COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (KMTV) — Eight-year-old Clara Riebe invented a dice game to solve a problem many families face on long road trips: too much screen time.
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The game, "Road Trip Roll," earned her second place among second-graders at the national Invention Convention in Dearborn, Michigan. She was one of 11 Iowa kids selected to compete nationally after participating with dozens of Lewis Central students in the school's Invention Convention in February.
"I was, like, really excited and I did think I had a good chance," Clara said.
Inspired by "I Spy," players roll two dice — one with colors and one with letters — and try to match one or both as they look out the window. A point system keeps score. In Cochran Park, Clara and her brother, six-year-old Ben, demonstrated how they play. Pointing out objects that match the color and/or the letter represented on the dice. Rolling a "Purple" and "G," they laughed realizing their grandma was wearing purple shirt — three points to Ben!
"Well, I was thinking of some sort of game or something to do on a road trip," Clara said.
Clara's TAG teacher, Melissa Taylor, encouraged the kids to invent something that solves a real-world problem. After looking into the issue, Clara says she learned the average child spends about six hours a day on screens. Playing a game in the car seemed like a way to reduce screen time.
Taylor says the inventions to not have to be high-tech.
"Clara's is so simple, but what a life saver for young families taking long road trips," she said.
The Invention Convention, Taylor says, is designed to build problem-solving skills in students.
"We want them to be able to solve problems, that's the whole point. So, she solved the problem of not being able to have screens in the cars," she said.
Lewis Central has a long history with Invention Convention, but it was Taylor's first year leading students through the process.
"That kids are resilient, they're reflective, they're problem solvers and they really are going to be our future. I mean, they're going to be the ones who solve the problems that we all have in more efficient ways," she said.
About 300,000 kids participated in the Invention Convention across the United States this year. Lewis Central is working with the University of Iowa to continue expanding the program.
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