Long Island Boy's Invention Becomes Reality
ALBERTSON, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) – A Long Island boy's love of snow and knack for invention are being rewarded.
The 5-year-old had a vision for what he calls a "Snowy Blaster."
Ask anyone and they'll tell you that Rhett Pace loves to draw, TV 10/55's Richard Rose reported. In fact, his mother says it goes way beyond crayons and paper.
"He's always shown interest in art. And our recycling bin is not safe, because everything in there is a future sculpture," says Alecia Whitaker Pace.
One day after classes at the Meadow Drive Elementary School in Albertson, the young artist brought home a design for how to engineer the Snowy Blaster.
"Because I love snow," Rhett says.
His science teacher came across a contest in England and entered his invention.
"I emailed them and I said, 'Can kids from the United States enter?' They said, 'absolutely!'" she said.
"Next thing I know, I get a tweet from the company saying, 'Guess whose invention we're going to build!'" said Alecia. "And I wrote back, 'What?' with the (gestures) emoji."
An even bigger thrill came when the hosts of the Youtube show "Kids Invent Stuff" sent back photos of the Snowy Blaster they fashioned together from a leaf blower. It produced realistic-looking snowflakes from soapy dishwater.
Rhett's invention will soon be featured on an upcoming show.
So any plans for patenting the precocious youngster's dream toy?
"I hope so," said Alecia. "Because if he's still living under my roof, that means..."
As to whether the Snowy Blaster will ever show up in stores, the family says they'll try to build one of their own.
The budding genius already drew a picture of what it would be like during recess at school.
"I would build a snowman and do a big, huge snowball fight in the school," he said.
On a day when folks were shoveling away a fresh coating, Rhett's classmates all said they'd gladly join his Snowy Blaster battle.
The Kids Invent Stuff Youtube show will air Saturday, December 16th, giving everyone around the world a chance to enjoy Rhett's wintry vision.
