Empathetic young Hagerstown resident, Matthew Walker, develops a portable transportation and sleeping solution for the homeless.

WASHINGTON, DC – June 17, 2014 – Watching a Hagerstown homeless woman struggle with moving her bags of possessions from one place to another was what inspired nine-year-old Matthew Walker to invent the CotCart, an invention that combines a lightweight cart, tarp, bungee cords and tent pipes to provide portable storage and a sheltered bed for those living on the streets.

Judges of the Smithsonian-Cricket Media Global Kids Invention Challenge agreed that Walker’s CotCart solves an important real-world problem, naming him a 2014 Top Winner in this year’s Challenge. Walker also won a summer Camp Invention scholarship from one of the Challenge’s sponsors.

15-year-old Wassaic, NY resident Ben Yager honored for inventing geothermal cooling system.

WASHINGTON, DC – June 17, 2014 – From a small five- by- five tent set up on his bedroom floor, Millbrook High School 10th-grader Ben Yager used a heater, refrigerator, probes, thermometers, a “robotic contraption” and other equipment to test out his homemade geothermal cooling system. If the future eco-resource engineer got stuck once or twice in the 90-degree environment because of a snagged tent zipper, well that was all just part of the invention process. Yager had been testing out his green energy ideas in school science fairs since his eighth-grade year at Dutchess Day School, and this 2014 invention was his masterpiece, combining elements of all his previous experiments.

Judges of the Smithsonian-Cricket Media Global Kids Invention Challenge agreed that Yager’s Geothermal Cooling System for Optimizing Desert Solar Cells was indeed a masterpiece, naming him a 2014 Top Winner in this year’s Challenge.

14- year- old Chase Lewis invents smoke mask delivery system to save lives of fire victims trapped in second-story floors.

WASHINGTON, DC – June 17, 2014 – In the case of one student, the proverb, “It takes a village to raise a child,” can be happily seen in action. The Chapel Hill, Carrboro, and North Chatham Fire Departments all offered helping hands in boosting the success of a local teen’s smoke mask delivery system invention. Wearing full protective fire-fighting gear, they tested out the three prototype projectiles developed by 14-year-old Chase Lewis, tossing them through a simulated window to compare for speed and accuracy. In the end, it was the football-shaped canister that took the prize.

The Judges of the Smithsonian-Cricket Media Global Kids Invention Challenge agreed, awarding Lewis Top Winner recognition and the coveted prize of a patent filing in his name for the life-saving device.

11-year-old Clinton, MD resident Megan Lim invents tick remover for pets

WASHINGTON, DC – June 17, 2014 – The day Megan Lim’s best friend, her dog Jack, was diagnosed with Lyme disease, finding a cure for ticks on pets became a mission for her. Lim, who is new to Clinton and homeschooled, fashioned an innovative device using a magnifier, dropper, rubbing alcohol and bottle with a pear-shaped cutout to identify, capture and kill the ticks that threaten pets. Lucky for Jack, he was successfully treated with antibiotics, but the threat of ticks still remains very real.

Judges of the Smithsonian-Cricket Media Global Kids Invention Challenge agreed that Lim’s invention solved an important real-world problem and awarded her Top Winner recognition in this year’s Challenge.

Springfield six-year-olds invent Clean Green Mower to help preserve their city’s clean air.

WASHINGTON, DC – June 17, 2014 – Deciding that a green lawn mower would solve the problem of air pollution caused by gas mowers, the girls of Hunt Valley Elementary School-based Girl Scout Troop 4425 invented a mower that would run on steam. “It not only prevents air pollution but it also waters the grass,” say the six-year-olds, who think the mower can be sold for less than 100 dollars and should be available in local stores.

Judges of the Smithsonian-Cricket Media Global Kids Invention Challenge were impressed by the team’s practical solution to environmental pollution, naming the invention created by Megan Gandy, Mikayla Mann, Kenedie Odum, Ella Clarke, Bellana Pachon, Ella Alemian, Addison Soule, and Kate Schafenberg a 2014 Top Winner in this year’s Challenge.

Solar-lighted dog leash, portable bed for the homeless, green mower, object recognition for the visually impaired among young inventors’ innovative solutions to real world problems.

WASHINGTON, DC – May 21, 2014 – Cricket&#0153 Media (TSX-V: SLN), an education media company and global social learning network, and the Smithsonian’s Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation’s Spark!Lab are pleased to announce the top winners of the 2013-2014 Spark Lab Invent It! Challenge. The six individual and four group winners, as well as the 24 runners up, were chosen from hundreds of creative entries by students aged five to 18 across the world.

WASHINGTON, DC – April 16, 2014 – ePals Corporation (TSX-V: SLN) (“ePals” or the “Company”), an education media company and global social learning network, today announced it will now operate under the name Cricket Media in order to reflect its core business of providing award-winning content on a safe and secure learning network for children, families and teachers across the world.

WASHINGTON, DC – April 16, 2014 — ePals Corporation (TSX-V: SLN), an education media and social learning company, today announced an agreement with Dalian Neumedias Information Technology Co., Ltd to develop and distribute interactive digital media products based on ePals’ award winning children’s magazines for children throughout China. Under the agreement, four brands of dual English-Chinese language apps and content for toddlers and young children will be offered on smartphones, tablets and smart TVs through Neumedias’ NeuStore digital media platform, with the potential to expand to additional ePals’ brands.

WASHINGTON, DC – April 15, 2014 — ePals Corporation (TSX-V: SLN), an education media and social learning company, today announced an agreement with Fingerprint, a global mobile technology company, to develop a custom mobile learning network featuring ePal’s award-winning children’s magazines, digital content and community management platform. The custom mobile learning network will enable family members and other parent-approved users to communicate and collaborate around engaging, educational content while providing parents with informative dashboards about their child’s activity and performance.

Challenge invites kids 8-18 globally to explore and share cultural traditions and learn professional folklorist investigation, interview and reporting skills.

WASHINGTON, DC – April 2, 2014 – ePals Corporation, an education media company and Global Learning Network, today announced the launch of its inaugural Junior Folklorist Challenge in partnership with the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage. The challenge is one of several planned activities stemming from the ePals-Smithsonian partnership, which is designed to extend the global reach and student learning opportunities around the Center’s annual June-July Washington D.C.-based Folklife Festival. Now open to kids eight to 18 worldwide, the challenge asks participants to examine a local or regional tradition through the eyes of a community tradition bearer and create a video, podcast or slide show to share the story.