Demo Day 2025 Awardees: The Product Pivots and the Explorers!
Every year, Project Invent hosts Demo Day events across the nation—our capstone celebration and the culmination of a yearlong journey to invent for social good.
Over the school year, our student inventor teams work tirelessly to identify real community needs, design innovative solutions, and bring their ideas to life. At Demo Day, they pitch their prototypes to a panel of 4–5 STEM industry professionals and showcase their journey from first spark of inspiration to fully functioning prototype.
To recognize their hard work and creativity, four awards are presented:
Explorer Award – for teams that prioritized learning throughout the process
Needfinder Award – for those who truly listened to and understood their user
Product Pivot Award – for teams that overcame major obstacles and adapted their approach
Moonshot Award – for ideas that are notably novel or impactful
We are so thrilled to celebrate this year’s Demo Day winners across the country—students who have shown the true power of combining heart, community, and technology to create tangible impact. Please enjoy reading about their incredible projects and innovations!
When
Fri, May 16, 2025
demo day NORCAL:
Where
Cloudflare
101 Townsend Street, San Francisco, CA 94107
Clue Me In!
Clue Me In! is a team from Minnesota that focused their invention on community design in their mission to invent a self-check in kiosk. Used for navigating to different departments at the front desk of the BBTTC (Best Buy Teen Tech Center) and beyond.
Their Community Partner was Christorpher Soto who noticed clients don’t always know the best place to find answers in his workplace where they are understaffed. Clients struggle to make appointments or get directions around the building when nobody is at the front desk.
Team Clue Me In! attended Demo Day NorCal in San Francisco, California and won the Product Pivot Award for overcoming many obstacles!
Oak Studio Inventors
Oak Studio Inventors! A group from Iowa that focused their invention on accessibility and mobility in their mission to create the Study Block. An accessible, affordable, and portable personal computer for learners of all ages.
The Oak Studio Inventors had three Community Partners, Ms Mary Lange, Jhona O’Neal, and Derek Frank each playing a helping hand in the final product. Each Community Partner experienced the struggle of learning in classrooms either as a student, a teacher, or both; each noticing those with ADHD or autism needed more assistance in the classroom but often were not given the stimulation they needed to learn.
The Oak Studio Inventors attended Demo Day NorCal in San Francisco, California and won the Explorer Award for prioritizing learning!
Float
Team Float! A group from California that focused their invention on Health and well being in their mission to prevent flooding in wildlife areas. They invented a weather tracker with a camera attached to alert the user when to assist a flooding issue in the area the computer is tracking.
Their Community Partner was the Yolo Basin Foundation that faced challenges keeping track of the weather conditions around the wild life they strive to preserve. To combat this, the tracker would indicate to the Yolo Basin Foundation when and where flooding occurred to minimize or prevent damage.
Team Float attended Demo Day NorCal in San Francisco, California and won the Product Pivot Award for overcoming many obstacles!
BioBadge
Team BioBadge! A group from Utah that focused their invention on health and wellbeing when creating a device that detects and tracks seizures! A device capable of allowing the user to manage seizures and emergency medicine without needing to rely on others. It also uses emergency alerts to contact medical services and emergency contacts.
Their Community Partner was Alex Park who found it difficult to live independently while living with pending seizures. They needed a way to track and detect their seizures on their own while still having access to help in case of emergency.
Team BioBadge attended Demo Day NorCal in San Francisco, California and won the Explorer Award for prioritizing learning!
When
Sat, May 17, 2025
demo day SAN DIEGO:
Where
E3 Civic High
395 Eleventh Avenue #6th floor, San Diego, CA 92101
Catapanion
Team Catapanion! A group from California that focused their invention on health and wellbeing in their goal to help individuals who struggle with anxiety. Their product is an anxiety reducing stuffed animal that will breathe rhythmically and purr in attempts to soothe.
Their Community Partner came from a variety of teens that voiced their concerns about mental health and access to therapy. The struggle of finding or affording a therapist can be harder for teens and young adults.
Team Catapanion attended Demo Day in San Diego, California and won the Product Pivot Award for overcoming many obstacles!
The Brokies
The Brokies! A Team from California that focused their invention on community design in their mission to reach the youth impactfully. The Brokies created a board game to prepare for real life situations aimed towards youth audiences. Similar to The Game of Life but made to prepare youth for adulthood.
Their Community Partner was Nate Richey who is known for his fatherly attitude and outlook. Nate noticed that his students are unprepared for the financial problems they will face after graduation, as well as saving for retirement. He also felt that economics and financial literacy are not taught in an engaging, practical way.
