COLUMBUS, OHIO— On Jan. 17, award-winning young inventors from throughout the state will gather to display their Global, National and State awarding-earning inventions in the Ohio Statehouse Atrium to celebrate the upcoming National Kid Inventors’ Day. Several local individuals will be included in this event.

Inventions will be on display from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., with formal remarks and presentations at 11 a.m. Opportunities to meet the inventors and see their inventions will be at 11:30 a.m.

Cincinnati-area award recipients

State 2021, National 2022, and Global 2022 winner: Aiden Peele, Wilmington, for “Neptune – Saver of the Seas”

State 2021, National 2022, and Global 2022 winner: Danny Mefford, Blanchester, for“Neptune – Saver of the Seas”

1st Place 4th grade (team): Edison Egloff, Mt. Orab, for “Kernie Katcher”

1st Place 4th grade (team): Jack Martin, Cincinnati, for “Kernie Katcher”

Industry Innovator: Luke Saver, Wheelersburg, for “Change”

Industry Innovator: Branson James Taylor, 7th grade, Blanchester, for “Food Filter”

Industry Innovator: Ann Marie Davis, 7th grade, Hamilton, for “No Issue Tissue”

During the Jan. 17 National Kid Inventors’ Day event, Ohio Statehouse legislators will be recognizing Ohio kid inventors with commendations, resolutions and citations, with some legislators attending the event. The event will include a guest panel discussion including alumni inventors, senators, partners and more. The year 2023 is the sixth year for the event and will be the fifth year the event has taken place at the Statehouse. This year marks the 30th year of Ohio Invention Convention’s Excellence in Innovation.

“This is an exciting opportunity for both the public and elected officials to see first-hand the power of invention education,” says Robin Hilsmeier, executive director of the Ohio Invention League. “Now more than ever, we need to prepare students to be creative problem-solvers. In fact, we have a duty to encourage our students to think differently. As a result of the program, we see students tackling some of the most important issues of our day, and the future.”

“AT&T is thrilled to support Kid Inventor Day again this year,” says Chris Wyche, director of external affairs for the company. “It’s vital for Ohio’s economy for industries throughout the state to foster innovation and creative thinking among our youth.”

The Ohio Invention League’s Invention Convention is Ohio’s premier invention program, which asks students to identify a problem in their lives, or that of their families, and invent a solution utilizing an engineering and design cycle curriculum that is taught in the schools as part of their STEMIE (STEM plus Invention and Entrepreneurship) curriculum and also as an Independent Inventor experience for students in afterschool programs, homeschool, or any student that desires to invent their future through the Invention Convention program.

“Invention education fills a necessary void in American education, bridging the STEM and Humanities with Entrepreneurship and Workforce Development programs,” Hilsmeier added. “Teaching students the must-have skills in problem identification, problem seeking and problem-solving, and how to apply the engineering design and design thinking processes to creatively invent solutions to these problems.”

The Ohio Invention League is an Ohio-focused Invention Education program that each year trains teachers in schools and program leaders across Ohio to teach invention and entrepreneurship to K-12 students.