Frequently Asked Questions

Finalists are young inventors from Mexico and the United States.

The Americas competition is open to inventors in grades K-12+.

Invention Convention Americas participation is by invitation only. Invitations to eligible inventors will be provided by each national affiliate after their national competition. If you are questioning whether you should receive an invitation to the Americas competition, please contact your national affiliate.

Registration opens on June 19, 2023. We ask that you fill out your registration form within two weeks of getting your invitation to avoid everyone registering at once. Registration closes on July 14, 2023 at 11:59 p.m. EDT.

Go to americas.inventionconvention.org, click on the login button and then click the “Forgot password/username” button. Enter the name and email address you registered with, and you’ll receive an email with instructions on how to reset your password.

All registrations must be completed by 11:59 p.m. EDT on July 14, 2023. However, after you begin your registration, you can come back and work on it at any time until the closing date. The registration platform will allow changes until the deadline. Changes may include, but are not limited to, uploading a new video, logbook, pictures, etc.

All team members will register independently and will be linked to other team members and the invention with a code. The first person from a team to register will receive this code once they have indicated they are part of a team. That team member should then pass on the code to the other team members to use when they register. Team members will all have access to modify the information about their project.

Each inventor will receive an email from the registration platform upon completion of registration.

The 2023 registration fee is $50 per student; however, each national affiliate will be covering this cost, so no payment is necessary.

All participants will receive a bag of event items, a finalist certificate and access to AmericasX, a day of free activities that provide an opportunity to network, learn and celebrate this achievement. The date of AmericasX is August 11, 2023 from 7:00 to 10:00 p.m. EDT. Further information will be sent to qualifying inventors.

AmericasX is a private online event on August 11, 2023. The Invention Convention Americas 2023 Awards Ceremony will be hosted online on August 25, 2023. Please check your email for further information about both events.

English is the official language of the competition. The video pitch must be recorded in English to be judged. All materials will be printed in English and may be translated by the Americas affiliates for participants. AmericasX and the Awards Ceremony will be in English.

Yes, this is a required element that will be evaluated by judges. You can submit your logbook or journal as a PDF using either a scanner app (such as the free Adobe Scan app for iOS and Android) on your phone and taking pictures of your logbook, scanning your logbook into your computer and making it into a PDF, or by using Google Classroom tools to create a link to your document. Once you create your PDF in one of these ways, you can upload it directly in our registration system.

Yes, this is a required element that will be evaluated by judges. You can enter display board pictures during the registration of your project. If your program used digital display boards this year, you can upload those in the registration system as well.

Your video presentation should tell the judges about your invention, using the appropriate amount of time for you. You do not need to add unnecessary elements to your video to get it to six minutes. There should be NO editing or production. The video should run continuously. While filming on a smartphone, hold the phone horizontally/landscape.

• Grades K-2: 3- to 6-minute video with permitted use of note cards and/or simple parent prompting (not interview style).
• Grades 3-4: 4- to 6-minute video with permitted use of note cards but no parent/adult prompting of any kind.
• Grades 5-12+: 4- to 6-minute video with no note cards or adult prompting.

While it is best to have all team members in the video presentation, one team member may film the presentation video on behalf of the entire team. This team member should mention each team member's name at the start of the video. During registration, the first team member to upload the team’s video will also upload it for everyone on the team. Team members do not need to upload the video individually.

A video can be uploaded directly to our registration system platform.

It is at the inventor’s discretion to wear what you would like for your presentation. Remember, you are representing your invention and all your hard work, and you will want to be taken seriously. Think about what that means to you, and do your best to look nice for the judges.

While you may use note cards or a script to discuss your invention through prompts in your video presentation, depending on your grade, a full script is highly discouraged as your note cards may be distracting and result in a loss of points in the communication section of the rubric. A student may use their display board as a guide, but try to get so comfortable with your presentation that you do not need a script. Practice your presentation often, and have adults ask you questions about your invention while you practice. This should help you get comfortable with your presentation before you record it.

Yes, if you are unable to create a prototype, you can still compete; however, you will need to have a picture, a drawing or some type of blueprint to show and share in your presentation that describes your invention in detail.

Inventors in grade 3-12+ will be invited to one session to speak with the international judges via Zoom, answering questions from the judges. Each session is approximately 10 minutes. Further details will be emailed.