A fifth-grader from Sherwood Elementary School in Salinas is making her way to the Midwest to showcase an agricultural tool she invented in her Invention Convention, an after-school expanded learning program.
Sophia Luquin, 10, invented a fruit picker to make it easier for farmworkers, who spend a lot of time bending over to pick berries, including strawberries.
Luquin’s grandparents were farmworkers, which inspired her to develop a tool to improve working conditions. “They come from the agriculture environment and I noticed the long-term effects, especially with the back pain and how their posture just changes over time,” Luquin says.
Invention Convention is an international K-12 education program that encourages students to explore their creativity, expand their problem-solving skills and entrepreneurship by inventing new things.
Luquin designed, tested and modified her invention. She used a 3-D printer to bring her designs to life and went to strawberry fields to try the tool herself.
Luquin presented her project at the regional level and, along with other students from the Salinas City Elementary School District, participated in the California Invention Convention in Sacramento in April.
On May 27, during a meeting of the SCESD board, all the students received merit awards from the California Invention Convention.
“This achievement reflects the incredible potential that emerges when students are given
opportunities to innovate and solve real-world problems,” SCESD Superintendent Rebeca Andrade said in an announcement.
“STEAM opportunities like the Invention Convention give our students the chance to
think creatively and see themselves as innovators,” said Chloe Johnson, SCESD’s director of
expanded learning. “These experiences build confidence, collaboration and critical thinking skills that will serve them far beyond the classroom.”
The National Invention Convention takes place June 3-5 at the Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation in Dearborn, Michigan.
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