In August, we challenged everyone to a Cardboard Genius Contest for the chance to win $1,000 (cash money!) and you all showed up to win! 🙌 Entry was open to all ages, and every participant was required to build and roll our challenge dice to receive a project prompt (video evidence was required! 👀).
We wrapped the Genius Contest with 192 submissions 🤯, and everyone here at Chompshop was beyond impressed by the creativity, backstory, and effort so many of you put into your designs! After much deliberation, here are our five winners for each age group and our runners-up!
But first, as a reminder, the judging categories were... 👇
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Creativity & Originality — Did you bring a unique idea or unexpected twist to your prompt?
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Use of Cardboard & Materials — Did you make smart use of cardboard and supplies like tape, markers, string? Did you use recycled or household materials?
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Functionality or Interactivity — Does your invention move, open, launch something, play music?
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Presentation & Storytelling — Did you explain you idea? Name it? Share a story?
- Effort & Execution — Did you put time and effort into your invention? Is the design thoughtful?
💰 Cardboard Genius Contest Winners 💰
You get $1,000, and you get $1,000, and you get $1,000, and you get $1,000 and you get $1,000!
(Ages 5-7): Abby L. 🥇
Abby says "I made a game for a knight to practice throwing his swords. Two people can play. One is the princess in the tower and the second person is the knight. And you get three chances because there are three swords. I used the ChompSaw and tape and Makedo screws and cardboard and hot glue and paint and tape. I worked on my project for a lot of weeks to finish it. I made it all by myself and my mommy took the video but I told her how to take the video the way that I wanted. Thank you."
(Ages 8-10): Willa M. 🥇
Willa says "I designed a piece of clothing for a knight. I made the whole suit of armor but the extra special parts are the pointy sabaton shoes and the cloak. The sabatons and sword are super sharp, perfect for slaying dragons. Thank you for doing this contest. I had so much fun! Please do it again next year!"
(Ages 11-13): Weston B. 🥇
Weston says "The main invention is called the “Better Hand,” a robot hand upgrade. See the ad for more details! Plus the bonus attachment!"
(Ages 14-16): Brandt P. 🥇
Brandt says "Back in the ye old days, before the times of flashy machines and extravagant electronics, there lived a cave man named Ooga Booga. Mr. Ooga Booga lived in the desert of Arizona. One day, as the cave man was lousing around his cave, he decided that he was bored. "I very bored," grunted the caveman. Mr. Ooga Booga derived all his inspiration around him and all around him was desert and cactus. But this was no ordinary desert. It was one where dinosaurs roamed around the scorpions. The Blockasurus Rex ruled the land. Mr. Ooga Booga decided to make a game and took the inspiration of the world around him. He noticed that when the Blockasurus Rex was running really fast to catch it prey, it ran into all the cacti. Sometimes that Blockasurus Rex would avoid the disastrous collisions by leaping OOOVER them. Mr. Ooga Booga decided to make a game in honor of the great Blockasaurus Rex that roamed the land around him."
(Ages 17): Diaunte W. 🥇
Diaunte says "I wanted it to have a purpose beyond the competition so I made it into a lamp that I can use at night time and a puppet that can be operated from the back. Adding the light was something I thought of from the beginning but adding the ability to control it like a puppet was something I saw an opportunity for during my creating process. I think both the light and the puppet control are fun aspects but my favorite part is actually the silver trim. I collect all kinds of boxes and plastics for future use and I’ve been saving this silver lined cookie box for a year to use it for something special. I feel like the silver trim makes the robot really pop. Other than a chance to win some money I also have little siblings that are 12yo and 8yo who see me make things with cardboard all the time, but this was something different and I’m glad I was able to show them what can be done with some boxes and a little imagination."
✨ Honorable Mentions ✨
No cash prize, but legend-status in our books!
(Ages 5-7): Cooper M. 🥈 A playground for an alien
Cooper says "The playground is called UFO Fighter Jet Park on the planet of Gurggle. The aliens play all day and all night and rarely stopped to rest. There are 3000 drinking fountains at the park for the aliens because they’re always thirsty. The park has working zip lines, elevators, diving boards, a playhouse, a rope bridge, a sparkling pool & hot tub, and more! It’s the most fun playground in the whole universe. You might even see a couple friendly alien dogs running around the park. But watch out, you might run into an alien or two that can read minds!"
(Ages 8-10): Sucheth M. 🥈 Furniture for a superhero
Sucheth says "My invention is a bizarre bookshelf chock-full of tricks and traps designed to deter and alert Superhero Granny, who is guarding the last copy of the Magna Carta. Some of the tricks that are hidden inside the unique techie furniture are the secret door in the bookshelf, behind which Granny spies through a peephole, and a falling book trap that lets Granny know there is an intruder. Another feature is a 'jack-in-the-box' scary pop-out with a creepy picture inside, designed to spook robbers out of the house. Additionally, there is a book see-saw designed to confuse robbers—when one book is pushed in, another comes out. This gives Granny enough time to sweep the robber out of the house."
(Ages 11-13): Aeo S. 🥈 A game for my best friend
Aeo says "My best friend and I create fairy houses in the creek by her house and have been creating a village there for 7 years! When hurricane Helene hit last year, we had to rebuild it all over again because it got washed away. I used this idea for my design. We have also harvested many, many Reishi and other medicinal mushrooms together on our hikes, so I included those in the design as well. My best friend loves sparkles, so I put them on everything I could for her. I have made many versions of Ski-ball (and I included a video of my last similar design that was life size just like those at an arcade!) and this is a new creative take on that game with bounced balls because it is raining, my best friend and I will bounce balls together inside or down the stairs to each other. Every part of this reminds me of her and is made for her."
(Ages 14-16): Luca R. 🥈 A mode of transportation for an alien
Luca says "The process was very thought out with multiple sketches of concept art and a story."
(Ages 17+): Holly & Charlie L. 🥈 A piece of furniture for a celebrity
Holly and Charlie say "Once I rolled the die and realized what I had, I was very disappointed and was struggling to figure out what famous person I felt a connection to. Upon talking with my 11 year old son the lightbulb went off and we decided to do a tribute chair for the late Ozzy Osbourne. At that point we put together a piece of furniture that we thought was fitting for such an icon of heavy metal music.We had grand ideas but had only a week to start and complete the project. We used the chomp saw for about half of the project and the rest was ripped and cut with scissors. The entire piece is cardboard with one exception, the red button eyes on the central skull. In the end we had fun and really happy with the end result. No more tears! We will ride the Crazy Train with Ozzy Forever! ( A few song references) And just to make sure I did not miss anything I am in the adult category even though I may never grow up."
That's A Wrap!
A huge thank-you to everyone who took part in the Cardboard Genius Contest, we had an absolute blast reviewing all your incredible submissions!
💡 Fun reminder: The pattern to build our challenge dice is printed on the bottom of every ChompSaw box, so you can roll for a new project anytime. We hope these inventions inspired you just as much as they inspired us! 🫶
