Imagine an expo room full of inventions. Teams of inventors standing beside their exhibits. Judges walking the floor scoring the teams’ innovations. Now picture that these teams of inventors are actually K-12 students!

On March 16, 59 teams from 30 schools across Georgia will be competing in Georgia Tech’s K-12 InVenture Challenge. With a goal of broadening the participation in STEM, the InVenture Challenge brings authentic invention and entrepreneurship experiences to K-12 teachers and students.

During the summer, teachers attended training for an explanation of the InVenture Challenge project requirements as well as guidance on implementing the challenge into their classrooms either during or after school. Georgia Tech’s InVenture Challenge website offers lesson plans for both high school level and grade school level classrooms. Students were given the opportunity to pitch their ideas to the Georgia Tech community for early feedback before their projects were complete.

“Last week, I was in a baseball tournament and once we lost, we were done. Even when my InVenture team did not win the biggest prize at GA Tech, we can still pursue our idea. We can still work on our idea if we want to and that is really cool,” said John Marino, a 5th grade participant in the 2015 InVenture Challenge.

Top teams from each school are invited to compete in the state finals at Georgia Tech on March 16. There are six divisions that will be assessed: Top High School Project, Top Middle School Project, Top Elementary School Project, People’s Choice, Best Manufacturing (plan or actual), and Best Use of IronCAD Software. Judges score teams electronically using the InVenture Challenge rubric, and winners are announced that day! Top prizes from each division will be eligible to compete in the first annual National Invention Convention on May 20-21, 2016 in Washington, D.C.

This K-12 version is inspired by Georgia Tech’s InVenture Prize, a faculty-led innovation competition for undergraduate students and recent BS graduates of Georgia Tech. Working independently or in teams, students develop and present their ideas to expert judges. Six finalists are ultimately chosen for the final round. Tune in March 16 at 7:30 PM to the live broadcast on GPB or watch online to see who will walk away with the $20,000 cash prize and a U.S. patent.

Teachers who are interested in more information or who want to incorporate the InVenture Challenge into their curriculum for next year can contact Roxanne Moore at Georgia Tech.