>> Major funding for Design Squad Nation is provided by: >> The National Science Foundation, where discoveries begin.

Series funding is provided in part by NASA-- the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

>> Northrop Grumman Foundation, supporting innovative education experiences for students and educators.

>> And the Lemelson Foundation.

The Foundation sparks, sustains, and celebrates innovation and the inventive spirit in the U.S. and developing countries.

Additional funding is provided by: United Engineering Foundation... >> ...Motorola Foundation.... >> ...and IEEE.

>> I'm Judy.

>> And I'm Adam.

We're engineers.

>> We work with kids... >> This is so cool!

>> ...to make their dreams come true through engineering.

>> ( speaking in Spanish ) >> If you can dream it, you can build it.

>> I never really thought I could do something like this.

>> That was really fun.

( laughing ) >> On Design Squad Nation.

>> We're on our way to meet the three grand prize winners of the 2010 Trash to Treasure Competition.

>> We challenged kids to design ways to recycle, reuse, and reengineer everyday materials into new inventions.

>> We've chosen 25 finalists.

From those 25 we've chosen three to be our Grand Prize winners.

>> My name is Lilly.

I've invented the Sibling Soaker.

>> My name is MaryAnn, and my design is the Smarter Toilet.

>> My name is Daniel, and my design is called the MiBike.

>> So now we're ready to Continuum, a design and innovation company.

We're going to meet the kids and take their winning ideas to the next level.

>> Hey, everybody.

>> We're going to be working with Rich, who's one of the designers here.

>> Awesome ideas, guys.

Your inventions are great.

We're super-excited that we get to build them with you, so let's go.

>> Well, we have a lot of building to do.

>> Lilly, you want to pair up?

>> Yeah.

>> Daniel, what do you think?

>> Let's go.

>> All right.

MaryAnn?

>> Yep.

>> All right.

>> Oh, cool.

Is this your prototype?

>> Yeah.

>> Tell me about it.

>> Well, first it's called a Sibling Soaker.

We wanted to make a dunking booth.

>> Uh-huh.

>> But we wanted to kind of make it our own.

So instead we got the Sibling Soaker.

>> So tell me how it works.

>> So we throw something here, it spins around, and the needle hits this.

It's supposed to be, like, a water balloon.

And then it falls onto the... the water falls onto the person here.

>> Okay, so let's say if I was your sister, I would sit here.

Should we give it a shot?

>> Sure.

>> Oh!

And I'd be soaking wet?

That's awesome.

>> Hi.

My name is Lilly, and I live in Westernville, New York.

I love living in Westerville because it's so outdoorsy.

The best place in the world is right here in my backyard.

I basically designed the majority of it.

I had to have the zip line, because it's just so much fun.

Everyone loves it.

This is my bull.

It is made of a big barrel.

My sister MaryAnn, we are different in a lot of ways, and we're the same in some ways.

Like, we both love science.

We love hanging out with friends.

I'm more the adventurous kind.

She's more safe, but she keeps me in line.

I thought engineering was kind of boring and kind of hard, but since I got into it, it's really fun.

It's sports, it's games, it's tools.

Engineering is everywhere.

I started making the Sibling Soaker because we went to a carnival, and I saw a dunking booth.

I didn't want to exactly copy it, so I made it my own by instead of falling into the water, the water falls on you.

When I first made it, it was kind of wobbly.

I'm going to throw a water balloon at it.

Oh, it didn't work.

See how it kind of misses sometimes?

It misses sometimes.

I really wish we could get the Sibling Soaker to work properly, and that everyone in the neighborhood, or really anyone, could just have as much of a blast as I do.

>> Well, it seems like you have a really great prototype.

What do you hope to do to it next?

Like, how would you want to make it better?

>> It would be really cool to have multiple targets, like small ones, medium ones.

>> Oh, that's cool.

>> I think we could have more water and get, like, more wet.

>> Okay.

So maybe what if it was a tube that we can actually load the balloons in, and then here we kind of have a cap with holes in it that's going to go right here?

Then we could put, like, a hole here.

