Texas MSE Imaginary Invention Contest
UT Austin Women in STEM (WiSTEM) and UT Austin Texas Materials Scientists and Engineers (Texas MSE)
Calling all K-8th graders: Do you have an idea for an imaginary invention that can solve a real problem in our world? Imagine an invention that will solve a real problem in our world. What would the invention look like? How would it work? What will it do?
Participants will use no more than one page or piece of paper to draw and describe their invention idea, how it works, and/or what problem it is solving in our world. A team of STEM students and professionals will select one idea from the submissions and will bring this idea to life as an artistic model made of various materials.
This contest was previously hosted twice: in the summer and in the spring prior to STEM Girl Day. To accommodate the new hosting organization’s schedule, this contest will only be hosted once in the summer of 2026. There will not be another contest in the spring of 2027.
Contest Submission Instructions:
The Summer 2026 Texas MSE Imaginary Invention Contest is CLOSED. See the winner and winners of past iterations of the contest below!
Summer 2026 Texas MSE Imaginary Invention Contest
Congratulations to the Summer 2026 Texas MSE Imaginary Invention Contest Winner!
Contest Winner: "Heat-O-Magic" by Tasha I.
See the winning submission drawing and description below. "Heat-O-Magic" will be made into a model to be displayed at STEM Girl Day 2027 on Saturday, February 27, 2027.
Thank you to UT Austin Texas Materials Scientists and Engineers, especially Vaibhav Sridhar, for making this contest a success.
Check out Invention Submissions from Past Contests
STEM Girl Day 2026 Glass Shop Imaginary Invention Contest
Congratulations to the STEM Girl Day 2026 Glass Shop Imaginary Invention Contest Winner and Honorable Mentions!
Contest Winner: "TEMPLATES" by Dhanyaa S.
Honorable Mentions:
- "Eco-Panda Depollutionizer" by Hamza I.
- "SPLOOT-PAD 3000" by Aadhya A.
- "Crutch Mate" by Sharanya R.
See the winning and honorable mention submission drawings and descriptions below, and view all of the contest submissions in the Flickr album. The winner, "TEMPLATES," will be made into a glass sculpture to be displayed at STEM Girl Day 2027 on Saturday, February 27, 2027.
Thank you to the UT Austin Department of Chemistry Glass Shop and Texas Materials Scientists & Engineers, especially Adam Kennedy and Vaibhav Sridhar, for making this contest a success.
Summer 2025 Glass Shop Imaginary Invention Contest
Congratulations to the Summer 2025 Glass Shop Imaginary Invention Contest Winners!
Contest Winners:
- "The Honey Bee Bot" by Swayze M.
- "The Mood Mirror" by Kaelyn S.
- "Vase-Hose Connector" by Emma G.
- "No Name Robot (606)" by Kassiani S.
See the winning submission drawings and descriptions below, and view all of the contest submissions in the Flickr album.
Thank you to the UT Austin Department of Chemistry Glass Shop and Texas Materials Scientists & Engineers, Adam Kennedy, Alex Esser, Ashot Tumaghyuan, Jack Woelfel, Jasmine Liu, Mark Andrews, Ramya Srinivasan, Ridhima Gupta, and Taylor Drattlo for helping bring the winning inventions to life.
View all of the past contest submissions in the Flickr album collection.
Learn More about UT Austin Texas Materials Scientists and Engineers (Texas MSE)
More information coming soon!
Learn More about the UT Austin Department of Chemistry Glass Shop
The UT Austin Department of Chemistry Glass Shop is located in Welch Hall (WEL) 2.146 and is staffed by Adam Kennedy. They create, repair, and modify various glass instruments for departments throughout the university. This can be as simple as fixing a small crack, or as complex as collaborating with scientists to create an entirely new design and building it from scratch. While most people think they make beakers and test tubes, scientific glassblowing is much more complicated than that requiring a great deal of planning and experience to make the apparatuses needed. The work they do supports UT Austin research amongst a broad range of disciplines.