“I remember making a retractable video game controller for the original Nintendo for my school's invention fair.”

— Max Wick, Kansas University senior, Lawrence

“In seventh grade I made a hot air balloon out of a dry cleaning bag, some straws and a candle.”

— Liz Rice, corrections manager, rural Lawrence

“We did an experiment to see which toothpaste was the best at whitening. We stained the shells of hard-boiled eggs with tomato sauce, grape juice and coffee. Then we tried three different types of toothpaste on each egg.”

— Lorraine Keasling, pilates instructor, Lawrence

“I think I did one on acid rain at one point and another on the flight patterns of birds.”

— Chad Stockslager, musician, Dallas