PENDLETON — Even if it gets cold during the winter, that doesn’t stop Starpoint third-grader David Wanamaker from going outside to play. And thanks to his invention, Wanamaker can stay outside even longer than before.

The “Toasty Traveler” keeps people warm by having bags of warmed-up rice placed in different parts of a winter coat. Wanamaker, 8, said he made the pouches that contain the rice, then put the pouches into a microwave for about a minute to heat them up. The result was Wanamaker could extend the time he was outside without feeling a chill.

“After an hour, my coat was still warm,” Wanamaker said. “I was able to stay outside longer.”

Wanamaker’s idea was one of many inventions submitted for Starpoint Intermediate School’s 15th annual Invent-A-Thon. The event is meant to encourage ingenuity while helping students find solutions to real world problems, such as staying warm while outside. Third-, fourth- and fifth-graders created their inventions and set them up for the Invent-A-Thon on Thursday night in the school’s gym. Members of the community packed the gym, with almost wall-to-wall people, to view the inventions and to talk with the inventors.

There were 122 students, some working in pairs and others on their own, who submitted 72 inventions.

The inventions made it easier to do chores, swat bugs, contain items and clean up after animals. One such example was what fifth-graders Brittany Schoenfeld, 11, and Carly Bettinger, 10, came up with. The two invented the “Puppy Paw Cleaner,” something that would be useful with spring coming soon.

How it works is this: A dog comes in the house with dirty paws from being outside. The dog steps in a small tub of water, then walks over to a mat made up of sponges, cleaning off whatever is on their paws.

Both Schoenfeld and Bettinger said the invention was inspired by their dogs, who are both named Bella.

“We thought of it because it’s a problem we have with our dogs,” Schoenfeld said.

Animals were a common theme for inventions, as there were a few that involved either cleaning up after or feeding them. Fifth-grader Logan Yoder developed an unusual way to feed fish called the “Frenzy Fish Feeder.” In order to feed a fish, a person just has to knock a block off of a platform. That pushes a lever and launches a container of food toward the fish bowl, releasing some food into it.

“When I was 6 years old, we forgot to feed our fish and he died,” Yoder, 10, said. “So I came up with this. It took a while to build, but I did it all by myself.”

Some inventions just made life easier by dealing with a common problem, such as struggling to carry a number of grocery bags. Fifth-graders Morgan Kalota and Joelle Scott had a solution to that — the “Grocery Grabber.” Consisting of a handle with a line that holds the bags’ handles, the Grocery Grabber allows a person to hold multiple bags with one hand.

“My mom usually has a lot of grocery bags, and this would make it easier to hold them,” Scott said. “She thinks this is really good.”

Students were given either a red ribbon or a gold medal for their efforts. Some even received balloons, if they had a red dot on their name tag. Afterwards, Starpoint Intermediate Principal Douglas Regan told parents they were a big part of their student’s success, as well as the district’s.

“Without your support, without you being here, we wouldn’t be doing this,” Regan said.

Contact reporter Joe Olenick at 439-9222, ext. 6241.