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Meet the Cedar Rapids second-grader who took home two awards in national invention competition
Summit Schools student created device to make it easier for kids to buckle up
Jul. 13, 2025 6:00 am, Updated: Jul. 14, 2025 8:18 am
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Oliver Matalon is a second-grade problem solver, and last month he earned a national award for his invention that fixes a problem he kept running into: recessed seat belt buckles.
In cars where the seat belt buckle is held in a cavity in the seat cushion, kids who use a booster seat, like Oliver, can have a hard time pulling the buckle out of the recess in order to buckle themselves in.
Oliver, who goes to Summit Schools in Cedar Rapids, wasn’t the only kid struggling with this issue. After asking around among his classmates and friends and learning how many others had the same problem, the 8-year-old decided to invent the Recessed Rescuer. It’s a small plastic wedge that can be inserted in the seat recess and used to stabilize the buckle underneath a child’s booster seat, for ease of access.
Oliver submitted his invention to the Iowa Invention Convention, run by the Jacobson Institute at the University of Iowa. In June, he and four other Iowa students advanced to the National Invention Convention, hosted at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Mich. His invention won two awards at the national competition: the transportation category award, and third place overall for second-grade inventors.
The Gazette sat down with Oliver recently to talk about his invention process and his experience at the national competition.
Q: Where did you get the idea for the Recessed Rescuer?
A: “I got the idea because I had also been thinking of solving two other problems. One was an app that would tell my mom what plant to put next to what. And then another one was windshield wipers for my glasses. I couldn't do windshield wipers, and I couldn't do the app. So, what I did is the Recessed Rescuer.”
Q: Was it an idea that you came up with on your own, or did you have people who helped brainstorm?
A: “Came up with it on my own.”
Q: Had you experienced the problem of your seat belt buckle getting stuck in the seat yourself?
A: “I had. More like, the booster seat covers them up than them stuck in the seat. Some seats are so slanted that when you push the booster seat out, it’s exposed, but then when you take the buckle and get ready to buckle it in, it’s already been slid back under the seat.”
Q: How long did it take you to put together your prototype and your whole presentation?
A: “A pretty long time … during the school year. The nationals was in summer.”
Q: Can you walk me through what the process looked like, from the idea to having your prototype?
A: “So, first, I made … my original design I was planning on making. That one pushed it away with poles. I have it … in my inventor’s notebook … First we made one that fell apart in one of our creativity challenges … then you have this wedge, and we designed that on SketchUp.”
Q: What kind of safety research did you do?
A: “I talked to a (child passenger safety technician) and she said it’s safe as long as it isn’t compressible and the angle is similar.”
Q: What are the prototypes made out of?
A: “One’s made out of resin … One’s made out of filament.”
Q: Did you make them on a 3D printer?
A: “Yeah … at the library.”
Q: What was it like attending the state and national competitions?
A: “It was fun at the national competition because it was at the Henry Ford Museum and I got to see a lot of things, and I really liked the Allegheny locomotive and the snowplow train.”
Q: How did it feel to find out that you had won?
A: “I felt happy, and I got a medal from nationals, and a trophy from nationals.”
Q: Do you think you will invent more in the future and enter this competition again?
A: “Yes.”
Q: Do you have any other ideas for the inventions you want to make?
A: “Not yet.”
Q: Do you have any plans for what do with the Recessed Rescuer design now?
A: “Sell it at lemonade stands … I’m probably going to be having my dad at the library asking them to print, and use both of their printers to print two of them, while I’m selling, so I don’t run out.”
Q: Is there anything else you want to share about your invention?
A: “I want to show you … the instructions. Part one, make sure it is even with the recessed seat belt. Part two, put the Recessed Rescuer into the buckle … Do not have the booster seat installed in part one. Install the booster seat after. Then you can buckle it in.”
Comments: (319) 398-8328; emily.andersen@thegazette.com
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