Georgia Students Invent Eyeshadow Robot, Win State Ticket

When Mercy McKinney and Brylee Griffin told their teacher they wanted to do someone's makeup for their school project, they got creative advice: focus on solving one problem really well.

The Sunset Elementary third graders chose eyeshadow. Using Legos, a hub, and two motors, they built a robotic system that selects eyeshadow colors and applies them to an eyelid. Their invention, the Eyeshadow Master, just won first place in the elementary category at the K-12 InVenture Prize Competition in Thomasville, Georgia.

"When they called our name, we about started crying," Griffin said. "We're going to State. I'm just speechless."

The regional competition on Friday drew students from across the area, each tackling real problems with original solutions. Fifth graders Andi Smith and Aubrey Collins created Pet's Life, an app that tracks stray animals through microchips and monitors their health. The app would alert shelters when strays need help and connect them with people who can donate food or medical care.

"We both see strays a lot, and I feel really bad, so we wanted to build an app to save strays," Collins explained. Their middle school category win was especially sweet since they competed against older students.

Younger inventors shined too. Montgomery Alderman and Ryan Manning from Garrison Pilcher Elementary won the K-2nd grade category with their Burn-Be-Gone Slide Shield. Sunset Elementary students Fynlee McKinney and Joshua Brown earned the Agriculture Award for their Chicken Poop Remover, a device that tackles a messy farm chore.

Students pitched their inventions to three separate judging panels, explaining their research, prototypes, and problem-solving process. Archbold Chief Human Resources Officer Stacey Hancock served as a judge and noticed something beyond the clever gadgets.

"I saw lots of empathy; students recognizing problems around them, listening carefully to people's needs," Hancock said. "I saw persistence; teams trying different solutions and improving them based on feedback."

Why This Inspires

These young inventors aren't just building cool gadgets. They're learning to spot problems others overlook, whether it's struggling with makeup application, worrying about homeless pets, or dealing with farm waste. They're discovering that age doesn't limit your ability to create solutions that help real people.

The competition teaches teamwork, time management, and presentation skills alongside engineering and design. For many students, it's their first experience pitching an idea to adults who take their work seriously.

All first-place winners will compete at Georgia Tech in March, where state champions receive patents for their inventions. For Smith and Collins, that would mean turning Pet's Life from a school project into a real tool for helping strays across Thomas County and beyond.

McKinney and Griffin are already dreaming bigger about their makeup robot, proving that when you combine passion with problem-solving, even third graders can engineer the future.