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CNY middle school inventors head to Houston to debut a (hopefully) winning prototype - syracuse.com

Clockwise from top left: Liam Palen, 11; Sophie Smorol, 11; Matthew Shooshan, 12; Ryan Coombs, 9; Aria Murphy, 10; Max Steigerwald, 10; and Eli Heigle, 9. Thursday, March 30, 2023. Jules Struck | jstruck@syracuse.com

11-year-old Liam Palen shuffled in his gray Crocs, clutched his script and started in on his presentation to the room of home contractors in front of him. Linear Motor Direct Drive

CNY middle school inventors head to Houston to debut a (hopefully) winning prototype - syracuse.com

“Did you know that air conditioning costs are one of the biggest energy expenses that homeowners have? This product cut my energy bill last year by $194,” he said, standing next to the prototype automatic window-opener he helped build.

“I was spending a fortune on energy when I could’ve been filling my house with outside air.”

Liam and six other Marcellus middle schoolers debuted their prototype in a mock-Shark Tank competition at McClurg Remodeling & Construction Services last Thursday, in preparation for a final showdown in Houston later this month. The team, dubbed “Crocs in Socks,” is competing in a global engineering competition for kids run by LEGO.

A drawing by the Crocs in Socks team included on one of the team's tri-fold poster boards. Thursday, March 30, 2023. Jules Struck | jstruck@syracuse.com

They’re doing really well — after two regional competitions, they were invited to the final competition in Houston on April 15 to 18. Only 108 teams out of 20,000 worldwide get to go. Right now, the team is fundraising for the trip.

The competition has two parts: build a robot out of LEGOs that can traverse an obstacle course, and prototype a separate project related to energy conservation.

Thursday’s presentation at McClurg was just a practice run for the kids to share their prototype with local professionals, but the research they put into it was no joke.

Surrounded by McClurg sideboard samples and handle and hook models, the kids went through the step-by-step process for building their automatic window-opener. They rigged a linear actuator and raspberry pi to a shed window with a rack and pinion, then programmed the window to open and close based on outside and inside temperature, humidity and pollen count.

Voila. A hands-free alternative to A/C or heat.

The "Breezer 5000" prototype. Thursday, March 30, 2023. Jules Struck | jstruck@syryacuse.com

Eli Heigle, 9, paused his description.

“And if you’re wondering about a raspberry pi, it’s basically like a tiny computer that connects to … our motor and linear actuator so the window moves up and down.”

Crocs in Socks nixed a couple other ideas early on: magnetic doors to section off unused parts of the house and special heated clothes.

Once they settled on a prototype, they talked to a local architect and a quality engineer and sent out a homeowner questionnaire.

They had to present their project at two competitions, without parents in the room.

“I mean, I was a little nervous for it,” said Eli, “but in the end we all did good.”

Aria Murphy, 10, shakes the hand of Scott McClurg, president and co-owner of McClurg Remodeling & Construction Services in Marcellus. McClurg gave the kids $500 towards their trip to Houston. Thursday, March 30, 2023. Jules Struck | jstruck@syracuse.com

Matthew Shooshan, 12, was the funniest, they agreed. The team’s humor helped a lot.

They went in with displays full of data on laminated printer paper listing their algorithms, parts, research, early iterations of the project, feedback and their prototype.

“We didn’t want to get our hopes up, but we were confident in our design,” said Aria Murphy, 10, seriously.

On Thursday, after the team took down the contractors’ feedback on their clipboards, McClurg president and co-owner Scott McClurg gave the kids a $500 check and a round of handshakes.

The kids packed up their model and their tri-fold poster boards, then grouped up to chatter a bit.

The Crocs in Socks team. Thursday, March 30, 2023. Jules Struck | jstruck@syracuse.com

Yeah, it’s a lot of work, they said — two hours on Saturdays. But it’s been fun to do the competitions, they said. And they all love engineering.

Maybe she’ll grow up to be an engineer, said Sophie Smorol, 11.

“Or like, a professional sports player or a musician or an inventor.”

Jules Struck writes about life and culture in and around Syracuse. Contact her anytime at jstruck@syracuse.com or on Instagram at julesstruck.journo.

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CNY middle school inventors head to Houston to debut a (hopefully) winning prototype - syracuse.com

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