What do a school desk with a pop-up computer, an office chair with a whiteboard, and a paper shredder that turns paper into building blocks have in common? They were all product prototypes developed by budding engineers, designers, and marketers at Aldo Leopold Charter School, and presented to the 2016 Innoventure Competition on May 13 at New Mexico State University (NMSU).

Thirteen students from Aldo Leopold's middle school took part in the competition, which is hosted annually by NMSU's Arrowhead Center and sponsored in part by the Daniels Fund. This year's theme challenged teams to develop a product for the classroom that will improve the learning environment. There were 39 teams overall representing schools from all over the state.

Students in Laura Larisch' s eighth-grade science and math classes had been working September-May on business plans and product designs. Teams partnered with parents and community members to develop their products, and they received feedback from Western New Mexico University marketing students who previewed their business plans and presentations.

Aldo Leopold Charter School encourages students to be innovative, creative thinkers during regular classroom instruction, out in the field, and in programs such as MakerSpace, a workshop space open to students to create low to high tech products.

Aldo Leopold students Ajalaa Claussen and Michelle Narvaez from the A.M. Sun Team won third place in the middle school division for developing a computer-integrated desk.

According to Claussen, "The best part of the competition was being there because it was a lot of fun to see what other people made in comparison to our project. Meeting and talking with the judges was exciting. And the presentation itself was not as scary as we imagined."

Innoventure fosters the spirit of invention, innovation, and entrepreneurship in New Mexico by providing new generations of innovators with skills in technical design and business. The program encourages teamwork to solve real-life problems and gives K-12 students the opportunity to learn about entrepreneurship and innovation. It is designed to generate excitement and creativity in students and provide the experience of transforming an idea into a product prototype.

Aldo Leopold Charter School is a public charter school open to students in grades 6 through 12. It is located at 1422 Highway 180 East in Silver City.