Published: November 06, 2009 03:59 pm      

Brownsburg students show off inventions on ‘Ellen’

Young inventors

BROWNSBURG — Two area students spent the first part of the week in Los Angeles, not for a vacation, but to appear on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.”

Deijhah Scurry, a fourth-grader at Delaware Trail Elementary School, and Simon Barnes, a third-grader at Cardinal Elementary School, were selected to appear on the show’s “Kid Inventor’s” segment.

They two traveled with their families to L.A. to tape the show earlier this week. Their show aired at 11 a.m. Friday.

“It was pretty exciting,” Scurry said. “It’s not a place I’ve been to that much and I wanted to explore everything, but I couldn’t do it.”

Last year, the two were part of a class project where each student participated in an invention convention and invented something for class. The teachers decided to take it a step further and have each student create a video for the Kid Inventor’s segment of the “Ellen” show.

Teacher Allyson Smith said she was shocked when she received a phone call that said the show was interested in using some of the school’s submissions.

Four Brownsburg students — Scurry and Barnes, along with third-grader Cassie Chandler and fourth-grader Kendra Stiers — were chosen as the 15 finalists. After a round of phone interviews with the students, Scurry and Barnes were chosen to appear on the show.

They appeared with two students from Iowa and demonstrated their inventions on the show for DeGeneres and her audience.

Scurry invented the Instant High Heel.

“You stick a heel on your shoe and it becomes a high heel.,” she said. “You can stick them anywhere.”

Barnes invented the High Chair Bib.

“Any baby that throws food on the floor, you pull up the bib through the pulley and the bib is attached to the tray and it lifts the food back up to the baby,” Barnes said.

Barnes has a 16-month-old brother who was part of the inspiration for his invention.

“Ellen and I tried to make him spill food (on the show to demonstrate),” he said.

Both students said they were the biggest “Ellen” fans.

“I told her I used to dance with her when I was little,” Barnes said. “I nearly fainted when I was next to her.”

The students were on the show with stars Pamela Anderson, Mo’Nique, and young singer Justin Bieber.

They were also surprised with HP mini laptops, courtesy of the show.

“(The producer) said we may get a special prize,” Scurry said. “I thought it was going to be a patent.”

The two thanked their teachers for giving them the opportunity of a lifetime.

“(We wouldn’t have been there) without our teachers,” Scurry said. “They’re the real ones who started it. I think this trip has been a big experience for me. No one would have believed I would have been on TV. Sometimes I’m shy.”

Barnes echoed her sentiment.

“I’ve never been on national TV,” he said. “It’s a big deal to get on national TV.”

Both said they hoped to make more of their inventions and eventually sell them.

Smith said they planned to have their classes participate in the contest again in 2011.

charlee.beasor@flyergroup.com