COLUMBUS — Twin Valley South Elementary sixth grader Jillian Overmyer entered the Invention League and came out victorious when she won the Innovation in Transportation at the State Invention Convention.
Overmyer created The Parking Pal for the competition, an invention she hoped would help people park in their garage safely.
She will be moving onto the National Competition next. All Invention Convention award winners in grades two and above are invited to compete in the National Invention Convention and Entrepreneurship Expo (NICEE) in Dearborn, Michigan for the opportunity to earn continuing education scholarships.
The Invention Convention is a K-8 STEAM program provided by the Invention League. The League itself is an inclusive, educational, non-profit organization. As an organization they offer the Invention Convention Program to students K-8.
Additionally, the Invention League offers year-long educational support, Inventor Experiences, and the Invention and Entrepreneurship State Final Competition to students, schools, and districts of Ohio — all at no cost to the families or districts.
There were more than $30,000 in scholarships awarded at the first annual Ohio Invention Convention and Entrepreneurship Competition hosted at the fair. Student inventors brought their solutions to everyday problems to the competition on Sunday, July 30.
Industry Innovation Awards were given to students for the best overall invention in their category. Scholarships were awarded from Ohio Tuition Trust Authority’s Direct529 Plan from $250 to $1,000. Overmyer won the Transportation Industry Innovation Award.
This was Overmyer’s first year in the Invention League. According to her coach, Amanda Beneke, “The Parking Pal is an easily installed and movable product that uses a pressure pad and light combination. This invention signals drivers of when to safely stop upon entering their garage, replacing the old tennis ball on a string.”
Overmyer added, “I created The Parking Pal to help people park in their garages safely. In the Ohio State competition I won the Innovation in Transportation award and will be competing in the National Competition in June 2018. My award included a scholarship.
“From the competition I learned about starting with an idea and creating a product and then revising that product again and again differently to make it better.”
