Deputy Patent Commissioner Peggy Forcarino with The Aqua Gamers from Winter Springs, Florida. The Gamers were the Grand Prize winners at the Sally Ride TOYChallenge held Saturday on the USPTO campus.

Sally Ride Science TOYChallenge draws more than 1,000 to USPTO campus

They came from all over the country last Saturday, May 17— fifth to eighth grade students, teachers, and parents— to participate in the Sally Ride Science TOYchallenge East Coast National Showcase.

The attendees were officially welcomed to the USPTO by Director Jon Dudas. “World leaders are talking about you every day because the important thing for every head of state is to make sure that their nation continues to innovate, come up with new ideas, and do new things” said Director Dudas in his welcoming remarks to the student contestants, their teachers, and families. “That’s exactly what you are doing here today. So we are incredibly honored that the Sally Ride Science TOYChallenge came to the USPTO.”

During the morning and early afternoon 111 teams comprised of three to six members—half of whom were girls—presented their toy or game concepts to a panel of judges from the USPTO and Sally Ride Science. The toys and games were based on themed categories including games for the family and toys that teach. The entries were judged on originality, creativity, feasibility, design process description, team participation, and clarity of communication.

Deputy Commissioner for Patent Operations Peggy Focarino presented awards to this year’s winners. In the category of Games for the Family, the winning team was the Kinetic Energizer Bunnies from Kettering Ohio for their toy “Randomness in a Box.” The team from Cold Spring, Kentucky prevailed in the Get Out and Play category for their toy “The Shell Lagoon.” The SEEK Geeks from Stanhope, New Jersey were the winners in the Toys that Teach category. The name of their toy was “Search for the Starz.” The Grand Prize winners were the Aqua Gamers from Winter Springs, Florida. They designed the “Make a Splash Pool Game.”

The USPTO’s partnership with Sally Ride Science TOYchallenge is part of its ongoing educational efforts to reach out to the next generation of innovators. Those efforts include the current Ad Council “Inspiring Invention” campaign, the newly released i-CREATM curriculum and the USPTO’s long standing support for the National Inventors Hall of Fame’s Camp Invention and Club Invention programs.

For more information about the Sally Ride TOYChallenge competition and this year’s winners go to www.sallyridescience.com/toychallenge/

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