The Brokies attended Demo Day in San Diego, California and won the Explorer Award for prioritizing learning!
demo day NEW YORK CITY:
When
Fri, May 30, 2025
Where
MSCI Inc.
250 Greenwich Street, New York, NY 10007
Team Zynergy
Team Zynergy! A Team from New York that focused their invention on community design in their mission to help those who struggle with focusing. Their invention was the Fidget Cube with bluetooth connection aimed towards people in need of sensory or auditory simulation when focusing.
Their Community Partner was Bonnie McCort who is a teacher for the youth. She expressed that, “Noise sensitivity is a really difficult thing for people with autism…. If there was something that could panel up exterior noises, it could be calming and if they could do it on their own, it would be life changing.” She saw the opportunity to innovate her classroom with team Zynergy and stepped forward.
Team Zynergy attended Demo Day in New York City and won the Explorer Award for prioritizing learning!
SO INVENTZ
Team SO INVENTZ! A Team from New York that focused their invention on community design in their mission to clean the planet and normalize recycling. Their invention was the ReSort that uses AI to detect trash and its materials to sort it into the correct trash bin.
Their Community Partner was Ms. Eyer, a school librarian that noticed students were throwing trash in the same bin despite there being recycling options directly next to the garbage bin. She cares about the environment and wanted to see that displayed in her school.
Team SO INVENTZ attended Demo Day in New York City and won the Product Pivot Award for overcoming many obstacles!
demo day LOS ANGELES:
When
Sun, May 18, 2025
Where
Marlborough School
250 South Rossmore Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90004
Orca
Team Orca! A Team from California that focused their invention on water safety in their commitment to creating the Orca. The invention is an insulated water bottle designed to keep drinks at the perfect temperature while showing users exactly how much water remains.
Orca worked with a woman from Marlborough Alumni who found it important to live a healthy lifestyle. She saw the importance in staying hydrated but felt the need to see how much water was left in the container throughout the day to know when to refill while also knowing how hot or cold the water was.
Team Orca attended Demo Day in Los Angeles, California and won the Product Pivot Award for overcoming many obstacles!
C.A.M
Team C.A.M.! A Team from California that focused their invention on community design in their commitment to reassuring safety to homes. C.A.M., is a chameleon designed alarm with a monitoring system that allows the user to customize their security system.
Their Community Partner was Michael “Big Mike” Cummings who manages the Watts Gang Task Force and helps students get to and from school safely from gang influence. Mike found it important to ensure safety in and outside of home, but wanted the students to feel secure in their homes.
Team C.A.M. attended Demo Day in Los Angeles, California and won the Explorer Award for prioritizing learning!
AM Blue Sensors
The AM Blue Sensors! A Team from California that focused their invention on food and water safety in their journey to inventing the AM Blue Sensors. Their invention is a soil moisture sensor that will save the user money and water by detecting when dirt needs watered.
Their Community Partner was Anthony Monts who does yard work for a living. He expressed his challenges with keeping grass looking happy and healthy by saying, “It’s hard to know how long to keep the sprinklers on - if it’s hot in the summer or in the cold - weather changes impact it all and it’s hard to keep track!” His challenge inspired the team to create a moisture sensor for his career.
The AM Blue Sensors attended Demo Day in Los Angeles, California and won the Explorer Award for prioritizing learning!
Demo day HOUSTON:
When
Wed, May 28, 2025
Where
TMC Innovation
2450 Holcombe Blvd. #Gate 2450, Houston, TX 77021
Bright and Red-Y
Team Bright and Red-Y! A Team from Utah that focused their invention on transportation in their journey to inventing the SDLDTS-13 (Shape Designated Light Distribution Traffic Symbol 13). Their invention is a shape designated traffic light for crash prevention caused by colorblindness.
Their Community Partner was focused on the audience of the colorblind who drive. Colorblind drivers are more likely to cause traffic light accidents based on light confusion. Team Bright and Red-Y recognized this and set out to make the streets a safer space.
Team Bright and Red-Y attended Demo Day in Houston, Texas and won the Explorer Award for for prioritizing learning!
The Cactus Crusaders
The Cactus Crusaders! A Team from Utah that focused their invention on health and wellbeing in their journey to inventing the CataPure, an oil extinguisher. The CataPure is the safest, most sustainable, and quickest way to clean oil spills.
Their Community Partner was Ranger Shannon Le Roy who is a national park ranger for Lake Powell. He claims that just a drop of oil can cause a fire within the area of a two car garage. The longer oil stays out the more damage and higher risk it causes for wildlife. Quick clean up for them is highly important.
The Cactus Crusaders attended Demo Day in Houston, Texas and won the Product Pivot Award for overcoming many obstacles!