Special needs students at Brewer High School demonstrated their inventive skills and ability to speak to an audience at the 11th Annual Minds and Hands Invention Convention Monday.

Brad Nordstorm created a display on railroads and sang a railroad song to illustrate his invention. Alex Lawrence built a police station with Lego blocks and volunteered the fact that he had to use part of an earlier class to put on the roof. John Denny invented a speaker box that he used to voice the words and music to “The Old Rugged Cross.”

One of the most creative was a color pencil drawing of a tractor-trailer truck complete with farm scenes. Brittany Harris said she saw the truck in her mind and colored it.

The students chose subjects for their projects at the beginning of the school year and were advised to research them, collect printed articles, photographs and other items to demonstrate them to the class.

Jackie Carter and Daniel Gillian are the students’ co-teachers.

“We give them plenty of time to think about their subjects and work on them,” Carter said. “We remind them from time to time that Invention Convention is getting closer and urge them to finish their projects.”

“This is good training for the minds and hands,” she pointed out. “They have to think carefully about the topic they want to pursue, create it and be able to present it to an audience. We give them 100 points on their science grade, and they also get credit on their language arts grade.”