9 Year Old Reinvents Under-The-Fridge Duster

According to NJ.com, Alicia Petrany saw a problem and decided to fix it.

The under-the-fridge dusting device her family was using just wasn’t doing the trick. Rather than settle for what they had, she decided to make a new one that would do a better job gathering up dust bunnies.

“A clean refrigerator uses less electricity and increases efficiency,” the 9-year-old said as she explained her award-winning innovation to her class on Monday.

Through the district’s gifted and talented program, led by teacher Mary Aruffo, students in grades three and four held an invention competition back in March amongst themselves. The winners from each grade level Alicia in the third and Rena Cuneo in the fourth then went on to compete against other students two weeks ago at the William J. Hughes Technical Center outside Atlantic City. The competition was hosted by Mullica Hill-based Education and Information Resource Center’s Student Invention Through Education.

Alicia took first place, and was sporting her gold medal during school on Monday.

“Everything that Alicia did, all of her hard work, eventually translated into something outstanding,” Aruffo said to the room full of third-graders Monday morning after Alicia presented her innovation.

Alicia’s “Dust Bunny Destroyer” was modeled after an existing device to remove dust from underneath the fridge. Her modifications, however, included a more-flexible handle to get into the tight spots, and a fur covering rather than bristles to pick up more dust.

And she had the baggies of dust bunnies to prove it.

Photo by Kim Carpenter

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