Garibaldi-Meucci Museum's Antonio Meucci Young Inventors Judging is Today, 5/6

The Garibaldi-Meucci Museum has announced the selection of 15 finalists for its annual Antonio Meucci Young Inventors' Competition. This year the event, co-sponsored by Time Warner Cable, expanded registration to include students in grades 4 through 8 from schools throughout New York City and New Jersey. The finalists were chosen by museum staff from a field of 109 entrants.

Students were invited to present an original idea for a new invention/product or an improvement on an existing one. This year's chosen entries are simple, creative solutions to common problems. Some of these ingenious innovations include a revised version of a filing cabinet, a wand to identify nut protein present in food, a massaging backpack, a man-powered charger-on-the-go and a Snowbot Master 3000 2.0.

The final judging will take place today, May 6 between 12 noon and 3 p.m. at the St. Joseph's Parochial School auditorium (139 St. Mary's Avenue at the corner of Tompkins Avenue in Rosebank, Staten Island). At that time the students will present their inventions and any prototypes they have created to the panel of expert judges. They will also be expected to explain the scientific principles behind their inventions. The public is invited to come view the final entries and celebrate these ingenious students at a free reception that will take place during the final judging. Cash prizes will be awarded.

The Antonio Meucci Young Inventors' Competition was inspired by the legacy of the ingenuity and innovation manifested in the life of Antonio Meucci. Throughout his lifetime (1808-1889), Meucci was responsible for many inventions, improvements and ideas. In addition to his discovery of principle of physiophony, which led to his invention of the telephone in 1848 (when Alexander Graham Bell was 2 years old), Meucci manufactured smokeless candles, created a tea and coffee filtering system, made improvements in oil and kerosene lamps, perfected a process to make paper from wood pulp, and even canned tomato sauce. The historic Garibaldi-Meucci Museum is housed in the cottage that was Meucci's home from 1850 until his death there in 1889.

For more information visit www.garibaldimeuccimuseum.org or call 718-442-1608.