August Sponsor Spotlight!
The Connecticut Airport Authority is a new sponsor of the Connecticut Invention Convention in 2018, and awarded the “Best Travel Related Invention” to Chloe Speights for her Slip and Spill Master.
Pictured with Chloe is Kevin Dillon, Executive Director of the Authority, at the installation of Chloe’s invention in a showcase at Bradley Airport. Thanks Connecticut Airport Authority for making this possible!
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October Sponsor Spotlight
The Lincoln Financial Group has been a long-time sponsor of the Connecticut Invention Convention! At the CIC Final Event in 2018, Judges Rebecca Nowell and Ken Okray awarded four "Lincoln Financial Foundation Presidential Awards" to Thomas Barron for "Casco Inteligente", Dilan Robert for "Flash-Light Glove", Kendall Scott for "The Backseat Rememberer", and Landon Walton for "My Finger Shield."
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Important CIC 2018-19 Program Changes
Calling all CIC Teachers, Student Inventors, Parents, Judges, and Volunteers!
We are excited to welcome you to a new CIC program year and can't wait to see the problems that our talented student inventors solve for themselves, their families, and communities. To help our teachers and parents with planning, we want to announce that all Regional Events are on hiatus for this program year. The Annual State CIC Final event is scheduled for Saturday, May 4 at the University of Connecticut in Storrs, CT.
Thank you for all that you do to help make our program a huge success in CT and nationally!
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2018 NICEE Invitees Announced
The Connecticut Invention Convention is proud to announce the following:
Recognized Inventors - click here
Sponsored Awards Winners - click here
Invitees for the 2018 NICEE - click here
Names with an asterisk* are NICEE winners in the K-2 category and have been invited to NICEE to receive their award.
More information about NICEE can be found at http://www.stemie.org/2018-nicee/
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Names with an asterisk* are NICEE winners in the K-2 category and have been invited to NICEE to receive their award.
More information about NICEE can be found at http://www.stemie.org/2018-nicee/
Read the Full Story
2018 NICEE Winners Announced
The Connecticut Invention Convention is very proud of all our 2018 Inventors!
Congratulations to all of you who persevered through the invention process to create your prototypes, presented your work multiple times to judges and other inventors, and went on to proudly represent Connecticut and the CIC Program at the 2018 National Invention Convention and Entrepreneurship Expo!
2018 CIC Recognized Inventors - click here
2018 CIC Sponsored Awards Winners - click here
2018 NICEE Winners from CT - click here
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Judging Criteria
Most inventions follow the same formula for success by being:
Original
Effective
Practical
Needed
Carefully recorded in a log or journal (Young children may use pictures or dictate information to someone)
Using the judging rubric to record scores and comments about each inventor as they present their invention idea. For each category, consider questions such as these:
ORIGINALITY:
Did the inventor find a unique, unusual, or clever solution to the problem?
Did the inventor research to find out? (This should yield an age-appropriate response: a young child might ask a number of people; an older child might explore catalogs, stores and related companies, search the internet or even a patent database. Ask to see a record what the inventor researched.)
INVENTION EFFECTIVENESS:
Does the invention solve the problem?
Does it do what it is supposed to?
Does it work even better than the inventor expected?
Does it solve other problems, too?
PRACTICALITY OF THE INVENTION:
What advantages and disadvantages does this invention have as compared to other similar inventions?
How much thought was given to safety, ease of use, and choice of materials?
NEED FOR THE INVENTION:
How important is the problem solved by the invention?
Who benefits from it, many, few, or only the inventor?
Does it serve a disadvantaged group, like the handicapped, the elderly, or animals?
Is the invention more or less friendly to the environment than currently available products?
RECORDING THE INVENTING PROCESS:
How well did the inventor explain the steps taken from beginning idea to invention?
Did the inventor date and list these steps in your inventor's log book?
Did the inventor include resources used, problems they ran into, reasons for choice of materials, final design, and testing? Was credit given to those who helped?
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Judging Criteria for Inventor Guidelines
All CIC judges will follow these same guidelines when they judge your invention. As you progress through the various steps of developing your invention, use these judging guidelines to help you prepare your answers to the kinds of questions that judges will ask.
Most inventions follow the same formula for success by being:
Original
Effective
Practical
Needed
Carefully recorded in a log or journal (Young children may use pictures or dictate information to someone)
Ask these questions along the way to see how you're doing!
