2,000 Kids Turn Wild Ideas Into Inventions at PA Competition

Imagine 2,000 elementary students filling a high school auditorium with nothing but cardboard, tape, and their wildest ideas. That's exactly what happened at Fox Chapel Area High School in March when young inventors put their creativity to the ultimate test.

The Tinkercast "Make It Wow" competition challenged kids from across Western Pennsylvania to transform their weirdest concepts into working inventions. Teams competed live on stage, designing and building solutions to problems in real time while their peers cheered them on.

Kerr Elementary students Willa Etzweiler, Eleanor Weaver, and Bubby Weisband took home the top prize with their innovative device. Students from the Wilkinsburg School District and other local schools joined the creative showcase, turning the auditorium into a buzzing workshop of possibility.

Founded by three media veterans on a mission to spark wonder, Tinkercast created the event to help youngsters become thinkers and tinkerers. The challenges pushed students to invent, design, build, and solve problems without textbooks or instructions.

The competition served as a preview for an even bigger challenge coming in May. During Remake Learning Days' discoverED 2026 design challenge, first through third graders across the state will learn about biomimicry and aerodynamics, then use those principles to build custom "hoop gliders" inspired by flying squirrels.

The Grable Foundation sponsored the event, with support from Remake Learning and Fox Chapel Area School District. Virtual classrooms will stream the May event, allowing students statewide to see how hands-on learning builds critical thinking and problem-solving skills.

The Ripple Effect

This competition represents a growing movement to give young students real-world engineering experience early. Instead of memorizing facts, kids learn that their ideas matter and that they can build solutions to actual problems.

"DiscoverED is about creating meaningful, lasting connections," said Megan Collett, the district's executive director of instructional and innovative leadership. "We are showing students that the same principles that power nature can power their own innovations."

The May design challenge will connect classrooms across Pennsylvania, proving that STEAM education works best when students can see, touch, and create together. These young inventors aren't just learning about science; they're living it.

When 2,000 kids leave an auditorium believing they can invent anything, the future just got a whole lot brighter.