TAUNTON — None of the 52 kids competing in this year’s Invention Convention were trying to reinvent the proverbial wheel.
What they did instead was demonstrate how creative thinking can result in practical solutions to everyday problems and quandaries.
The presentations on Saturday illustrated a potpourri of ideas — ranging from a simple push device that cuts a pizza into evenly sized slices to an app that helps girls avoid the hassle of deciding what to wear to school.
Invention Convention was created four years ago by Betsy Rabel, a Taunton mom whose day job is that of a state police forensic scientist.
“It’s been growing every year,” said Rabel, who had one son competing Saturday and another who previously was a participant.
The event was once again held at Elizabeth Pole Elementary School.
The difference this year was that the 44 exhibits were set up in the school gymnasium instead of the cafeteria next door, which Rabel said made for less crowding.
Once the 13 judges had selected their first- and second-place choices, everyone retreated to the cafeteria for pizza from DeVito’s Pizzeria and to wait for Rabel to announce the winners.
Danica Corpus, a fourth-grade student at James L. Mulcahey Elementary School, had devised a skeletal-like contraption called a Leaf Tunnel.
Made of 12 interconnected, varying lengths of PVC piping, on top of which was attached a plastic oil pan with its center carved out, the Leaf Tunnel fits perfectly when inserted into a 30-gallon, paper lawn bag.
Similar products already exist, but the stability offered by the PVC pipes seems to set the Leaf Tunnel apart.
The inspiration for her idea, the 10-year-old Corpus said, originated from a classic mother-of-invention scenario.
“I have to rake them (leaves) at home,” she said.
With some help from grandpa and Velcro strips, she managed to build her prototype.
Corpus said the Leaf Tunnel had gotten a positive review from none other than Mayor Thomas Hoye Jr., who was one of the judges on Saturday.
“He said it was a good idea,” she said.
It turns out Corpus won two awards: She placed first in competition among fourth-grade students and was selected as recipient of the Mayor’s Future Community Innovator Award.
Rabel said Invention Convention is put on each year with the assistance of the 501(C)(3) nonprofit Curiosity Factory, of which she is the director.
“I do grant writing, and we have private donors and in-kind sponsorships,” she said.
Grant money has previously come from the Taunton Cultural Council.
A raffle on Saturday generated $156, with half that amount going to Curiosity Factory. Purple T-shirts selling for $10 also helped raise cash for the nonprofit.
Rabel says money her group raises is used, in part, to build science-minded exhibits that are put on display at each year’s event.
The exhibits, she said are kept in a storage area inside the Trescott Street Gallery, in the same building where Collen Simmons, director of the city’s business improvement district, keeps her office.
In addition to the annual Invention Convention, Rabel said that she and her husband present “hands-on science activities” at the public library and other local venues.
Mayor Hoye, who at one time in his career taught health and wellness at Taunton High School, said the enthusiasm shown by students, parents and organizers reflects well on the city as a whole.
“I commend Betsy and her team, and the level of student engagement is just incredible,” Hoye said.
City councilor Jeanne Quinn said, “The kids have such creative ideas, and the first-graders too. They’re all so energetic.”
Besides Corpus, other first-place winners on Saturday included: Benjamin Lafferty, first grade; Adrianna Robitaille, second grade; Kaden Lafferty, third grade; Emerysn DePonte, fifth grade; and Sadie Dellrocco, sixth grade.
This year’s Inventor’s Choice Award, an award determined by the participants themselves, went to the team of Cameron Dorr and Hannah Hillman.
Rabel said eight of the 44 exhibits were joint efforts by teams consisting of two students apiece.
She also said that each exhibition was judged and assessed by three different judges.
“That’s the science fair model they use at Taunton High School,” she said, noting that the high school’s next science fair is scheduled for this coming Friday night.
Superintendent of Schools Julie Hackett, during her closing statements from the stage of the cafeteria, congratulated the students and encouraged them to keep a positive outlook.
“This is how learning should be,” Hackett said. “It should be fun so that you don’t even know you’re doing it.”
Sponsors of this year’s Invention Convention, besides DeVito’s, which provided pizza at a discounted price, were the Massachusetts Cultural Council and Trucchi's Supermarkets, which at no cost provided juice, water and chips.