition each year. 

Over 5,000 students across Michigan submitted designs to the Invention Convention competition this year, and only 4% advanced past the school and regional rounds to make the state competition. Making it to the state level also meant refining ideas through feedback: testing, revising, and improving their designs. In addition to The Dog Stopper team, two other Way Elementary grade 5 students also had designs at the state competition: Tharun Narendran (invention: AquaNova Infinity) and Reva Carollo (invention: Goota Goo). 

Congratulations to the future innovators!