JPL
Careers
Education
Science & Technology
JPL Logo
JPL Logo
JPL Life
.

JPL Invention Challenge: Students, Pros, Wiffle Balls

Written by Elyssia Widjaja Dec. 1, 2017
Team Golden Tulip came all the way from Ethiopia in order to participate in JPL's Invention Challenge. L-R: Sabrina Dawit; Nayna Gebreslasie; Hermela Kiros; Lidya Zeru; Saron Gebreslassie; Hermela Brhane.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Students from as far away as Tanzania and Ethiopia joined JPL professionals in the annual Invention Challenge.

Catapults and leaf-blowers were among the many innovative devices built by students for the 2017 Invention Challenge, an annual engineering competition at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California.

Middle schools and high schools were represented from across the greater Los Angeles area. Three teams even required passports, with students coming from Tanzania and Ethiopia.

This year's "Wiffle Ball Loft Contest" required competitors to create a device to launch up to 10 wiffle balls into a plastic tub located 19 feet, 8 inches (6 meters) away within a one-minute time allotment. The challenges were many: launching at the best angles with the varying wind directions; making sure the device was initiated by only one method; and even preventing the wiffle ball from breaking, which would result in disqualification.

The winners were from Southern California: "Project Defying Gravity" from Diamond Bar High School; "Cre8tive" from South East High School in Southgate; and "The Lizards" from Lawndale High School.

Paul MacNeal, a mechanical systems engineer at JPL, created the Invention Challenge 20 years ago to inspire students to pursue careers in engineering -- and have fun in the process. MacNeal said the event has influenced previous participants to recreate the competition in their local communities -- as far away as Istanbul.

"When I was in high school, I thought being involved with NASA-JPL was unattainable," MacNeal said. "I wanted to change that and inspire competitors to pursue engineering careers."

Yasin Giray, an Ethiopian volunteer teacher who brought the Ethiopian team to JPL, said Africa generally does not have enough opportunities for his students to show their skills in the science and technology fields.

"We encountered some difficulties along the way. Ethiopia does not sell the wiffle balls used in the contest, so we practiced with balls made of a different plastic," Giray said. "We could only practice when we arrived in the U.S., but we knew we had to take this opportunity."

Diamond Bar High School's first place team, "Project Defying Gravity," was a team of two. They developed a device elastically powered through a surgical tube calibrated to use multiple strengths to adjust to changing winds.

"A specific gelato container is the perfect size to fit a wiffle ball. So, we ate a lot of ice cream to use them in our device," Megan Ho, one of the two team members said. "I feel elated that we won. This competition has made me want to pursue engineering more -- specifically mechanical engineering."

Kenneth Chew, from the "PACKS" team representing Diamond Bar, was so inspired by JPL missions and launches that he brought lucky peanuts for his team to eat before launch - a JPL tradition before major mission events. He even designed a mission logo inspired by JPL mission patches.

Caltech in Pasadena, California, manages JPL for NASA.

News Media Contact

Andrew Good

Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.

818-393-2433

andrew.c.good@jpl.nasa.gov

2017-311

Related News

JPL Life .

L.A. Youth Robotics Competition Leaves Student Teams Energized

JPL Life .

Pi Day Challenge: Solve Stellar Math Problems With NASA

Technology .

NASA’s Quantum Detector Achieves World-Leading Milestone

Asteroids and Comets .

Webb Detects Extremely Small Main Belt Asteroid

JPL Life .

University High Reclaims Victory at JPL-Hosted Science Bowl

JPL Life .

NASA Scientists & Historian Named AAAS 2022 Fellows

Technology .

NASA Spinoffs Bolster Climate Resilience, Improve Medical Care, More

Technology .

Moon Water Imager Integrated With NASA’s Lunar Trailblazer

JPL Life .

Practice Makes Perfect for Student Inventions at JPL Competition

JPL Life .

NASA Press Events at 2022 Fall AGU Meeting

Explore More

Mission .

Deep Space Network

Von Kármán Lecture .

The von Kármán Lecture Series: 2023

Lecture Series .

April 2023 - Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation (EMIT) Mission

Slice of History

Lecture Series .

March 2023 - To Boldly Go Where No Robots Have Gone Before: Solar System Exploration with Autonomous Robots at JPL

Universe Newsletter

About JPL .

Who We Are

Image .

Slice of History - Building 111 Then & Now

Lecture Series .

January 2023 - How Do Missions Get Formed?

JPL Annual Invention Challenge - 2022

About JPL
Who We Are
Executive Council
Directors
Careers
Internships
The JPL Story
JPL Achievements
Documentary Series
Annual Reports
Missions
Current
Past
Future
All
News
All
Earth
Solar System
Stars and Galaxies
Subscribe to JPL News
Galleries
Images
Videos
Audio
Podcasts
Apps
Visions of the Future
Slice of History
Robotics at JPL
Events
Lecture Series
Team Competitions
Speakers Bureau
Calendar
Visit
Public Tours
Virtual Tour
Directions and Maps
Topics
JPL Life
Solar System
Mars
Earth
Climate Change
Exoplanets
Stars and Galaxies
Robotics
More
Asteroid Watch
NASA's Eyes Visualizations
Universe - Internal Newsletter
Social Media
Get the Latest from JPL
Follow Us

JPL is a federally funded research and development center managed for NASA by Caltech.

More from JPL
Careers Education Science & Technology Acquisitions JPL Store
Careers
Education
Science & Technology
Acquisitions
JPL Store
Related NASA Sites
Basics of Spaceflight
Climate Kids
Earth / Global Climate Change
Exoplanet Exploration
Mars Exploration
Solar System Exploration
Space Place
NASA's Eyes Visualization Project
Voyager Interstellar Mission
NASA
Caltech
Privacy
Image Policy
FAQ
Feedback
Site Managers: Veronica McGregor, Randal Jackson
Site Editors: Tony Greicius, Naomi Hartono
CL#: 21-0018