Initial presentations were on Wednesday May 4th, and 16 different teams competed. After Wednesday's presentation the judges eliminated half of the competitors and the rest made their final presentation on Friday May 6th.
The St. Matthias Entrepreneur Team made it to the finals with their product idea entry Extent-A-Desk. Extend-A-Desk is a simple tri-fold hardboard platform that fits on top of existing desks and folds up neatly to fit in a backpack.
The problem the product is designed to solve is that most older schools today are using desks designed before the age of computers. Today students need more space for their notebook, textbooks, computer, calculator, pencil case, water bottle, etc. There just isn't enough room. Extend-A-Desk solves that by providing a simple to use, lightweight, portable surface that extends standard desk surfaces by 60%.
The judges were impressed with the St. Matthias entry, but unfortunately did not select us as one of the top three finalists this year. Members of the St. Matthias Team this year were Carlos Navarro (8th), and Anja Mattson, Gabe Morrow and Ellen Sharp (7th grade).