Students who are not inventing at a Young Inventors’ Program school or community organization are eligible to compete in the Independent Students’ Invention Fair. This fair is an opportunity for young inventors to showcase their invention/Rube Goldberg Machine projects and celebrate their efforts. This competition is required for students who want to progress to the Northern New England Invention Convention and Invention Convention U.S. Nationals or Rube Goldberg Machine Contest (RGMC) World Championships.
DATE: MARCH 4, 2025
(Typically, this virtual fair takes place in late February or early March)
TIME: 4-6pm
DEADLINE TO REGISTER:
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2025, by 5pm EST
Registration
To register, please email Tina White with your intent to participate by Friday, February 25, 2025, 5:00pm, EST.
Email: Tina.White@unh.edu
In your registration email, please include the following:
- Inventor’s Full Name
- Parent/Guardian Full Name
- Parent/Guardian Email Address
- Parent/Guardian Phone Number
- Parent/Guardian Mailing Address
- Inventor’s Grade
- Inventor’s School Name
- Inventor’s City and State
- Name of Invention
- Type of Project: Invention or Rube Goldberg Machine
View Awards Announcement is available here
Schedule (tentative, based on previous years)
3:55pm- Inventors may begin to login to the online event session
4:00-4:10pm- Welcome
4:15-5:15pm- Judge Circle Sessions
5:15-5:30pm- Inventor Meet Up
5:30pm- Closing Celebration
All students will be recognized for their achievements and awards will be announced by TBA. Selected students from our Independent Students’ Invention Fair will be invited to present their inventions at the Northern New England Regional Invention Convention with an opportunity to move on to the Invention Convention U.S. Nationals or the Rube Goldberg Machine Contest (RGMC) World Championships.
Independent students who do not have access to a local Young Inventors’ Program Invention Fair in their school or community, homeschool students, and students who incorporated invention projects into their individual learning plan are eligible to participate.
All students participating in the 2024 Independent Students’ Invention Fair must present and/or submit the following required materials:
- Inventor’s Journal- to be shown during the virtual competition. Students may be asked to show and/or submit the following pages (email copy) and may add additional pages as desired.
- Title Page (states inventor name, grade, school name, city and state)
- At least one labeled design/sketch/diagram of invention or Rube Goldberg Machine
- Statement of Originality
- Intent to Invent (statement of the problem and your invention solution)
- Materials List
- Tri-fold poster display to be shared in virtual session (Student should stand in front of or show their display as part of their presentation.)
- 2-3 minute oral presentation in which they present their project
- Not required, but recommended: a model or prototype (working or non-working) of their invention or Rube Goldberg Machine
General and Challenge Invention Teams
- Only two students are allowed per Invention Team.
- Students do not have to be from the same grade. However, students will compete in the highest grade level on the team.
- All team members must take part in the team presentation (if possible).
- All team members should keep their own YIP Inventor’s Journal or invention logbook. Note: logbooks are required materials for the regional and national competitions.
- Each student can enter only one project (General Invention, Challenge Invention or Rube Goldberg Machine) for the School/Local Invention Fair, the Independent Student Invention Fair, the regional Invention Convention, the Invention Convention U.S. Nationals and the National Rube Goldberg Machine Contest.
- No student can enter both an individual and a team project.
- Teams will compete against individuals and vice versa.
- The judging process for individuals and teams is exactly the same at all levels.
General and Challenge Invention Project Requirements
All projects must have the following components:
- YIP Inventor’s Journal or invention logbook (digital or hard copy formats accepted)
- Tri-fold/3-panel Display Board- maximum of 48” wide and 36” tall (the board should be 24” with both 12” sides folded in.) The board must fit into a footprint of no more than 30” wide (with sides folded in) on the tabletop. Prototypes and models should fit within this tabletop space as well or on the floor in front of the table and should not encroach upon neighboring display spaces. No oversize displays will be allowed.
Display boards must have the following information in one consolidated place on the poster:
- Student(s) Name(s)
- Name of Invention
- Student(s) Grade(s)
- Student(s) School
- School City, State
- Statement of the problem
- Explanation of the invention as a solution to the problem
- Details of model construction
- Diagrams of design
- Models or prototypes (which may be working or non-working) are not required but are recommended. These models demonstrate the key characteristics that make the invention valuable, original, and useful. This model does not have to be fully functional.
General and Challenge Invention Project Restrictions
The following items are not allowed on your person or in your project:
- Electric stun guns, martial arts weapons or devices
- Guns, replica guns, ammunition, and fireworks
- Knives of any size
- Mace and pepper spray
- Razors and box cutters
- Live animals
- No balloons, glitter, or confetti are allowed in any form
If a project requires batteries, these must be provided by the inventor. We will have limited access to electrical outlets.
Rube Goldberg Machine Teams
- Teams of up to five students will be allowed per Rube Goldberg Machine invention.
- Students do not have to be from the same grade, but must be from the same Division Level.
- Apprentice Division = Grades K-5
- Division 1 = Grades 6-8
- Division 2 = Grades 9-12
- All team members must take part in the team presentation (if possible).
- All team members should keep their own YIP Inventor’s Journal or invention logbook. Note: logbooks are required materials for the regional and national competitions.
- Each student can enter only one project (General Invention, Challenge Invention or Rube Goldberg Machine) for the School/Local Invention Fair, the Independent Student Invention Fair, the regional Invention Convention, the Invention Convention U.S. Nationals and the National Rube Goldberg Machine Contest.
- No student can enter both an individual and a team project.
- Teams will compete against individuals and vice versa.
- The judging process for individuals and teams is exactly the same at all levels.
Rube Goldberg Machine Project Requirements
All projects must have the following components:
- YIP Inventor’s Journal or invention logbook (digital and hard copy formats accepted).
- The Rube Goldberg Machine must solve the assigned task (task will change annually). For 2024, the machine must PUT TOOHPASTE ON A TOOTHBRUSH.*
- Take at least 10 steps (grades K-5)/ 15 steps (grades 6-8)/ 20 steps (grades 9-12) to complete the desired task*
- Rube Goldberg Machines must incorporate a minimum of 4 of the following simple machines at least once:
- wheel and axle
- pulley
- inclined plane
- screw
- wedge
- lever
- Steps and machine components labeled appropriately on display or contraption.
*Students who wish to be eligible for the National Rube Goldberg Machine Contest, must meet all contest requirements, including developing a machine that solves the assigned task (which changes annually), is solved in the required amount of steps and meets all contest rules. Please see the Rube Goldberg Machine Category Competition Requirements on our Northern New England Invention Convention page for details.
Rube Goldberg Machine Project Restrictions
The following items are not allowed on your person or in your project:
- Electric stun guns, martial arts weapons or devices
- Guns, replica guns, ammunition, and fireworks
- Knives of any size
- Mace and pepper spray
- Razors and box cutters
- Live animals
- No balloons, glitter, or confetti are allowed in any form
If a project requires batteries, these must be provided by the inventor. We will have limited access to electrical outlets.
