As any kid in Maureen Marshall’s class can tell you, Saturday January 12, 2008 was an extremely interesting day. That’s because the Invention Convention was held at the Great Lakes Science Center. If you have never been to the Invention Convention, it’s a contest where kids present a one-of-a-kind invention to the judges. They compete for the Edison Award. The first timers from Lincoln School brought back three of the eight awards.

For the past few months, these Lincoln students have been busy developing everything from light-up pencil grips to bedtime glasses-holders. The Lincoln teachers chose eleven finalists from the inventions the kids brought to school. The lucky few went on to the Invention Convention. That is where Lincoln distinguished itself.

My day at the Convention began at two P.M when the public is admitted. (Before that, judges interview the contestants and tally scores.) All the students there had impressive inventions to say the least. Judges must have had an extremely hard time! Which students would emerge as the winners, though? We were about to find out.

Next was the awards ceremony where many students were rewarded. Saige Rook of Lincoln School received Best of Show. Two other students in her class won first place in their grade levels. Several other classmates won fifty dollar savings bonds at the ’Superior’ Level. They all did a wonderful job.

Now that the contest was over, the fun was not. In Lincoln's front hallway all the finalists' display boards were on display for the next week. Several other classes strolled through the exhibits. I, myself, got a chance to look at the boards, including Lindy Warren’s and Lauren Klann’s. All of the inventions demonstrated were useful and creative. What I saw told me it was a hard process to create the final product. It sure paid off.

Well, it’s entirely clear that Invention Convention was a learning experience. Lakewood should be proud and let’s hope that we will compete once again.

By Renee Klann, Student