Middle Schoolers Invent 'Mold Meter' to Fight World Hunger

Imagine spending your school year not just learning about world problems, but actually inventing solutions to fix them.

That's exactly what happened at Mabry Middle School's annual InVenture Night, where 70 teams of sixth and seventh graders unveiled inventions they'd been perfecting for four months. One standout creation, the "Mold Meter," tackles food waste and malnutrition on a global scale.

"We put four months of hard work in it and our product is important because it lowers the GDP and decreases malnutrition in the world," said Aashi, one of the student inventors. Her team's device helps detect food spoilage before it becomes a problem.

But the inventions go far beyond classroom projects. Students conducted patent research, market surveys, and interviews with industry experts. Dr. Ingle Larkin, who helps oversee the event, says the kids approach their work like real entrepreneurs launching actual products.

The stakes are real too. At least four teams from Mabry will advance to compete against K-12 students statewide through Georgia Tech's InVenture competition. Winners from there get to showcase their inventions nationally, something multiple Mabry students have achieved in past years.

"It's not only cool, but also amazing to see the ideas these 6th and 7th graders come up with," said David Chastain, Vice-Chair of Cobb Schools' Board of Education. Dozens of parents, teachers, and community members packed the event to witness the young innovators in action.

The Ripple Effect

These middle schoolers aren't just learning science and engineering. They're discovering that their ideas matter and their age doesn't limit their ability to make real change.

When 12-year-olds start thinking about solving malnutrition and researching patents, they're not preparing for the future. They're already living it, proving that innovation doesn't require a college degree or corporate backing.

The program shows other schools nationwide what's possible when students get space to think big. Georgia's commitment to supporting young inventors through statewide competitions creates a pipeline of problem-solvers who enter high school already thinking like entrepreneurs.

Seventy teams of kids just proved that the next generation isn't waiting around for adults to fix the world's problems.