Kids' Science Inventions

• Modern television was invented by a teenager. Chris Stein/Digital Vision/Getty Images

  You may assume that only adults can invent a scientifically based device. Surprisingly, several modern science inventions have been designed by kids who were still high-school aged. These young inventors thought up their ideas based on scientific concepts and actually put them into action in a way that impacted (or will impact) the world.

Affordable Prosthesis

• When a person loses part of a leg, surgeons insert a metal rod to replace the missing limb. Those who can afford to pay at least $1,000 for a prosthesis can walk around with a realistic-looking leg. Those who do not have the money for this expense walk around with an exposed metal rod. Grayson Rosenberger, at age 15, invented a prosthesis made from melted bubble wrap that is both affordable and visually appealing. The main customer base for this invention, which costs $15, is people in third world countries who would not otherwise be able to afford a prosthesis.

Modern Television

• The inventor Philo Farnsworth, who lived at the beginning of the twentieth century, began experimenting with electricity at the age of 11. In the year 1920, at age 14, he came up with the design for modern television, which he showed to his science teacher. Rather than using spinning disks to make the picture (which was the common technique used at that time), he suggested the use of cesium, which emits electrons in reaction to light exposure. At age 21 he finally patented his design. At his death, he held 165 patents, mostly related to television and radio.

Cave Radio

• Alexander Kendrick, at age 16, created a texting device that can communicate deep underground. His invention broke a record as the underground digital communication in the United States that could communicate at the greatest depth. It is made out of the combination of a low-frequency ham radio and a computer. This invention can be helpful in saving miners and others who are trapped deep under the earth, and it may also help scientists to conduct research in low caves. Kendrick won the 2009 International Science Fair with his device.