Before school was back in session, 619 young inventors from across the region showed off their maker skills and creativity at the YMCA of Metropolitan Washington’s 31st annual Thingamajig Invention Convention.
Kids ages 5 to 14 from YMCA camps throughout the DMV arrived an inspiring location — the United States Patent and Trademark Office in Alexandria — for the day. There, they took part in more than 25 activity stations.
Meanwhile, judges explored more than 150 projects submitted for STEAM-related challenges. The young creators from YMCA camps and the community had the opportunity to start working on those projects in May, when the 2025 Thingamajig Challenges were released. They included Big and Buggy, where kids designed critters using recyclable materials; Zero Waste Trashion Fashion, where they repurposed materials to create fashion pieces mixing style and sustainability; and Robot Magic, where kids designed robots to help make the world a better place.
The projects were judged on originality, effectiveness, practicality, need for the invention, and the inventing process.
At the event’s Presidential Challenge, students had just 30 minutes to design solar ovens.
Winners of the various challenges were awarded gifts including bicycles, headphones, iPads, and more.
Thingamajig launched in 1994, when former YMCA leader Janice Williams noticed children weren’t getting enough opportunities to build hands-on, real-world problem-solving skills. Since then, nearly 30,000 children have participated in the annual event. This is just the third year that the Thingamajig convention has been held in-person again after three years of interruptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Featured image courtesy YMCA of Metropolitan Washington
