A few weeks ago, the team found out that we had received the honor of being able to present our display at the 2015 White House Science Fair!!! Corine Peifer and Kristian Sonsteby were chosen to represent the team in Washington, DC.
     In addition to being invited to the 2015 White House Science Fair, our display was invited to be presented at the VentureWell OpenMinds Exhibition, which is a college version and sister program to the Lemelson-MIT InvenTeams Program. At the OpenMinds Exhibition, all guests were given three million "investor bucks" to invest in projects that they feel are very impressive or successful. Being that we were the only high school team in attendance with twelve college teams, we were very surprised to learn that we had received the third highest amount of "investor bucks". The team was awarded $500 in real money that will go back in to help the InvenTeam.
     On Sunday, Corine, Kristian, Mr. Shultz, and the LMIT representatives were in the White House getting everything ready for the White House Science Fair. Our display was located in the Blue Room, which is in the center of the White House. The following day, Corine and Kristian entered the White House gates at 8 AM to make last minute changes before the Science Fair opened. For about an hour, various government officials and public figures in the STEM field were allowed to visit all the students' displays and speak with the students. At around 10 AM, a live broadcast was sent out from the White House which was watched by the rest of the team back in Hawley, PA. President Obama walked around to some displays throughout the White House to meet and speak with the students, and after much anticipation, he spoke with Corine and Kristian representing or team! After meeting with President Obama, the fair was once again open to the other government officials and public fields. Around 1 PM, the fair closed, and breakdown began.
     This whole experience has been absolutely amazing for the entire team. To have created and built a device that was invited to the White House Science Fair is an immense honor. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for everyone involved, and the entire team is so thankful for the tremendous help and support from the community, faculty and staff of Wallenpaupack, and the entire Lemelson-MIT staff.

News Eagle Article by Katie Collins

Follow this link to read a lovely article about our InvenTeam by local News Eagle reporter Katie Collins!

 http://www.neagle.com/article/20140728/NEWS/140729744

EurekaFest Presentation!

Hi guys! It's been a few weeks since the InvenTeam convened and you've heard from us, but hopefully you've been enjoying your July. Can you believe it's already been over a month since EurekaFest?

Here is a link to a video of our InvenTeam's presentation at EurekaFest:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUndd_N4STg

July 10, 2014

Today we are tying up some loose ends by handling some PR details and cleaning up. We are writing out thank-you letters to all of the contributors to our process, unpacking our travel trailer, and also meeting with Katie Collins from our local paper, The News Eagle, to allow her to give a final report of our experience.
Now comes the next phase of our invention process independent of the InvenTeams program. We have yet to assemble the remainder of our custom circuit boards, apply for a patent for our invention, and we may also make improvements to the structure of the device. All of that will come in later months towards the beginning of the 2014-2015 school year.
For now, have a great summer, all!

July 3, 2014

One week ago, the InvenTeam surprised our leader Mr. Shultz at his house with a party to thank him for all of the things he has done for our team. We are thankful to him for presenting us with the opportunity to participate in the InvenTeams program, for always keeping us on task, and for everything else he does for the students of the WAHS Gifted program as a whole. Because Mr. Shultz is an avid fisherman, the entire team pitched in to buy Mr. Shultz a beautiful personalized fishing reel.

More Photos from the Showcase

 

 

 

Recap from Saturday

Saturday was the final day of EurekaFest 2014. The day began with the Duck 'N' Hover design challenge sponsored by Duck Tape brand following shortly after breakfast. Students were split up into separate teams of about seven people and asked to design structures that, when blown by a fan, could lift a payload of rubber duckies into the air. Students were given three hours to design, build, and test their devices with random materials including PVC piping, trash bags, wire hangers, and randomly chosen mystery items.
At the end of the three hours, the teams were given a short break for lunch and then bussed to the Boston Museum of Science where the teams competed against each other with their final products. Prizes were awarded for success, most creative use of duct tape, and biggest failure. All in all, each team put in great effort and worked well together, all the while learning solve problems in a shorter amount of time than they may be used to.
The students were given time to tour the museum and then went back to McDermott court for a barbecue-style dinner. The evening gave way to the closing of EurekaFest with a carnival in the courtyard. There were carnival games, an East Coast Gaming truck, frisbee, cotton candy, and more. This night of socializing between InvenTeams was a nice way to bring a fantastic weekend to a close.

We're Home!

