Deadline Extended to Register for Antonio Meucci Young Inventors’ Comp

The deadline to enter the Antonio Meucci Young Inventors' Competition has been extended to June 1. Students in grades 4 through 8 who live and go to school on Staten Island are invited to present an original idea for a new invention/product or an improvement on an existing one-anything from a helpful kitchen gadget to a machine that does your homework for you. Three First Prize winners will receive $250 each and a gift valued at $50, three Second Prize winners will receive $100 each, and three Third Prize winners will receive $40 each. There is no entry fee.

The competition is named for the Italian inventor, Antonio Meucci (1808-1889), who lived for 40 years in the small house in Rosebank, Staten Island, that is now home to the Garibaldi-Meucci Museum. Throughout his lifetime, Meucci was responsible for many inventions, improvements and ideas. In addition to his discovery of the principle of the telephone in 1848-when Alexander Graham Bell was just 2 years old-Meucci manufactured smokeless candles, created a tea and coffee filtering system, made improvements in oil and kerosene lamps, created a process to make paper from wood pulp, and even canned tomato sauce, among many other things. The Garibaldi-Meucci Museum, in conjunction with Time Warner Cable, sponsors the Antonio Meucci Young Inventors' Competition to honor his legacy of curiosity, ingenuity and innovation, and nurture that creative spirit in potential inventors in the 21st century.

To participate, the entrant must fill out an application (available at www.garibaldimeuccimuseum.org or by calling 718-442-1608, only one per student), and submit it with a clear explanation, as well as a sketch or photo of what the invention would look like. Prototypes are highly recommended, even if they don't actually work. The invention or improvement should provide a simple, creative solution to a common problem, as well as an understanding of the scientific principle behind the invention, and must be a unique, original idea from the student.

Applications will be reviewed by the museum staff, and 15 finalists will present their entries to a panel of expert judges on Sunday, June 12, 2011 between 12 noon and 3 p.m. at the St. Joseph's Parochial School auditorium (139 St. Mary's Avenue at the corner of Tompkins Avenue in Rosebank, Staten Island). The general public is invited to attend the reception, beginning at 2:30 p.m., to view all the entries and celebrate this new generation of inventors.

For more information call 718-442-1608.

Regular museum hours are 1 p.m.-5 p.m., Wednesday through Saturday. Admission is $5 per person, members and children under 10 are free. Call ahead for groups of 10 or more. The first floor of the museum is wheelchair accessible. At press time, program funding has been provided through the Order Sons of Italy in America; by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council; the Office of the Staten Island Borough President, Richmond County Savings Foundation; Northfield Bank Foundation, and by grants allocated by New York State Senator Diane Savino and New York City Council members Vincent Ignizio and James Oddo. The Garibaldi-Meucci Museum is owned and operated by the Order Sons of Italy in America.