So as the needle swings around and pokes it... >> Then the water will come out here?

>> Yeah, what do you think?

>> That's cool.

>> Yeah?

>> Mm-hmm.

>> Okay.

Why don't we dig around and see what we can find here?

>> All right.

>> Okay, MaryAnn.

So tell me about your design.

>> Well, my design is the smarter toilet.

The whole idea of the invention was to conserve water in your toilet.

My name is MaryAnn and I live in the town of Westernville, New York.

It's pretty quiet around here.

It's very rural.

I lived here all my life, and I honestly can't imagine living anywhere else.

I have three sisters-- Adia, Lilly, and Jenny.

They're all younger than me.

This is my house.

The inside's great, and we can put so many experiments inside.

This is our science room.

It's a little messy, but it kind of shows that it takes a lot of work to make something.

Me and my friend Ben organized a group called NASSA.

It's not the NASA you know.

It's the Neighborhood After School Science Association.

We work on just projects, trying to learn new things.

We are using saliva to make bacteria.

It's a little disgusting, but it's cool.

This is our Fresnel lens-- we can set fire to marshmallows using this.

Every year we have the Halloween party.

That's a huge part of the NASSA group.

Because this is when all of our stuff comes out.

Everything here is made by us.

Would anyone like something to eat tonight?

We are serving Lilly!

>> (screaming) >> I think she smells bad.

>> It's dark in here.

>> Really the Halloween party is also an engineering party, because we want to teach kids how to make things.

Now we're going down to the lake.

I'm so lucky to live on a lake.

And living here really has sparked my interest in helping the environment.

My biggest concern is definitely water conservation.

It's just one thing that everyone can do.

Water conservation really started for me with the building of the Smarter Toilet.

So the Smarter Toilet is just a plunger that you push down into your tank, and it displaces the water inside the tank, so less water is used to flush your toilet.

But if you need a more powerful flush, all you have to do is lift it up and it fills back to its normal level.

I first tested a smarter toilet at my house.

And you had to pull this up every time you didn't want to use the water conservation, and you could see inside your tank.

And sometimes water would splash everywhere.

But I was really happy with the result.

We saved about one gallon per flush.

So if you think about using your toilet four times a day, we saved a lot of water.

My greatest goal is for everyone in the United States to have a smarter toilet in their house.

That would be my dream come true.

>> So why don't we sketch it out and see where we're going from here?

>> Okay.

>> That's the tank.

>> Yes.

>> So if we could make a more reliable plunger, so that when you pushed it down it stayed down, and you pulled it up it stayed up, would that be better than opening the tank and seeing inside the tank?

>> Definitely.

>> All right, I'll tell you what-- let's go and find the materials we need to build this.

>> Okay.

>> Okay, so Daniel, tell me about your idea.

>> Well, my design is called the MiBike.

And what it really is is a bike that can be in all weather conditions.

>> My name is Daniel and I live in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey, and I attend Ramapo High School.

I'm a really active student in my school.

Some of the clubs I'm in are the Stock Market Club.

I am on the fencing team.

Hey, guys.

>> I am part of the freshman student council.

>> And we're also going to talk about your next fundraiser.

So Daniel, what do you think we can make?

>> So it's going to be, like, $8,050, I think.

My favorite class here is definitely the engineering class.

Engineering, I love it because you can, like, make stuff work.

And you create a product at the end that helps people, and that you can actually use, too.

This is Franklin Lakes, New Jersey.

This is the neighborhood that I live in.

I live about a mile and a half away from school, and a great way to get here is by bike.

But the down side is when it rains.

So I really wish that I could build a bike that I could ride in all weather conditions.

A lot of kids drive in our school, because they have the privilege to have a car.

But if there was a MiBike, I bet a lot of people would switch over, because it's cost efficient, and it's good for the environment as well.

If I saw someone riding down the street with a MiBike I'd be pretty happy, and I would be proud, because I made someone's life better.

>> That is a good looking bike.

I like it.

>> Yep.

And I was thinking about putting some lights... >> That's... >> Yeah, right here.

