Great inventors gather at Park Avenue school

BY CLARE MARIE CELANO
Staff Writer

FREEHOLD — One dozen inventors came together at the Park Avenue Elementary School and displayed their creativity as part of Suzanne Peltzman’s “Plus” program.

Twelve fourth-graders dressed up as their favorite inventor and shared facts and stories about that person with their classmates. The idea behind the Dec. 16 event was to spark young creative minds, to encourage public speaking and to have fun while learning.

Peltzman hosted the school’s annual “Invention Convention,” which this year featured two events. The first was the “dress-up” event in which pupils pretended to be a famous inventor. The second part of the program asked the 12 pupils to share an invention they had developed.

The program began with the costumed fourth-graders going from one table to another in the library, where six to eight students clustered around to listen.

Maggie Muller chose Louis Braille for her inventor. Dressed in a baggy suit and tie, holding a wooden cane at her side, the pony-tailed youngster explained how the blind could learn to communicate without the written word thanks to the hard work and motivation of Braille, who became blind as a result of an injury suffered in his father’s workshop.

Braille invented a system of raised dots that allows blind people to read with their fingers. Maggie’s props included index cards with pink, blue and yellow raised dots that spelled out words like “mom,” “dad” and “happy.” The children could close their eyes and feel the work Braille accomplished.

Dan Ahn Tran’s props were the pair of jeans he sported to honor his favorite inventor, the man who invented denim jeans — Levi Strauss.

Kevin Smith portrayed automobile pioneer Henry Ford; Alberto DeLeon chose Jonas Salk, the developer of the polio vaccine; Jessica Keelan selected radio pioneer Guglielmo Marconi; Julianne Scott was dressed in a long skirt and ruffled blouse as she spoke about Amanda Theodosa Jones, who invented the vacuum canning process and founded an all-women’s company.

Many moms and dads would probably like to thank the person that Aimee Prendergast selected — Marion O’Brien Donovan, who invented the plastic liner that fits over diapers. It was the predecessor of disposable diapers.

And where would we be without the man Rachel Bernstein chose — John Logie Baird, the inventor of a mechanical television system. Matthew Parke portrayed Garrett Morgan, who invented the traffic signal and the gas mask. Matthew told his fellow students that Morgan was a black man who was once a slave.

Daniel Gross chose Andrew Jackson Beard, who invented a rotary steam engine; Anthony Tran selected Cyrus McCormick, who invented important farm tools; and Ian LeBlanc chose Richard Buckminster Fuller, who invented the geodesic dome, which is considered to be the lightest, strongest and most cost-effective structure ever devised.

The pupils used the Internet and other materials to research their inventors.

After their presentations, the students presented the products they had crafted when inventor Lisa Ascolese came to visit the school. Ascolese returned for the “invention convention” and watched the children explain their creations.

The pupils stood before the group and pretended they were presenting a commercial to prospective buyers.

Matthew Parke showed his “Matt Pack,” a type of tote bag which would sell for $20. He even had a jingle to go along with it.

Rachel Bernstein spoke about her “pocket pal,” which held pens and other writing materials in a stylish container. It would sell for $10.

Aimee Prendergast brought her “Thingamajig, Whatchamacallit,” which stores 15 toys in one container. She also had a jingle to go along with her sales pitch. The product would sell for $55.

Peltzman said research about the inventors, which was primarily done on the Internet, allowed the children to select what facts were important to them. They learned that most inventions were borne out of necessity. The students worked on ideas for inventions that they and their families would find useful and fun.