Aiken Prep has young inventors

On Feb. 26, 19 students at Aiken Preparatory School competed in an Invention Fair.

Boys and girls in 5K through 12th grades were invited to participate in the event, and 11 different inventions were developed over the course of the fall semester.

"We were trying to spark kids' imaginations," said Darya McMurtrie, second-grade teacher and Invention Fair coordinator. "We wanted them to think scientifically but with a creative spin."

The idea for the Invention Fair came from Debbie Boehner, head of the school.

"Our students are extremely talented, and this event allowed them the opportunity to use their creativity while applying things they've learned in their science classes," she said.

Students could compete individually or as part of a team. The winning project in the first- through third-grade division was from first-grader Kathleen Coleman, who invented a one-step garbage recycling system.

"You don't have to make two trips to the road," said Coleman who took home four tickets to EdVenture Children's Museum in Columbia as the first-place prize. "Science is fun!"

The first-place winner for the fourth- through seventh-grade division was sixth-grader Ella Morton, who invented a "Clip Mark" - a bookmark that never falls out.

"It was fun to invent something that people liked and thought was useful," said Morton.

The Ruth Patrick Science Education Center donated more than $100 worth of prizes for the first- through third-place winners in each division.

"I think the event was very successful," said McMurtrie, who plans to make the Invention Fair an annual event at Aiken Prep.

Several students have already started to think of what they could invent for next year's program.