Ohio Invention Convention Student Attends 5th Annual White House Science Fair

Water shortages. Agricultural stability. Affordable technology. Inventors strive every day to identify problems like these and to solve them elegantly. But who really has the solutions to these problems? The answer may not come from a world-renowned laboratory, but from a middle school student living next door to you.

Take for example 12-year-old Mackenzie Dix and her unique creation “Fresh Chute”, an invention that solved the age-old problem of ripped cereal bags and cereal staleness. In 2014, Mackenzie redesigned the cereal box and bag, took home top honors and a $2,500 college scholarship for this invention at the 2014 Invention Convention Southwest Ohio Regional Competition.

So while Mackenzie was no stranger to success, it’s fair to say that she had no idea that her one simple solution would take her from Tipp City, Ohio to the White House for an opportunity that can surely be called “once in a lifetime”.

Impressed with her accomplishments and Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) know-how, event officials took notice and extended Mackenzie an invitation to the 2015 White House Science Fair on March 23. Through its Connect a Million Minds (CAMM) philanthropic initiative, Time Warner Cable (TWC) sponsored Invention Convention that led, in part, to Mackenzie’s White House Science Fair selection. TWC was pleased to introduce Mackenzie to the White House Science Fair event organizers and fund Mackenzie's trip to D.C.

At the fifth-annual White House Science Fair, President Obama welcomed more than 100 students from more than 30 states for a celebration and showcase of their achievements in STEM. In remarks to an audience of science-fair participants, mentors, educators and leaders in government, philanthropy, and the private sector, President Obama praised these extraordinary students:

“These young scientists and engineers teach us … how to question assumptions; to wonder why something is the way it is, and how we can make it better. And they remind us that there’s always something more to learn, and to try, and to discover, and to imagine -- and that it’s never too early, or too late to create or discover something new." 

Besides hearing remarks from President Obama and shaking his hand, Mackenzie toured the White House, ate cookies prepared by the President’s head chef, met Bill Nye "The Science Guy" and New York Giants' wide receiver Victor Cruz, and took part in a Women & Girls in STEM roundtable discussion about the changing image of women in STEM.

"My trip to the White House was an awesome thing to be a part of,” said Mackenzie Dix. “Actually being chosen to meet the President of the United States makes me feel proud and positive that I can become anything I want.”

Also in attendance were: Charles F. Bolden, Administrator, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Francis Collins, Director, National Institutes of Health (NIH), Jo Handelsman, Associate Director for Science, White House Office of Science & Technology Policy, John Holdren, Assistant to the President for Science and Technology and Director, White House Office of Science & Technology Policy, Valerie Jarrett, Senior Advisor to the President, Suzette Kimball, Acting Director, U.S. Geological Survey, Michelle Lee, Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO), Willie May, Acting Director, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and Megan Smith, U.S. Chief Technology Officer.

To learn more about Connect a Million Minds, click here.