Last night concluded our amazing stay in Massachusetts. The team packed up and by 7AM Sunday was on its way to Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution across the straight from Martha's Vineyard in Cape Cod. We arrived at the Challenger House, toured a model of the original ALVIN submersible, and walked through the remaining buildings of WHOI, all the while being led by mentor Mr. Paul Fucile. At noon the team walked a mile-long bike path along the shore to Mr. Fucile's office in Woods Hole and had a lovely barbecue after touring his facility. There will be photos from Sunday to come soon.

Show(case) Time!

In just ten minutes the showcase will begin! All teams have a chance to show off their displays and tell visitors about their inventions. Displays include slideshows, invention models, financials, and more. We'll be here for the next three hours, so check back for more of the showcase!

Opening Dinner

Last night we had our opening dinner at EurekaFest! Along with great food, it featured each of the collegiate prize winners, all of whom were set to present their inventions and answer questions from the students. As the meal concluded, the communications team and some friends from School of Dreams Academy of New Mexico started a beach ball fight, which soon became a half hour long activity between all the teams. Give them some inflated plastic balls and a tent full of the nation's best and brightest students turn into regular teenagers. 

Check back soon for more updates from EurekaFest!

12 hours to go!

In just 12 hours we will be well on our way to Cambridge! Over the course of the weekend we will be doing our best to keep you, the viewer, posted on all the latest happenings at EurekaFest. Check back over the next three days to see what we're up to!

Goodnight, and wish us a safe trip!

We would also like to congratulate freshman tech team member Sebastien Aparicio on his completion of his Eagle Scout project. Shortly after our team made our pitch to the board, Sebastien gave a short presentation on the final product of his project. It's good to see that our team members are well-rounded.

School Board Meeting a Success

Last night we did our first official run-through of our presentation at Wallenpaupack's school board meeting. Each of the six student presenters did a phenomenal job and really made an impression on the members of the board. Mr. John Spall, school board president, expressed his approval by presenting the InvenTeam with a proclamation from Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett.

Two more days!

Almost There!!

It's hard to believe we have been working up to EurekaFest for just over a year now. This Thursday's the day! Woohoo! One year ago this month we gathered together as a rag-tag group of Gifted students, and today, we're a team of individuals who accomplished something great together.
At this point, we are all set to present our invention at EurekaFest. This coming Monday, we're set to give our presentation to Wallenpaupack's school board, and then on Thursday we pack up and head up to Cambridge. To the other 14 teams from across the nation, we are overjoyed to finally meet you, and we bid you a safe trip as we all converge upon MIT this week.

Also, congratulations to our one and only senior team member, Adam Haig, on graduating Wallenpaupack Area High School last night!

Weekend Testing

Over the weekend, select members of the team stopped in at Lighthouse Harbor Marina to check the status of the readings on the oscilloscope. All is looking good!

 

 

 

    

Countdown to EurekaFest!

We're just over two weeks away from the main event! Leading up to our departure, we'll be finalizing our presentation, working on some finishing touches on the models, and ironing out the details of the following weeks. We have a busy few weeks ahead of us. Our school year is coming to a close next friday, so on top of our team's work, individually we all have finals and SATs to worry about. The Monday after the last day of school we are giving our school board a sneak peak of our presentation. Wish us luck!

Trip to Lighthouse Harbor Marina

Last week, the team traveled to Lighthouse Harbor Marina on route 507 for a second large-scale test of the device. With the use of a boat, tech team member Kristian Sonsteby created waves to help us test the anchoring system and get a reading on the oscilloscope. Photos of the experience can be found on our Facebook page.

Minus interruption from sporadic downpours, last Thursday was a productive day. We learned that strong waves bend the dampening plates out of shape, and that we need a stronger pole running through the center of the anchoring system. Otherwise, the readings we got on the oscilloscope were up to par.

Our Own Circuit Boards!

Thanks to the advice of one of our amazing mentors, our Inventeam has designed and created our very own circuit boards that will make our device as efficient possible! So far we have one board completed.

Earth Day Celebration

This Saturday, our team had the amazing opportunity to showcase our wave generator at a local Earth Day Celebration hosted at the PPL Center. Not only did many interested celebration goers watch our live presentations and listen to our explanations, but we also received official recognition from various people and organizations in celebration of our accomplishments. Saturday, April 26, 2014 was officially declared Wallenpaupack Inventeam Day!

 

Blue Ridge Cable TV 13 News Interview!

This morning the Wallenpaupack InvenTeam had an amazing interview with Blue Ridge Cable 13 News! Some team members participated in interviews and others displayed live presentations of our wave tank model and our latest prototype. It will air tonight. Be sure to check it out!