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Democratic National Convention
Invention lands local fifth-graders on national TV
Related content: See their invention in action
Thursday, May 15, 2008
HUBER HEIGHTS — An invention to make canines everywhere more comfortable has landed Huber Heights fifth-graders Holly Thomas and Becky Goerling on national television.
The girls will appear on the Ellen DeGeneres Show today, May 15 at 4 p.m. on CBS for a segment on kid inventors. Eric Pierce, a third-grader at Valerie Pre K-8 School in Dayton, and two other elementary school students are also featured.
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Young inventors Holly Thomas, 11, left, and Becky Goerling, 10, demonstrate their automatic dog scratcher Wednesday, May 14, at Wayne High School. The invention caught the eye of producers of The Ellen DeGeneres Show and the Huber Heights girls were flown to Los Angeles to be taped for an episode that airs today, Thursday, May 15.
Young inventors Holly Thomas, 11, left, and Becky Goerling, 10, built an automatic dog scratcher. The invention caught the eye of producers of The Ellen DeGeneres Show and the Huber Heights girls were flown to Los Angeles to be taped for an episode that airs today, Thursday, May 15.The girls, both part of the SOAR gifted program in Huber Heights, invented the scratcher — an adjustable, pipe cleaner-tipped scratcher activated by a heat sensor — for the district's Invention Convention. It advanced to the Miami Valley Invention Convention on April 12 at Wright State University, where it was filmed for consideration on the Ellen DeGeneres Show.
"We were hoping they'd call, but we thought since we didn't win anything (at the Invention Convention), we wouldn't get the call," said Holly.
The girls and several family members flew to Burbank, Calif., on May 4 for the taping and returned early May 7. Meeting Ellen was "awesome," Holly said. "She was so much fun. She was so excited to meet with us."
The girls said they weren't nervous at all. "It was hard to be nervous around such a fun person," Becky said, referring to Ellen. And yes, the girls danced with Ellen at the end of the show. They also received brand new Dell Inspiron laptops, courtesy of the Ellen.
"She said smart kids need smart toys and she wanted the kids to keep inventing," Becky said.
