SLN Epals Corporation

ePals Corporation (TSX VENTURE: SLN), an education media company and the world's
leading Global Education Network, and the Smithsonian's Lemelson Center for the
Study of Invention and Innovation's Spark!Lab, are happy to announce today the
26 student winners and runners up in the 2012 Invent It! Challenge contest.


Students were challenged to come up with solutions to problems in their schools,
to improve on inventions being used in their schools, or to invent solutions for
larger real-world problems that exist today.


A Sampling of Winning Inventions
Winners and runners up were chosen from among hundreds of entries across
different categories and age groups, all of which are highlighted at
www.ePals.com, and include:



A 13-year-old boy from Chapel Hill, N.C., and his construction of a portable
transport vehicle for children and elderly refugees who must flee conflict and
famine -- that could save lives the world over;



A 9-year-old Mississippi girl's prototype of a purse that has a solar-powered
light inside, brightening the chances of finding your house keys;



A 16-year-old girl from Indiana's development of an interactive homework-help
'app' for smartphones and handheld devices;



A 6-year-old child from Pennsylvania's "turbo skraper" to make snow and ice
removal from a car windshield easier than ever;



A 9-year-old New Jersey girl, affected by her grandfather's Parkinson's,
invented a "sand sleeve" that is a wrist guard with sand in it, the weight of
which steadies her grandfather's hand so he can sign his name. 





This year's entries reflect an awareness of academic, environmental and
practical issues, and also show a deep understanding and empathy for those in
different circumstances, such as the elderly and people facing war and conflict,
say experts in inventions and global innovation. A social media campaign was
added to this year's voting process, with ePals Choice nominees given two weeks
to reach out and solicit votes for their projects. Thousands of people from
around the world weighed in with their choices.


"Inventions are an important driver in advancing economies around the world and
in addressing some of the more difficult issues we face as citizens of planet
Earth," said John Kao, Chairman of the Institute for Large Scale Innovation and
author of the book, Innovation Nation. "It's 'seriously amazing' to see these
young people's innovative concepts, and organizations like the Smithsonian
Institution, the Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation, and
ePals should be commended for encouraging and recognizing creativity in our
youth."


"We're excited about the interest and participation throughout the global
education community in this year's Challenge," says Claudine Brown, Smithsonian
Assistant Secretary for Education and Access. "We saw a 6-fold increase over
last year in the number of submissions. The creativity demonstrated by the
students and the quality of their inventions were outstanding. We are committed
to bringing the vast resources of the Smithsonian to connect educators and
children and to reach across borders through these types of learning
opportunities that spark creativity among the next generation of innovators."


Patent Applications among Prizes
Prizes for selected winners in different categories include patent applications,
which will be evaluated by the law firm Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough,
LLP. Former U.S. Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley and Neil Jones, senior
partners with the firm, lauded the program:


"We are pleased to participate pro bono in events that encourage young inventors
and entrepreneurs," Riley said. "These young people will be treated like our
most important corporate clients who entrust us to protect their intellectual
property. They will interact with our patent attorneys and will come away with a
sense of what it means to be part of our great American innovative landscape."
According to Jones, "Our preliminary analysis suggests several may qualify for
patent protection. We intend to conduct a patentability analysis and, as
appropriate, file patent applications on their behalf."


Other prizes include LEGO sets, scholarships to Invent Now Inc.'s Camp
Invention, class participation in a video chat with an inventor from the
Lemelson Center, and more. Prizes are provided by sponsors, including LEGO and
the Nelson Mullins law firm.


Check out the full list of winners and runners up, and all of the Invent It!
Challenge entries:
http://en.community.epals.com/smithsonian_on_epals/p/inventionchallenge2012winners.aspx


About ePals Corporation
ePals Corporation (TSX VENTURE: SLN) is an education media company and the
leading Global Learning Network. Focused on the K-12 market, ePals offers
elementary and secondary school administrators, teachers, students and parents
worldwide a safe and secure platform for building educational communities,
providing quality digital content and facilitating collaboration for effective
21st century learning. ePals' award-winning products include: the ePals Global
Community(R); Learn365(TM); In2Books(R), a common core eMentoring program that
builds reading, writing and critical thinking skills; and popular children's
educational publishing brands including Cricket(R) and Cobblestone(R). ePals
customers and partners include the International Baccalaureate, Microsoft
Corporation, Dell Inc., IBM Corp., National Geographic and leading school
districts across the United States and globally. ePals serves approximately 1
million classrooms and reaches millions of teachers, students and parents in
approximately 200 countries and territories. Visit www.epals.com. For In2Books,
visit www.In2Books.com.


About Spark!Lab
Spark!Lab is a hands-on invention activity space that is part of the Jerome and
Dorothy Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation
(http://invention.smithsonian.org/home/) at the Smithsonian's National
Museum of American History. The center's mission is to document, interpret, and
disseminate information about invention and innovation, to encourage creativity
in young people, and to foster an appreciation for the central role of invention
and innovation in the history of the United States. Spark!Lab is currently
closed for renovations and will reopen in 2015.




FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT: 
For media inquiries please contact:


Susan McLester
ePals Media Relations
Phone: (510) 914-2692
susan@mclestercontent.com


Will Jarred
SVP, Marketing & Corporate Communications
Phone: (703) 885-3400
wjarred@corp.epals.com

Epals Corporation (TSXV:SLN)
過去 株価チャート
から 5 2024 まで 6 2024

Epals Corporation (TSXV:SLN)
過去 株価チャート
から 6 2023 まで 6 2024