BKFK Blog

Are You an Eco-Hero? Do you KNOW an Eco-Hero?

Hooray! Today is K.I.D. (Kid Inventors’ Day). What is it you ask? Well… Today is the day we celebrate all the kid inventions, inventors and innovators out there. But why today? More than 300 years ago a great inventor was born. Perhaps you have heard of him. His name was Benjamin Franklin, and at the age of 12, invented a popular swim toy – swim fins.

How can you celebrate this wonderful day? There’s lots of ways.

• You can read about any inventor – though the stories about kids who invent things are probably the best. Some inventions that kids came up with include, Television, Braille, Earmuffs, The Popsicle, Trampoline, Toy Truck and even the Snowmobile.
• You can write about one of these inventions – Pick your favorite one and write a few words about why you like it or how you could make it better.
• You can do a little research on one of these inventions – Lean what makes them tick, how they work. You may need your teacher or your parents to get you headed in the right direction.
• Create a kid inventors club – You and your friends may just come up with a great game or neat invention.
• Already have an idea? – Enter it! Find an invention competition and enter your idea.

Here is a little taste – to get you started.

In 1898 Frank P. Beal, of Michigan, created a backyard game at the age of 14 – called Paddle Tennis. He was searching for a way to play tennis in his backyard with his friends. Frank took the familiar game of tennis and changed a couple of things. First, he took the court and shrank it by half. Then, he took the tennis ball and replaced it with a spongy rubber ball and played his new game with a wooden racket.

The game has since evolved to what we know today, Platform Tennis. The court is an elevated wooden platform, often heated to keep the snow off, and surrounded by a fence. Get this… you can even play off the fence.

It is an inexpensive game that doesn’t require much equipment and it is easy to learn.

Want to learn more? Here are a couple of websites to get you started. www.bkfk.com and www.kidinventorsday.com

BKFK, Best Buy and EA are excited to announce the launch of a new online game “Rhythm”, invented by Dan Slutz, winner of the 2009 Invent-A-Game Challenge. Rhythm is now available at www.ea.com/rhythm and will make its appearance on the Best Buy website next week!

Dan, 18, won the National Best Buy and EA Invent A Game Challenge, a competition for America’s youth to create their own video games, last June. In addition to his prize of $10,000, EA chose to develop rhythm into a real game. Dan’s music-based platform game, where players battle evil forces, utilizes various musical styles as weapons to advance, conquer and defeat their enemies. Dan was part of the first production meeting of the EA developers in LA and was able to contribute to turning his idea into reality.

Read About Dan and the Invent A Game Challenge

We recently received a preview of a working build of Dan Slutz’s game from Electronic Arts! Dan won the Best Buy and EA Invent A Game Challenge. In addition to his prize of $10,000, EA chose to develop Dan’s idea into a real game. Dan was part of the first production meeting of the EA developers in LA and was able to contribute to turn his idea into reality. The game is scheduled to go live this summer, so stay tuned to find out how you can play it online!
Read About Dan and the Invent A Game Challenge

Recently, the 2010 President’s Environmental Youth Award went out to 7 middle school students from Westerly, RI.

They are the only winner selected in EPA’s New England region and are are being recognized for their “TGIF: Turn Grease into Fuel” project. Learn about their projects and the other winners here.

Brian receives his prize at the Toys”R”Us store in NYC
Marco Burgos, VP of Sales from JAKKS Pacific, Inc, Norman Goldstein, CEO & Founder of BKFK, Brian Sumereau, Winner, & The Toy Guy, Chris Byrne

Brian Sumereau couldn’t stop smiling as he accepted his grand prize for winning the Invention Dimension Challenge. The 11-year-old beat out thousands of other contestants for his highly original new game, ‘The Puzzler,’ which masterfully combines logic puzzles with board games. As the National Grand Prize winner of ‘Invention Dimension,’ Brian received a $1,000 JAKKS Pacific Prize Pack plus a $1,000 gift card for a shopping spree at Toys“R”Us.

On May 19, 2010, Brian was honored and celebrated for his victory, in a special Grand Prize Award Ceremony at the Toys“R”Us international flagship store in Times Square.

“It’s incredibly exciting to be here in New York City as the Grand Prize Winner of “Invention Dimension!” I really want to thank Toys“R”Us and JAKKS Pacific, and BKFK for this great honor,” said Brian.

As the Grand Prize winner, Brian also had the opportunity to recognize the teacher who was most inspirational in his invention process. The nominated teacher Meryl Wolf, received a $500 JAKKS Pacific School/Classroom Supply pack.

Brian will also be flown out to the JAKKS Pacific headquarters in Southern California this summer for an opportunity to pitch his game to JAKKS’ product team.

Read More about Brian and the finalists of the challenge

Help Decide The Invention Dimension Challenge Winner

We received thousands of amazing ideas for the JAKKS Pacific and Toys”R”Us Invention Dimension Challenge. Now, we bring you our top SIX, the best of the bunch!

These amazing kids introduce groundbreaking ideas for toys, games and sporting goods. Cast your vote for your favorite idea and you could help shape a budding young inventor’s future.
 

Justin, 8 Twistified	Brian, 11 Puzzler	Sora, 12 Little Mommy’s Office
Jerrilee, 15 Amalgamation	Kira, 13 Rockin’ Socks	Maren, 13 Basketball Buddy

The grand prize winner will receive $2000 in sponsor prizing, trips to LA & NYC, and a chance to pitch their idea to JAKKS Pacific.

You can vote for the finalists now through noon, April 30, 2010, limited to one vote per day. Tell us which idea deserves to win!

Classroom Activity: Save My Planet Challenge
Encourage your students to come up with ideas to help make the world a better place to live in!

For the month of April, we are running a ‘green competition’ to celebrate Earth Day. Through Save My Planet Challenge, we are asking kids to come up with eco-friendly ideas for services or inventions to get the planet rewired! Maybe a product to help people around the world get access to clean water? Or maybe a service to help spread awareness on conserving energy?

Prizing:
-Best idea will win a $500 U.S. savings bond. 3 honorable mentions will receive a $10 i-tunes card each.
-Grand Prize winner and finalists will nominate an inspirational Teacher or mentor. Nominated teacher will be featured in the BKFK website and newsletters.

We have replaced our old Facebook Fan page with a new page located here. In addition to updates about our competitions, we will be posting activities for teachers, games for students, and family friendly invention downloads.

We just gone green for April with our newest competition – Save My Planet and we’re looking for kids’ great ideas on how to save the planet!