"Think, Then Think Again…"

Below is a reflection that I made for the invention convention.  I invented The Doggy Poop Toilet. 

Q: What did you do well?

A: I think that I did real well on attracting people’s attention.  The video that I made the night before to market my invention attracted lots and lots of people (by the end of the day I was REALLY sick of hearing the video).

Q: What did you learn?

A: In this project I learned a lot of new lessons but one of the most important one that I learned is NEVER wait till the last minute to finish any project.  I picked this because, usually on most of my projects I don’t get anything done right away.  I wait till the last week or so.  But on this project I started thinking about ideas early and also started building early.  I realized that this strategy really served me well on this project. 

Q: What  could you improve on?

A: I could have improved a great deal on my invention itself.  If only I took more time looking for materials for my invention, I think that it could have made my invention a whole lot better.  For example, the shoe box.  If I spent time looking for a plastic box with a lid like a shoebox, it might have saved me some time rather than taping the hinge of my invention every five seconds.  

Q: How did you feel when doing this project?

A: I felt really relieved and proud after the project.  I was very proud of myself that I had succeeded with the invention.  A lot of people came to my stand, nothing broke and everything went as planned.  I was also relieved, first of all because the invention convention was done but more importantly because in the end, ALL MY HARD WORK PAID OFF.

Please ask the following questions:

• What did you think of the invention?

• How could this invention improve your life?

• Do you have any suggestions to make it better?

March 15, 2009

Today is the last day I will be making my invention.  What I did was get a jumprope and cut it short then.  I put the handel through a hole in the shoe box and my invention was DONE!!!

March 14, 2009

Today, while I was completing all my tests, I noticed that the piece of cardboard under the flap kept on falling out.  So I got a 24cm. x 4cm.(9.5in. x 1.75in.) cardboard, waterprooofed it, then taped it on the frontside of that piece of cardboard to keep it from falling off. 

The second thing I did was tape paperclips onto the piece of cardboard with the hole.  I did that so when I put the plastic bag in it would not slip off.  I noticed that the bag ripped when I clipped it on so I designed my very own plastic bag.   

I designed my bag in such a way that it has flaps (10cm. x 11cm.) on both sides that I could clip onto the paper clips. Then I got a 17.8cm. x 20.3cm. ziploc bag and slip it onto the clipped plastic bag. In this way, I just always have to change the slip-on bag after every use.  At last, my problem was solved!

The fourth and last major thing I did today was make a holder for my spray bottle.  I used a rubberband and loop it twice around the 150 ml. spray bottle.  After that I tied a piece of nylon string around the rubberband, punched a hole on one side of my invention and tied the other end of nylon string to it.

Finally it was the end of a VERY, VERY tiring day.

March 10, 2009

Today I got an empty 150 ml spray bottle and made a mixture of 5 ml of one kind of perfume and 5 ml of another kind then filled the spray bottle with water to the very brim.  Tomorrow I’m planning to put a holder for the bottle, a place for the thongs and a handle to make it easy to carry.

Below I try to simulate how my invention will help dogs have a better place to poop on.  Please comment if you have any ideas to make the invention better.

March 7, 2009

NEWSFLASH!!!  Today I switched my invention from the Pooper Scooper to the Doggy Poop Toilet.

I started out by taking a black funnel I bought from IKEA and traced it onto the center of a 24 cm. x 24cm. (9.5 in. x 9.5 in.) piece of cardboard.  Then I used a knife and slowly cut out the circle I just drew (Warning:  Parent supervision needed).  After that I took the piece of cardboard with a hole in the middle and wrapped it with waterproof sticky paper.  Next I took a NIKE Kids shoebox and cut out the exact same circle from the first piece of cardboard onto the lid of the shoebox.  After that I cut a line on the hinge part of the shoebox that was exactly 24 cm. (9.5 in.)  That line was for the first piece of cardboard to slip through.  Next came the most fun part of all… decorating it.  After decorating the Doggy Poop Toilet I wrapped the whole shoebox with waterproof sticky paper.  Finally I was done for the day.

I have thought long and hard for the Invention Convention. One day while brainstorming ideas with my family I thought of a problem that really interested me. I realized that when people walk their dogs to  poop, picking up dog poop is a hassle and poses a great deal of inconvenience for the dog owner. At that instant I knew this would be the perfect invention for me.

Materials:

Cardboard

Thongs

Measuring cup

Stick

Glue Gun

Paint (optional)

Plastic or Paper bag

Backpack

Possible Names:

Pooper Scooper

Vanishing Poop

No More Poop

Scoop the Poop

Poop Destructor

Poop-minator

Conceptual Model:

At the bottom is a picture of four possible inventions I might consider making. If it’s too small and you can’t read the words or see the pictures properly, click on this link to see it in full size. Please make some comments on what you think about my ideas.

At the bottom of this post is me telling a speech about Orville Wright’s life while pretending to be him. Please tell me your thoughts about how I did by commenting, but meanwhile I’m going to assess myself on how I think I did:

Organization: The order of paragraphs I did for my speech was an introduction of myself, my childhood, my teenage years, building the plane, testing the plane, the first crash, my older years and the future use of my invention. I think that is a good amount of paragraphs and information and an easy sequence to follow. So, I think that I deserve a 4 in this category (student presents information in logical, interesting sequence which audience can easily follow).

Subject Knowledge: I think I demonstrated full knowledge of my inventor’s life and details of his invention. My speech lasted for about 6 minutes. I also think I researched a lot because I filled in every single note card with information I read on books, researched on the internet and even wrote emails to Mr. Jim Spence, a guy who impersonates Orville Wright. I think that with all the research and reading I did, I deserve a 4.

Information Presented: As mentioned above, while I was researching about Orville Wright I found a website about this guy (Jim Spence) who is knowledgeable about my chosen inventor and even impersonates him! At the bottom of his website it said that if students or teachers need help on their projects, homeworks, etc. they could email him, and that’s exactly what I did! I emailed him all the questions I had from the big six. Soon enough he emailed me back with all the answers. With his help I’m sure I answered all the big six questions so I should get a 4.

Elocution: I think that the audience could hear my voice well and I pronounced most of the words correctly but I also think that I could have talked slower so I should get a 3.5.

Body Language: This is an area that I think I can improve on. My Mom being part of the audience said that I did some body language but I was also fidgeting which I also noticed myself. So, I probably should get a 2.5.

Eye Contact: I think I maintained eye contact most of the time, but sometimes still returned to my notes. I would say I deserve a 3.

Character: I watched some videos of Mr. Spence impersonating Orville Wright so that gave me an idea of how I should deliver my speech. All throughout my speech I try to speak like Orville Wright so I should get a 4.

If the video doesn’t work click here instead.

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Technology is the use of science to affect lives.  Below is a list of technology and it’s use - helpful technology or entertaining technology or both.

Key:  Helpful Technology      Entertaining Technology     Both

1. Lights

2. Computer/ Laptop

3. Ipod

4. Cellphone/Telephone

5. T.V.

6. Cars

7. Microwave

8. Stove/Oven

9. Internet

10. Refrigerator

11. Electric Organ

12. Calculators

13. PSP/DS

14. Wii

15. Pencil Sharpener

16. Water Dispenser

17. Shower

18. Butt Washer

19. Air Conditioner/ Heater

20. Rice Cooker/ Toaster