It’s the bane of teachers everywhere, an annoyance for students trying their best to concentrate on their lessons.
Over the last several years, reusable water bottles have replaced traditional water fountains in schools across the country, including in Berks County. The new trend was reinforced by the COVID-19 pandemic, with many schools going as far as to remove communal water fountains.
While the move has been good from a hygiene perspective, it hasn’t been without its challenges.
Hard plastic or metal water bottles perched on the corners of students’ desks are a target for wayward arms, legs or even hips.
“They’re always getting knocked off the desk and onto the floor,” said Riley Fegley, an 11-year-old who just finished fifth grade at Oley Valley Elementary School.
Fegley’s observation is backed up by research. She and classmate Leah Delmonico surveyed teachers at their school and found out that on average a water bottle falls off a desk once every 10 minutes.
And that’s a big problem.
“It makes a really big bang,” Delmonico said.
“It’s very disruptive,” Fegley added. “And sometimes the lids open and water spills everywhere.”
All of that made it an easy choice for Fegley and Delmonico when their science teacher, Tara Gardecki, issued an assignment this past school year to come up with an invention to solve a problem at home or at school.
The girls used an engineering exercise to create “The Bottle Buddy,” a device that secures water bottles on classroom desks and prevents them from crashing to the ground.
Their invention is a roaring success, winning a statewide invention competition and placing third in a national contest.
The Bottle Buddy didn’t pour from the girls’ minds fully formed. In fact, they went through several unsuccessful prototypes before finding the winning formula.
“There were a lot,” Fegley said. “I don’t even know how many.”
The first was made of cardboard and used tape to attach to the side of a desk. But the cardboard wasn’t sturdy enough and the tape wasn’t strong enough to hold.
The girls tried different shapes and adhesives, such as Velcro, before settling on 3-D printing a version that relied on super-strong magnets to stick to the metal bands on the side of their elementary school desks.
The final version is able to easily hold a full water bottle and be removed and transported from class to class. It even includes a pencil holder.
Gardecki, their teacher, said the girls learned a lot about inventing through their failures and successes.
“They definitely learned the engineering process of redesigning if something doesn’t work,” she said.
Fegley and Delmonico showed off the Bottle Buddy at the Pennsylvania Invention Convention in January, beating out hundreds of applicants in grades fifth through eighth from across the state to become a finalist. They ended up winning the best prototype award.
The girls said they were nervous and excited at the competition. They were even more excited when they learned about their win — during an assembly with their entire school.
“It was cool because everybody was like, ‘You’re going to Michigan,’” Delmonico said. “They were super happy for us.”
The girls did, indeed, go to Michigan. There they competed in the National Invention Convention in June.
About 166,000 entries from across the U.S. were entered into the contest, with 336 named finalists and invited to the convention.
“We were super excited,” Delmonico said.
The Bottle Buddy ended up taking home third place at the national competition.
Along with the recognition the invention has earned at competitions, it has garnered a lot of interest around Oley Valley Elementary School. The girls were able to get 30 of them 3-D printed by Precision Technology. These will be used next school year by classmates.
Gardecki said they’re investigating getting a patent.
Delmonico and Fegley said they loved their experience coming up with an invention, with both saying they’d love to try their hand of it again. They’re not sure what problem they’ll tackle next, though.
“We’re still thinking about what to do next,” Fegley said.
The girls’ parents said they’re thrilled with their girls’ newfound love for science and engineering, crediting Gardecki for going the extra mile to inspire and support them.
“She really connected with these girls.” Mark Delmonico said. “She put in a lot of time — after school and taking them to competitions. She’s really been amazing.”
Source: Berkshire mont
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