>> Great idea.

>> And then if my bike could hold my backpack that would be pretty nice.

Like a trunk.

>> Totally.

>> And maybe more accessories and all cool stuff.

Like, I was thinking about speakers.

MP3 speakers integrated into the roof.

>> Okay.

Are we ready to go find materials?

>> Yeah, let's go.

Hey, look-- I think this might be useful.

>> Used shower curtains.

>> Reusable.

Perfect, sturdy.

It's exactly what we need for the bike.

>> We need something to make that big frame you've got.

>> How about this?

>> Aluminum tubing?

>> Yeah.

>> This is perfect for the plunger.

Recycled bottles would be good to displace the water.

>> A lot of stuff.

>> Oh, look.

Here are some tubes here.

Maybe we can use one of these to hold the balloons.

>> Yeah.

>> Okay, what else do we need?

Oh, yeah, here we go.

>> Oh, cool.

>> It's a steel closet pole.

That's perfect.

That means anybody at home could use it.

So we've got the base.

Maybe the next thing we can work on is just our automatic reset.

When the ball hits it, it moves, and then comes back.

>> Yes.

>> There's this thing called a gravity spring.

It's like a hinge, cut at an angle.

>> It looks pretty good.

>> And a rubber band that kind of connects the two.

As this piece rotates it's going to spin and stretch out the rubber band, and then always snap back.

So there's your automatic reset.

Why don't we find, like, a rod that'll go through there?

>> Okay.

>> This broom looks like it would work.

Perfect.

>> There we go.

>> Nice.

Look at this.

>> I found this in the recycle.

I think it would be good for a target.

>> That's perfect, yeah.

>> Okay, so we set up two toilets-- a new toilet and a super-old toilet.

>> This one's probably going to use a lot more water than the new toilet.

>> Yeah.

Well, we'll see.

We'll measure.

>> All right we'll flush.

Ready?

>> Okay.

The goal is to get the super-old toilet to be more like the modern efficient one.

Look at that.

There's a lot of water down there.

Let's check it out.

All right, so this is 1.6 gallons.

How many do you have over there?

>> About six gallons.

>> Wow.

>> All right, well, we have a lot of work to do, so let's get started.

>> All right.

This is a one-gallon jug.

Let's see how much water it displaces.

>> All right, I'll mark it.

>> Okay.

Look how much water that saves.

Wow, if everyone could save one gallon of water per flush, that would be huge.

>> So let's build everything around the gallon jug.

>> All right, let's get started.

>> All right.

>> Okay, so this is the wood we're going to use for the lid of the Smarter Toilet.

All right, we're going to use the panel saw.

>> Nice job.

All right, good job.

>> Working with Rich is just so much fun.

My invention is coming to life.

This whole environment is just amazing.

Usually this is like play.

These people actually do this as jobs, and I find that amazing.

It really, really is a dream come true.

>> Okay, Daniel, here we go.

One giant piece of foam core.

So I'm going to get you on the bike, and I'm going to sketch around you.

We're going to go, like, life size, so we have the perfect shape.

That's going to be, like, our template.

Then we'll take the tubing, the aluminum, and we're going to bend it to that.

If we bend it when it's cold, it cracks.

It's actually pretty brittle.

We can heat it up and bend it.

Isn't that easy?

>> Yeah.

>> Isn't that amazing?

>> It feels like folding paper.

>> Cool, all right.

So do you want to put this together?

>> Yeah.

>> We've got these pins.

They slide right into our aluminum tubing.

And then we'll take this and insert that in there.

>> Oh, that's so cool.

>> And that's going to make it one solid piece.

>> It's very exciting now seeing it being built physically, and being able to touch it and feel it is just amazing.

It's a recyclable milk carton.

>> Nice.

>> Ever since I was a child I liked designing things, drawing things.

And learning how stuff works is always an interest to me.

And I hope that when I grow up I can have a career in engineering or design.

>> Nice, man.

I like it.

>> Yeah.

>> It's awesome.

It looks really cool.

>> So maybe what we need to do is the automatic multiple balloon holder.

