BLANCHESTER, Ohio — As the Ohio Invention League's week-long virtual convention and celebration of "Kid Inventor Day" begins, a pair of siblings from Blanchester are preparing to showcase their inventions.
Ella and Danny Mefford are in the tenth and seventh grades, respectively, and they hope their inventions can help save the planet and lives.
This is not the first invention conference Ella and Danny have invented things for either.
Last year, Ella invented Tree-Less Paper Towels, which could be washed and reused.
"After you use them, you can throw them in the washer, reconnect them back together and re-roll them up for convenience," Ella said.
Danny invented the Baby Saver when he was in the fourth grade, which alerts local first responders when a baby is trapped in a hot car. "I did not want that to happen to my baby sister or anyone else," Danny said.
This year, the two have some new ideas.
Ella invented the Everywhere Epi-Pen, a smart bag that alerts other people carrying Epi-Pens when you are having an allergic reaction if you don't have your Epi-Pen on you. Coming up with this invention was daunting, but Ella said she liked the learning opportunity.
"Since it involved more technology, I was a little bit out of my comfort zone," Ella said. "That’s what I liked, because I had to learn new skills.”
Danny created the Beacon of Hope after a trip to a hurricane museum.The beacon is a button which sends out a signal when pressed so if someone gets trapped during a storm, first responders will be able to locate them.
While both young inventors have independent designs and creations, they said they brainstorm together during the week.
"At least once a week we have some sort of brainstorming session where we just spit out ideas, see what we can do,” Danny said.
Sometimes though, ideas don't work out, and that's all right.
"Instead of failure, I like to say ‘unscheduled learning opportunities,’" Danny said.
"There’s always a solution to everything," Ella said. "You just have to look at it from a different angle."
