| FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
N.R. #326, 6/15/05 Date: June
15, 2005 MARSTELLER STUDENT WINS $5,000 SAVINGS BOND FOR INVENTION Christopher Whetzel, a sixth grade student from Marsteller Middle School, won first place in the region and placed as one of twelve national finalists in the Craftsman/National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) Young Inventors Awards Program sponsored by Sears. Whetzel, whose mother is in a wheelchair, invented a tool called the “Over the Edge Wheelchair Lift.” The invention is a pulley system “to help my mom up when she leans over the side of her wheelchair,” says Whetzel. The contest is designed to teach students the scientific principles of how tools operate, introduce them to working with hand tools, encourage them to think creatively about the world around them, and enable them to develop practical solutions to everyday problems. The competition, which began in 1996, challenges students to use creativity and imagination along with science, technology, and mechanical ability to invent or modify a tool. About 8,500 students participated in the national program this year. The twelve national finalists will receive $5,000 savings bonds and a trip to Chicago in September where they will compete for the final selection of the top two winners who will receive another $5,000 savings bond. The 2005 Young Inventors
Awards Program is open to all students in grades 2-8 in the United
States and the U.S. Territories. Go to http://www.nsta.org/programs/craftsman/index.htm
for more information. ###
|