Your face is turning red!

Perfect.

>> Maybe we should put a hole right here so we can load the balloons in faster and easier.

>> Nice.

The easiest way to cut some of these holes is to use a CNC machine.

Watch the magic.

A CNC machine is kind of like a robot that can cut this perfectly nice circle out of here.

Can you see it?

>> That is so cool.

>> Yeah?

>> Before I came here I really liked designing and engineering.

When I came here it's even more that I liked it because of all this cool stuff around here.

That's cool.

>> Perfect.

>> And this looks like this would be the funnest job ever.

You get to design things, make them real, have other people enjoy them.

>> Let's make a cap.

All right, so let's test out the balloons and see how they pop.

(laughing) >> Okay, so the next step is make the super tight fitting collar for the plunger.

And the best way to do that is to drill a super-precise hole.

>> Fits perfect.

Now I have to hammer it into the hole.

>> Okay, and let's push it down.

Now we have our plunger.

>> Cool.

>> Now we have to make the groove.

>> So we need 130 inches of this stuff.

Want to cut?

>> Yeah.

>> Looks good.

>> Yep.

>> We're going to Velcro it so we can take it on and off really easily.

Let's check it out.

Let's put it on our frame and see if it looks right.

Look good?

>> Yeah.

>> Why don't we put it up on the bike?

>> Yeah.

>> There we go.

>> Looks great.

I think everyone would want this.

Looks great.

>> Awesome.

>> Cut out a piece of green, cut out a sunroof, and we'll just mount that.

That works.

>> Yeah.

Now we have to make the side panels, right?

>> Yeah.

How about something like that?

>> Yeah, that's good.

>> Look at that.

A door.

>> Should we go outside for a quick test?

>> Yeah.

Let's go.

>> So let's get this all set up.

There we go.

Oh!

Okay, so now we're learning she needs to be over here a little bit more, right?

>> Yeah.

>> Do it again.

(laughing) Can I try?

>> Yeah.

>> Oh, my.

Sorry, MaryAnn.

Here.

>> Nice shot.

>> What happened?

>> I'm not sure.

Did it miss?

>> I think this moved.

Yeah, it looks like... watch this.

It looks like it just hit... pow!

It actually hit the plastic.

We need to actually move this back in place and lower this.

>> Okay.

>> So Lilly, another thing that I'm worried about is having this blade just kind of exposed, especially when one of your siblings is sitting underneath.

>> Yeah.

>> Let's take it back in and finish this piece up here.

>> All right.

>> So I was thinking we could take a water bottle, we could paint it a really bright color, and we cut some slits into it so it's like a flower sticking out.

Want to stick it right here?

So as the target is hit it's going to go forward, boom.

>> That looks good.

>> Should we add the finishing touch?

>> Yeah.

>> This will make it look so great.

>> There we go.

>> Nice job.

High five.

>> It looks awesome.

>> Okay, let's take it outside and show the others.

>> Yeah.

>> Looks great.

>> Perfect.

>> All right.

>> And if there's any way I could incorporate more water conservation into the Smarter Toilet, I really would want to.

>> Okay, so let's think about it.

>> Well, you wash your hands after you go to the bathroom, so maybe you could use the sink water to use in the toilet.

So you're saving water by filling the tank with water you've already used to wash your hands.

This would be perfect to use as a sink.

>> Now let's glue this on there.

This is your drain.

There we go.

We have a sink.

>> Now we're going to make our spigot.

>> Yep, we'll heat it up, soften it just enough so we can bend it into the shape of a J.

Perfect.

>> It works perfect.

>> Look at that.

>> It feels awesome.

I can't believe it.

It finally works.

>> I think all we really have left to do is put the speakers on.

The speakers are right here.

Nice.

>> Tighten it?

>> Nice and tight.

Now you can cut that off.

There you go.

Nicely done.

You've got music, you've got lights.

>> Awesome.

I can't wait to take it on the road.

>> You ready to do it?

You ready to go show the others?

>> Yeah, let's go show them.

>> Let's go do it.

