Fairley students recently became inventors as they pitched their product ideas to a panel of judges during the annual Inventive Minds competition.

The competition for third and fourth-graders tasked students with identifying an everyday problem then developing an invention that would solve the problem. Hannibal students showcased their ideas first at the district level before 12 advanced to a regional competition featuring student inventors from Clyde-Savannah and Lyons as well.

“We’re so proud of all our Hannibal students who participated in the competition this year,” said club co-advisor and teacher Bethany Simmons. “They put in a tremendous amount of effort, and it showed!”

Inventions ranged from kitchen gadgets to cleaning tools and everything in between. Each invention was highlighted in a tri-fold presentation board where students answered written prompts describing the materials they used and how the invention would work in a real-life setting. Judges from each participating school asked the students about their product and scored each presentation on a set of criteria.

Hannibal student Harper Prall earned the top spot for her invention, the Perfect Pan Protector, while fellow Warrior Evelyn Tibebu came in second for her Mess Free Paint Brush Cleaner. Rounding out the top three was Avery Liseno, of Clyde-Savannah, with her Retain-a-Spray invention.

“We’d like to extend a huge round of applause to all of our bright-minded, young participants,” Simmons said.