HARTFORD, Conn. (WTNH) — The Connecticut Invention Convention started 38 years ago and in their nearly four decades they have set a leading example across the nation and even globally.  

Christine Lawlor-King is the Executive Director and tells News 8, “representatives from China and Singapore reached out to Connecticut to say ‘we want to start this.’”  

The program includes students from kindergarten to 12^th grade and allows them to hone in on their STEM skills.  

Josie Steffenson is a 7-year-old inventor and came up with the ‘Lift Saver Life Saver’. She tells News 8, “I go skiing and my mom’s always worried that I’m going to fall off.”  

She is one of three inventors who we talked with at the Connecticut Science Center. Trevon Terry is about to be in sixth grade. He invented the ‘Affirmation Alarm Clock’. 

Terry tells News 8, “there are some people who deal with sadness some people don’t, like waking up in the morning but this will start your day off right with no bad vibes.”  

CIC works in and out of the classroom. During a typical year, they partner with about 300 schools across the state. With the pandemic and remote learning, that number was significantly dropped.  

Lawlor-King tells us, “this is what every child needs now more than ever and we need every child to have this education because our problems are growing bigger and they know how to solve them.’  

If you want to get your child involved visit their website.