>> Hi, guys.

My name's Mike Drummond.

I'm the editor in chief of Inventors Digest magazine.

Very impressed with your trash-to-treasure inventions.

So I'm honored to present you with our Brainchild Certificates of Innovation.

>> All right, guys.

>> This is my invention, the Smarter Toilet.

This saves about a gallon of water every time you flush your toilet.

If you want a more powerful flush to flush your toilet, all you do is lift it up, and more water begins to fill the tank.

Now I'll demonstrate.

>> There it goes.

>> Oh, look at that.

Oh, look at that.

>> Look what the water can do.

>> The sink water is water that would usually be used to fill your toilet tank.

But instead you can wash your hands in the sink that is made from an old salad bowl I found in the kitchen.

That's my Smarter Toilet.

>> That's great.

>> Do you guys want to come up and try?

>> It's cool.

>> I want this for my house.

It's awesome.

>> Whoo, yeah!

>> Awesome.

>> This is so cool.

(cheering) >> So guys, this is my invention, called the MiBike.

>> It's awesome.

>> It's an attachment to an ordinary bike that allows one to ride in all weather conditions.

This is made out of recyclable used shower curtains.

And this is the trunk door.

Stick your head through, put stuff in.

And this is an mp3 speaker for your enjoyment.

You can listen to music.

>> That's so awesome.

>> We have some doors.

That's going to keep the wind out, and the rain out from your face.

They open up like this.

So it serves the functionality of a car while having the efficiency of a bicycle.

Do you want to try the MiBike?

>> Awesome!

It's so cool!

>> Yeah!

>> Yeah, nice!

>> Whoo, look at this!

>> I love my MiBike.

>> Yeah!

>> Cool.

>> This is my invention, called a Sibling Soaker.

This is how it works.

Someone hits the target, it spins around, the razor hits a water balloon, which will be loaded in here.

It will then shower the person underneath.

Mary Ann, you want to try?

>> Sure.

>> That's a lot of soaking.

>> Yeah.

>> Yeah!

>> It's time to get revenge!

>> I have nothing against you.

>> But I'm going to soak you anyway.

>> Ready, aim, fire!

>> Yeah, whoo!

>> Are you dry?

>> Yep.

>> Bye!

>> He's out of here.

>> That is so cool.

>> Nice bike.

>> That's so cool.

>> That's so good.

>> It's pretty sick.

>> You guys want to try it?

>> Sure.

>> Sure.

>> It's so cool.

That is so much fun.

>> I feel pretty happy and proud.

>> After we went to Continuum, me and my sister Lilly had the opportunity to go to the White House Science Fair.

>> It's in these pursuits that talents are discovered and passions are lit and the future scientists, engineers, inventers, entrepreneurs, are born.

>> There was 16 projects there, and 85 kids got to come.

And I was one of the 16 who had my project out, so I was very lucky.

The best thing about it we got President Barack Obama's signature.

>> And he wrote "The President" right next to it, which really made me laugh.

>> And it's something I will cherish for the rest of my life.

It was a once in a lifetime experience that I will absolutely never forget.

>> Major funding for Design Squad Nation is provided by: >> The National Science Foundation, where discoveries begin.

Series funding is provided in part by NASA, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

>> Northrop Grumman Foundation, supporting innovative education experiences for students and educators.

>> And the Lemelson Foundation.

The Foundation sparks, sustains, and celebrates innovation and the inventive spirit in the U.S. and developing countries.

Additional funding is provided by: United Engineering Foundation.

>> Motorola Foundation.

>> And IEEE.

>> Hey, Adam, check this out.

It's the Design Squad Nation Web site.

You can play games on it.

>> Whoa, sweet!

Hey, look at this.

You can watch videos from the show and you can sketch your own new designs.

>> And there's a ton of amazing designs on here from kids at home.

Check out these rollerblades made out of recycled materials.

>> Here's a pedal-powered sprinkler.

>> And here's a cool way to add sunlight to your fort without using electricity.

>> So join Design Squad Nation at pbskidsgo.org.