ORIGINALITY:
Did you find a unique, unusual, or clever solution to the problem?
Did you research to find out? (This should yield an age-appropriate response: a young child might ask a number of people; an older child might explore catalogs, stores and related companies, search the internet or even a patent database. Record what you researched.)
INVENTION EFFECTIVENESS:
Does the invention solve the problem?
Does it do what it is supposed to?
Does it work even better than you expected?
Does it solve other problems, too?
PRACTICALITY OF THE INVENTION:
What advantages and disadvantages does this invention have as compared to other similar inventions?
How much thought was given to safety, ease of use, and choice of materials?
NEED FOR THE INVENTION:
How important is the problem solved by the invention?
Who benefits from it, many, few, or only you?
Does it serve a disadvantaged group, like the handicapped, the elderly, or animals?
Is the invention more or less friendly to the environment than currently available products?
RECORDING THE INVENTING PROCESS:
How well did you explain the steps taken from beginning idea to invention?
Did you date and list these steps in your inventor's log book?
Did you include resources used, problems they ran into, reasons for choice of materials, final design, and testing? Was credit given to those who helped?
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Coming soon!
The CIC minions are hard at work creating this page. Please come back soon!
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How is CIC Offered to Students?
There are several ways students can participate in a CIC Program:
- through their school, whether in school, at an after school program, as part of an enrichment program, or part of an intervention program;
- in a homeschooling environment;
- through a non-school program, such as an invention club or organized groups such as 4H and Scouts
- or as an independent study You spoke up and we listened! Due to scheduling constraints in schools and student's workloads, CIC has put Regional Events on hiatus. For 2018-19, there will be only one Invention Convention, the Annual State Final Event scheduled for Saturday, May 4, 2019. Please pay attention to teacher handouts, emails and other communication on this website. Please read the information below that pertains to the way your student(s) participate(s) in the CIC Program to detemine how these processes affect you, the parent. Should you require additional information or clarification, please email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with your full name, the student's name, their teacher's name, their school, and your question or problem. Students Who Participate in CIC Through a In-School, After School, Non-School Club or Group Program: Enrollment: The student will be enrolled in the CIC program by their teacher or program leader by a deadline date determined by CIC. Prior to that date, teachers may periodically send announcements, forms, instructions, and other information pertaining to the CIC program, home with the student. While there is no fee for the student to participate at the school/program level, there is an event registration fee of $45 to participate in the CIC Annual State Finals Event. CIC Annual State Final Event Registration: If your student is selected to move on from the local school invention convention to the State Final, and the school has identified you, the parents, as the party responsible for paying the registration fee ($45), you will receive an email with a link for payment by credit card. Once paid, you will receive a confirmation email with another link to CIC's Photo/Video/Social Media Permission Waiver. Along with their paid registration, acceptance of the waiver permits your student to participate in the CIC Annual State Final Even.t The schedule, agenda, and directions to the State Final Events is listed on the Event Page under Student Events. For legal reasons, students are NOT allowed to register themselves and all registrations must be done by an adult (teachers/parents), and also applies for registration for the National Invention Convention and Entrepreneurship Expo, NICEE, held at The Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation, in Dearborn, Michigan. Students are Homeschooled or Cannot Otherwise Participate in CIC Through a School/After School Program, Because the Program is Not Offered to Them: Most K-12 students who would like to participate in a CIC program can do so through their school or after school/club/group, but if none of those options is available, a K-12 student may participate in the CIC as in Independent Study Student (ISS). Students are Qualified to Participate as an ISS only if they fall into one of these situations: They are Home-schooled Student's school has not joined the CIC program, but the student wants to participate in CIC Student's school has joined the CIC program, but participation in the school's CIC program is not offered to the student. For example, the student may be in 8th grade, but the school is doing the program with 4th graders. Important to Note: If the school gives the student the opportunity to participate, regardless of their grade, but the student decides not to participate with their school, they cannot participate as an ISS. If, for any reason, the school does NOT select the student to move on to the CIC Annual State Final Event, the student can NOT then register for the CIC State Final event as an ISS. Only K-12 students who fall into one of the situations above can participate in the CIC as an ISS. With your child present, please read Guidelines for Inventors for important information regarding the rules for participation in CIC Invention Convention. Program Registration: Your student's participating in CIC's program begins with emailing Christine Lawlor-King, CIC Director of Education at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. The earlier the better, to meet the registration deadline date of April 7, 2019. Event Registration Fee: Fees to participate in the CIC Annual State Final is $45 and must be paid at the time of registration. All fees are due and payable before the event. The parent is sent an email with a link to pay by credit card. Once paid, the parent receives an email confirming the student's registration along with a link to accept the Photo/Video/Social Media waivers. Along with their paid registration, this waiver permits the student to participate in the CIC State Final Event. The schedule, agenda, and directions to the State Final Events is listed on the Event Page under Student Events. For legal reasons, students are NOT allowed to register themselves and all registrations must be done by an adult, which also applies for registration for the National Invention Convention and Entrepreneurship Expo, NICEE, held at The Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation, in Dearborn, Michigan.. For all CIC events, registration for Homeschooled/ISS students is handled through the parent contacting Christine at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Read the Full Story
