Indianapolis teachers win invention reality show

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — A group of four teachers at Purdue Polytechnic High School won the top prize in the PBS reality show “Make 48.”

The show gives aspiring inventors 48 hours to come up with an invention, design it and pitch it to the judges. The topic for Season 5 was kids toys.

In the season finale, which aired Oct. 30, the team’s invention called “Don’t wet your pants, beat out the other competitors.”

The game has players opening up a series of pipes, whoever gets the most water dumped into their cup loses.

“You can open up different areas of the board for the water to flow into, you can place your pieces in key positions to block and prevent your opponent from opening certain valves,” said Andy Mundell, a member of the team which call themsleves the “Mallorys.”

The team is named for the building that now houses Purdue Polytechnic High School.

“We teach design thinking and how to solve real world problems, and to be presented with a real world problem, hey design a game, that has constraints, make it fun make it learning, it was a chance for us to really shine in what we teach our students to do,” Mundell said.

The Mallorys also invented an IV stand that helped the team advance from the regionals to the finals of “Make 48.”

The top prize came with a $10,000 cash prize which the team is using to market its invention, and the Mallorys also won a kid’s choice prize.

But the team says it never expected to be crowned champion inventors in the first place.

“To be honest when we sent in the tape for the audition, I didn’t even realize it was a show, I just wanted to hang out and invent things,” said team member Gregg Nowling.

The Mallorys have a patent pending for its invention and are working with a company that will help refine the prototype.