DSC Inventor’s Lab Program Registration Now Open for All

The Da Vinci Science Center has opened registration for its 2015-2016 Inventor’s Lab Program to all students in grades 4-8.

Limited spaces are available on a first-come-first served basis with payment. A pre-registration form will be available on the web at davincisciencenter.org/inventors. Completion of that form does not constitute a guarantee of a program space. If space is available, a Center representative will contact the applicant and provide them a full registration form. Completion of that form and submission of payment is required to secure a space in the program.

The eight-month Inventor’s Lab Program helps students in grades 4-8 develop their own invention ideas with the help of active and retired scientists, engineers, inventors, and professionals.

One of the most unique opportunities of its kind in the United States, the Inventor’s Lab Program concludes each spring with an Inventor’s Lab Showcase in which students present their ideas before a panel of patent attorneys and experts. The panel selects one winning invention that is considered for a U.S. Provisional Patent application.

The program’s first showcase winner – William Schopf of Whitehall, Pa., in 2008 – earned a U.S. Patent at the age of 14 for his idea. Two other showcase winners – Ambrose Cavalier of Saylorsburg, Pa., in 2012, and Vidhyasai Annem of Allentown, Pa., in 2014 – have earned provisional patents.

This year’s Inventor’s Lab Program will consist of monthly Saturday morning sessions from Sept. 2015 through the showcase in April 2016. The program fee is $150 per student. Da Vinci Science Center members enjoyed an exclusive registration period from July 6-20, 2015. Additional program spaces have been reserved for students from underserved populations through sponsor-furnished scholarships.