An Iowa boy who invented a device that can help bath-takers fill the tub has won a national award. Dustin Browne of Pella placed 4th in the NationalScience Teachers Association’s annual Scholarship Competition. The 7th grader created what he calls the Bath Buzzer. The battery-powered inventionhooks on the side of a tub with a styrofoam ball hanging down. When the bath water rises to a certain level, a buzzer sounds, letting the bather know the level is right. Dustin’s science teacher, Sue Plantinga, says it’s simple but clever. Plantinga says she has students brainstorm on ways to solve problems through their inventions every year. She says this is the first time one of her students has gone all the way to win a national award. For his problem-solving work in the tub, Dustin wins a one-thousand dollar savings bond.
