Students share inventions at Maine Invention Convention

BANGOR, Maine (WABI) - It’s that time of year again, when folks spring into Science!

The Maine Science Festival in Bangor has been sparking up local and visitor traffic around town.

With events like theater, trivia, lectures, and hands-on experiences in multiple locations, people are making their rounds in the Queen City.

Saturday, science lovers tall, small, and furry came out to the Cross Insurance Center to check out the Exploration Stations.

Various science organizations from around Maine had booths with information and interactive activities.

Folks also had the chance to check out the Maine Invention Convention, where Maine Middle School students are creating solutions to today’s problems.

Tyler Slate is a State Finalist with his invention “Tyler’s Trap Bar Jack” that helps weightlifters add and remove weights.

“Whenever you have to change the weights, it has to come off the ground. Because you can’t slide the plate on. There’s way too much friction. So my invention solves that. It lifts the weight a couple inches off the ground, and it’s a nice or a nice stable platform. So you can slide them on as much way as you need on and off,” said Slate.

To help Mainers with shoveling snow, Mack Bateman, seized the opportunity to share his idea.

“It is an aluminum tip shovel which is heated by four lithium batteries, and it will make it easy on your back and it can cut through thick snow and some ice. It is mostly marketed to people who have trouble shoveling frozen snow and to like the elderly people who have trouble lifting up the snow and getting through it,” said Bateman.

Student inventions are selected for State level finals, and then compete to go to the national level.

As a State Finalist, he tells us what it takes to get to Nationals.

“So having a good pitch and having a good idea and revising your idea having a journal very good to prove that you actually came up with that idea and what’s your process of doing it, said Bateman.

It’s a great weekend to celebrate science, innovation, and accomplishment.