Congratulations Inventors: Gates Invention & Innovation Expo 2022
This year, the Gates Invention & Innovation Expo took place in person on Thursday, March 3, and Friday, March 4. For more than 20 years, this special culminating event has served as an opportunity for Graland Middle School students to display and demonstrate unique inventions that seek to not only solve a problem but improve the world around them. Through this process, students are not only given the opportunity to be creative, but also learn important life skills such as empathy, collaboration, and perseverance. They are also given a chance to receive a patent nod from judges on competition day, which would provide the additional funding, research, and guidance necessary for students to trademark their inventions and share them with the broader community.
In preparation for competition day, students in the Gates program spend the entire school year tinkering, creating, and innovating under the guidance of a Graland faculty/staff member who serves as their coach throughout the year. While Gates coaches are instrumental in helping students with deadlines, budgets, and materials, they also assist students by reviewing projects to make sure they meet competition requirements. This year, 14 Graland faculty and staff members nurtured and guided students throughout the year and helped them to prepare for the big day.
When the Gates Expo finally arrived on Thursday, March 3, Middle School students spent the entire afternoon presenting their final products to the school community as well as to a panel of judges, who rated each project based on functionality, creativity, marketability, and clarity of communication. Based on these rankings, a group of finalists were selected to present their final presentations to the judges the following day in hopes of getting a nod to pursue a U.S. patent. In Graland's history, 26 students have been awarded a patent for their Gates inventions. This year, two alumni, Alex G. '20 and Maria S. '20 returned to campus for the Gates Assembly to receive their official patent for their 2017 invention, the Baker's Buddy.
Graland would like to congratulate all of this year’s inventors as well as the following winners and finalists of the 2022 Gates Invention & Innovation Expo:
Grades 5 & 6:
Winners:
1st Place: Jacob B. - Fingerprint Locker
2nd Place: Jasiya W. - The Sweep-Skate
3rd Place: Desi B. and Pano B. - The Safe Tip
Finalists:
Roby K. & Rory N. - Eye of the Fly
Iris P. & Jillian Z. - Happy Feeder
Laine F. & Brynn A. - The Brush Rush
Grades 7 & 8:
Winners:
1st Place: Koops L. & Josh W. - Wheelable
2nd Place: Aiden F. and William R. - Scoop and Salt
3rd Place: Luke Z. - Gates Innovation Ordering on Amazon
Finalists:
Gina G. & Emma H. - 3-in-1 Marker
Mark P. & William W. - Confess Your Stress
Olivia S. - Hundo Laundo
To meet the inventors and view their presentations, please visit graland.org/gatesexpo22. To learn more about the Gates Invention and Innovation Program, click here.
Graland Country Day School
Graland Country Day School is a private school in Denver, Colorado, serving students in preschool, kindergarten, elementary, and middle school. Founded in Denver in 1927, Graland incorporates a rich, experiential learning approach in a traditional classroom setting, emphasizing the development of globally and socially conscious leaders who excel academically.
