EurekaFest is a multi-day celebration designed to empower a legacy of inventors through activities that inspire youth, honor role models, and encourage creativity and problem solving. The second annual EurekaFest will celebrate the inventive spirit, June 25 - 28, 2008. EurekaFest has many public events (listed below) that provide an opportunity for youth and adults to join a network of inventors and experience the power and importance of invention.   EurekaFest at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Thursday, June 26, 2008 Admission is free for all of Thursday’s events, which are held in the Stata Center: MIT Bldg. 32 32 Vassar Street Cambridge, MA Directions Presentations by Lemelson-MIT Award winners and InvenTeams, 1-4 p.m. Kirsch Auditorium (Bldg. 32-123, 1st floor) What are people inventing today? How are their ideas inspired? View the process of inventing charted by individual and team inventors, from high school students to burgeoning and established professionals. Learn about inventions that span multiple disciplines from bacteriophage adjuvants to coconut tree climbing devices. Presenters, in order of appearance: Troy High School InvenTeam from Fullerton, California — Robotic coconut tree climbing device for coconut harvesters in Indonesia, the Philippines, and India Timothy Lu, 2008 winner of the $30,000 Lemelson-MIT Student Prize — Processes that promise to enhance the effectiveness of antibiotics and help eradicate layers of bacteria known as biofilms, in order to combat bacterial infections Saint Thomas Academy InvenTeam from Mendota Heights, Minnesota — Electric motorcycle with compressible “crush zones” for urban commuter safety Martin Schubert, 2008 winner of the $30,000 Lemelson-Rensselaer Student Prize Winner — Polarized LED that could improve liquid crystal displays (scheduled to present approximately at 2 p.m.) Brillion High School InvenTeam from Brillion, Wisconsin — Electric, all-terrain, multi-purpose lifting machine, which allows farmers, manufacturers and landscapers to more efficiently lift, move and dump heavy materials Saratoga Springs High School InvenTeam from Saratoga Springs, New York — Plant and flower success indicator to measure garden conditions (scheduled to present approximately at 2:30 p.m.) Patrick Walsh, 2008 winner of the $30,000 Lemelson-Illinois Student Prize — Battery-powered, solar-charged LED lamp to light homes in lieu of kerosene lamps in developing countries Martin Fisher, 2008 winner of the $100,000 Lemelson-MIT Award for Sustainability (scheduled to present approximately at 3:15 p.m.) Fisher is co-founder of the non-profit social enterprise KickStart, a non-profit organization that develops and markets new technologies in Africa. Fisher and his colleagues have created low-cost, human-powered irrigation pumps known as MoneyMaker Pumps. KickStart’s pumps, coupled with its innovative business model have helped to lift nearly 80 percent of its customers – poor African farmers – out of poverty. A brief question-and-answer period will follow each presentation. Attendees may choose to attend all or select presentations, as interested. Seating is limited. InvenTeams Showcase, 5:30-8:30 p.m. Stata Student Street (Bldg. 32, 1st floor) How does one unlock the challenges to design a usable lock for the blind and visually impaired? Could an aerial wind-sensing device be used to identify optimal locations for wind turbines? Meet 2008 InvenTeam students at this informal, public exhibit of their invention prototypes, which include a fish “escalator” to ferry salmon over manmade damns and a human-powered irrigation pump. This display offers the opportunity to talk with students individually … and become inspired by a future generation of inventors. Light hors d’oeuvres will be served. View the current list of 2008 Lemelson-MIT InvenTeam grantees and their projects. 2008 Lemelson-MIT Awards Ceremony, 6:30-8 p.m. Kirsch Auditorium (Bldg. 32-123, 1st floor) In this public ceremony, Dean Subra Suresh, of the School of Engineering at MIT, will introduce this year’s winner of the $500,000 Lemelson-MIT Prize, which honors an outstanding mid-career inventor dedicated to improving the world through technological invention and innovation. A special presentation by the winner will follow. The ceremony includes esteemed presenters: Susan Hockfield, president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Dorothy Lemelson, chair of the Lemelson Foundation Robert Lemelson, co-vice president and secretary of the Lemelson Foundation Merton Flemings, faculty director of the Lemelson-MIT Program The 2008 Lemelson-MIT Award winners will also be recognized for their ingenuity, creativity and contribution to invention and innovation. Seating is limited.   EurekaFest at the Museum of Science, Boston Saturday, June 28, 2008 All events held in the Main Exhibit Halls, 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.: Museum of Science 1 Science Park Boston, MA 02114 Directions Heavy Metal: Amped on Wind Power How can one lift an aluminum garbage can three stories high … with a wind turbine? Watch and learn as over 200 high school students from all over the country tackle an engineering design challenge: to create a wind turbine that can lift an aluminum garbage can to a three-story height — the ceiling of the Museum of Science. Teams of eight students, plus one mentor guide, will be provided with a set of materials to design, build, and test their devices in a four-hour period. They will compete for prizes on performance and design. Don’t miss the BIG BANG late afternoon, when approximately 30 trash cans, dangling at their achieved heights, crash to the museum floor during the challenge finale. Afternoon Presentations: Science Live Stage 12:30-1 p.m. InvenTeams teachers Kent Colllins (Norview High School) and Victoria Lee (Charles Herbert Flowers High School) join together for a panel discussion on their InvenTeams’ processes for inventing — both InvenTeams created an assistive device for a student in their school. Adam Weiss of the Museum will moderate the discussion, followed by an audience Q&A. 2:30-3 p.m. Lemelson-Collegiate Student Prize finalists Manu Prakash and Stephen Diebold present their respective inventions: an all-fluidic system, referred to as Bubble Logic, to control sub-nanoliter quantities of biological and chemical reagents in micro-fluidic devices; and a chin-pointer to assist a university student with quadriplegia in order to perform certain functions and enable increased independence. Join the Smithsonian’s Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation for two hands-on learning activities: Grab Bag Inventing — Play with Wind Power Museum visitors will be given a “grab bag” containing a few everyday materials, such as pipe cleaners, paper plates, cups, rubber bands, and straws. Using only the materials in the bag (along with a pair of scissors and a roll of tape), visitors will be challenged to invent something that is wind-powered. Visitors will have the opportunity to test their inventions using hand-held fans and can also complete “patents” to protect their ideas. Wind-Powered Cars: A Prelude to the Windy 500 Museum visitors will use paper, cardboard, straws, and wheels to construct wind-powered cars. Visitors will test their cars using only their breath for wind power. How far does the car go? How fast does it get there? Does it go straight? Visitors will be challenged to change and improve their cars to go faster, farther, and straighter. Families are invited to this day of invention at the Museum of Science. Please visit “Visitor Info” for more information. Free admission with valid MIT ID; otherwise, museum admission rates apply. Please call the Lemelson-MIT Program, (617) 253-3352, for more information on EurekaFest. Everyone can identify problems in daily life and come up with creative solutions to them — everyone can be inventive.