- in a homeschooling environment;
- through a non-school program, such as an invention club or organized groups such as 4H and Scouts
- or as an independent study You spoke up and we listened! Due to scheduling constraints in schools and student's workloads, CIC has put Regional Events on hiatus. For 2018-19, there will be only one Invention Convention, the Annual State Final Event scheduled for Saturday, May 4, 2019. Please pay attention to teacher handouts, emails and other communication on this website. Please read the information below that pertains to the way your student(s) participate(s) in the CIC Program to detemine how these processes affect you, the parent. Should you require additional information or clarification, please email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with your full name, the student's name, their teacher's name, their school, and your question or problem. Students Who Participate in CIC Through a In-School, After School, Non-School Club or Group Program: Enrollment: The student will be enrolled in the CIC program by their teacher or program leader by a deadline date determined by CIC. Prior to that date, teachers may periodically send announcements, forms, instructions, and other information pertaining to the CIC program, home with the student. While there is no fee for the student to participate at the school/program level, there is an event registration fee of $45 to participate in the CIC Annual State Finals Event. CIC Annual State Final Event Registration: If your student is selected to move on from the local school invention convention to the State Final, and the school has identified you, the parents, as the party responsible for paying the registration fee ($45), you will receive an email with a link for payment by credit card. Once paid, you will receive a confirmation email with another link to CIC's Photo/Video/Social Media Permission Waiver. Along with their paid registration, acceptance of the waiver permits your student to participate in the CIC Annual State Final Even.t The schedule, agenda, and directions to the State Final Events is listed on the Event Page under Student Events. For legal reasons, students are NOT allowed to register themselves and all registrations must be done by an adult (teachers/parents), and also applies for registration for the National Invention Convention and Entrepreneurship Expo, NICEE, held at The Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation, in Dearborn, Michigan. Students are Homeschooled or Cannot Otherwise Participate in CIC Through a School/After School Program, Because the Program is Not Offered to Them: Most K-12 students who would like to participate in a CIC program can do so through their school or after school/club/group, but if none of those options is available, a K-12 student may participate in the CIC as in Independent Study Student (ISS). Students are Qualified to Participate as an ISS only if they fall into one of these situations: They are Home-schooled Student's school has not joined the CIC program, but the student wants to participate in CIC Student's school has joined the CIC program, but participation in the school's CIC program is not offered to the student. For example, the student may be in 8th grade, but the school is doing the program with 4th graders. Important to Note: If the school gives the student the opportunity to participate, regardless of their grade, but the student decides not to participate with their school, they cannot participate as an ISS. If, for any reason, the school does NOT select the student to move on to the CIC Annual State Final Event, the student can NOT then register for the CIC State Final event as an ISS. Only K-12 students who fall into one of the situations above can participate in the CIC as an ISS. With your child present, please read Guidelines for Inventors for important information regarding the rules for participation in CIC Invention Convention. Program Registration: Your student's participating in CIC's program begins with emailing Christine Lawlor-King, CIC Director of Education at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. The earlier the better, to meet the registration deadline date of April 7, 2019. Event Registration Fee: Fees to participate in the CIC Annual State Final is $45 and must be paid at the time of registration. All fees are due and payable before the event. The parent is sent an email with a link to pay by credit card. Once paid, the parent receives an email confirming the student's registration along with a link to accept the Photo/Video/Social Media waivers. Along with their paid registration, this waiver permits the student to participate in the CIC State Final Event. The schedule, agenda, and directions to the State Final Events is listed on the Event Page under Student Events. For legal reasons, students are NOT allowed to register themselves and all registrations must be done by an adult, which also applies for registration for the National Invention Convention and Entrepreneurship Expo, NICEE, held at The Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation, in Dearborn, Michigan.. For all CIC events, registration for Homeschooled/ISS students is handled through the parent contacting Christine at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Read the Full Story
K-2 Inventor Logs
The following downloadable Inventor Logs are suitable for use by K-2 students. Examples of grade appropriate invention log exemplars are displayed to the right.
