Pinewoods Elementary 2nd Grader Wins Best in Show at Florida Invention Convention
It is safe to say the School District of Lee County did extremely well at the 2025 Florida Invention Convention. Three students won first-place awards, four more placed third, and two won overall awards. None did better than Pinewoods Elementary second grader Hailey Crotteau. Hailey won First Place for her grade level and Best of Show for the top overall invention.
“We all thought a high schooler was going to be called,” Hailey said about winning Best of Show. “I was shocked and had happy tears.”
Hailey’s invention is called “Pee Brave.” The idea came from an experience she had just after being potty-trained. An automatic toilet flusher in an IKEA restroom flushed the toilet on her not once, but twice. “I freaked out,” Hailey said.
Pee Brave allows a young user to cover a public restroom’s automatic flush sensor. From conception to completion took a couple of months. “The materials I used to make Pee Brave were a spray bottle, suction cups, hand sanitizer, super glue, and motivational stickers,” Hailey said. “I also had to make a virtual and physical display board. I worked on the project at home with my parents, and my teacher, Mrs. Hengstebeck, also helped me through the process in class.”
“I am so incredibly proud of Hailey, teacher Rachel Hangstebeck said. “She has been very dedicated and has worked very hard on her project. While I thought Best in Show would perhaps go to a student in the upper grades, I was not surprised to see Hailey awarded for her invention. She had a very creative idea and did a phenomenal job on both her project and presentation! It is very impressive to see a child honored with Best in Show at such a young age, but Hailey is also a very impressive student. It has been an honor to be her teacher and see her learn and grow in the classroom this year.”
Hailey says the next step with her invention is to develop Pee Brave in all different shapes and sizes, like flowers or superheroes, so going to the bathroom can be fun instead of scary for young kids. She says she learned a lot at the invention convention to help.
Congratulations to all the winners from the School District of Lee County.
Best in Show: Hailey Croteau, Pee Brave
Best Prototype: Dhruva Sharma, Dextera- Revolutionizing Assistive Technology
Second Grade
- 1st: Hailey Crotteau, Pee Brave
- 3rd: Celia Alvarez and Alana Mena, Infinity Umbrella Holder
Eleventh Grade
- 1st: Nishini Fernando: Baby Beatz 2.0
- 3rd: Gabriel Cintron and Tanish Madhar. BDE-A Machine Learning Tool for Early Detection of Autism
Twelfth Grade
- 1st: Dhruva Sharma, Dextera- Revolutionizing Assistive Technology