Girls Show Off Useful Robots at Inventions Fair

Sixth graders at Lubavitch Educational Center in Miami use their knowledge of STEM, circuitry, and robotics to invent useful devices including hydraulic arms and an electric ice cream scooper.

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The hum of whirrs and beeps made for the perfect background track to the invention fair at Lubavitch Educational Center’s Girls Middle School in Miami. The alarm of a fingerprint-locked purse set off with a wrong try, a three-foot-tall robot rolled down the red carpet, and a drone with dizzying colored beams took off in the air. It was hard to believe that the inventors of these gadgets were only in sixth grade.

“Our young inventors have captivated us with their imagination and resourcefulness,” says Middle School’s General Studies Principal, Mrs. Tzippy Dalfin. “This fair was really a celebration of the joy of discovery, highlighting the limitless possibilities of scientific exploration.”

The science behind the girls’ inventions pulled from concepts like inertia, kinetic energy, and Newton’s laws of motion, highlighting the transformative power and wonder of STEM, circuitry, and robotics. Some of the inventions were pure fun—like Mushka Schurder’s goldfish attraction device—and some solved real-world issues—like Chana Greenbaum’s and Molly Mangami’s filtered water bottle and Miriam Schylander’s device that detects iron in cereal.

“As an educator, nothing is more rewarding than seeing the spark of excitement and curiosity in my students’ eyes as they explore the captivating world of science,” says sixth-grade science teacher, Ms. Rachel Gutnick, who organized the event. “It was beautiful seeing their ability to take abstract concepts and use them to create something new.” 

Congratulations to the winners of this year’s fair:

Engineering Skills and Overall: Sima Stolik and her Hydraulic Arm

Creativity: Faye Bialo and her Electric Ice Cream Scooper

Relation to Science: Shoval Samoelev and her Light BallSpecial Recognition: Chana Biton and Avigial Golombek and their Electric Pencil Sharpener and LED drone.