Note: We are revising the language of these logs to be more age-appropriate. Please check back soon for updated versions!
Log Type
Editable
Word
Version PDF Google Doc Version Inventor Log Examplars PDF Invention Log No Lines Word Kindergarten Invention Log With Dotted Lines Word Kindergarten Invention Log with Lines Word Grade 2 Invention Log Spanish Word Grade 2 Registro de Invento Read the Full Story
Word
Version PDF Google Doc Version Inventor Log Examplars PDF Invention Log No Lines Word Kindergarten Invention Log With Dotted Lines Word Kindergarten Invention Log with Lines Word Grade 2 Invention Log Spanish Word Grade 2 Registro de Invento Read the Full Story
3-8 Inventor Logs
The following downloadable Inventor Logs are suitable for use by Grades 3-8 students. Examples of grade appropriate invention log exemplars are displayed to the right.
Log Type
Editable
Word
Version PDF Inventor Log Examplars PDF Invention Log Word Grade 3 Invention Log Spanish Word Grade 6 Registro de Invento Grade 6 Grade 7 Read the Full Story
Word
Version PDF Inventor Log Examplars PDF Invention Log Word Grade 3 Invention Log Spanish Word Grade 6 Registro de Invento Grade 6 Grade 7 Read the Full Story
Guidelines for Inventors
The following guidelines for inventors contain important invention information that should be shared with the inventors and their parents.
K-2 Inventor Guidelines
3-6 Inventor Guidelines
Use of Apps and Microcontrollers
Judging Circle - The Judging Circle is comprised of a group of 7-9 inventors of similar grade levels, and their judges (2 -3 judges per circle). The circle is configured so you can be be involved in each of your peer inventors' presentations and discuss their ideas and inventions. Listen carefully and respectfully to their presentations as they will also be listening respectfully to yours. Be courteous and polite of your fellow inventors; at the end of their presentation, ask them questions about their invention idea, the problem they wanted to solve, or what they would do with their invention if they had more time to work on it.
Judge Rubric - The judging rubric is the scorecard that judges use to keep notes on how well you achieved the invention process. For instance,
can you present your problem clearly;
did you build a workable solution to the problem;
did you think about who else could use your invention;
did you think about the best materials to use if your invention were to become a real product instead of just a prototype;
did you think about how your invention affects the environment;
did you record all your invention processes in your log, including all the problems you thought you could solve with an invention, your prototype ideas, prototype designs and materials, prototype testing, results of your tests and what you did to improve your invention if the tests failed;
and finally, how well did you research your problem and existing solutions, who helped you along the way with tools, research, expert advice, etc.
Judging Criteria for Inventor Guidelines - this guide represents some of the questions judges may ask you. Use it to help you prepare your best presentation!
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Latest:
Connecticut Invention Convention
The Lincoln Financial Group has been a long-time sponsor of the Connecticut Invention Convention! At the CIC Final Event in 2018, Judges Rebecca Nowell and Ken Okray awarded four "Lincoln Financial Foundation Presidential Awards" to Thomas Barron for "Casco Inteligente", Dilan Robert for "Flash-Light Glove", Kendall Scott for "The Backseat Rememberer", and Landon Walton for "My Finger Shield."
News & Events
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August Sponsor Spotlight!The Connecticut Airport Authority is a new sponsor of the Connecticut...Read More...
-
October Sponsor SpotlightThe Lincoln Financial Group has been a long-time sponsor of the...Read More...
-
Important CIC 2018-19 Program ChangesCalling all CIC Teachers, Student Inventors, Parents, Judges, and...Read More...
-
2018 NICEE Invitees AnnouncedThe Connecticut Invention Convention is proud to announce the following: Recognized...Read More...
-
2018 NICEE Winners AnnouncedThe Connecticut Invention Convention is very proud of all our 2018...Read More...