SPRAGUE — Aiden Walton likes to solve Rubik’s cubes and figure out puzzles.

Landon Walton loves to cook and play baseball.

The twin 10-year-olds from Baltic have their own interests but mimic each other in one pastime: They’re inventors with a penchant for safety.

"I really like to challenge myself," Aiden said. "We like to help each other come up with ideas."

The pair, who attend Sayles School, recently returned from a trip to the 2019 Invention Convention U.S. Nationals in Dearborn, Michigan. Aiden and Landon were part of a 165-group of finalists from Connecticut who competed.

Both earned the Recognized Inventor Award at the state level: Aiden invented the S.A.F.E. T. Vest, which stands for Stuffed Animal Fire Emergency Talking Vest. Landon created The Hot Spot.

"We help each other come up with ideas and names," Landon said. "We ask each other questions about each other’s inventions."

Aiden created the S.A.F.E. T. Vest to be worn by a child’s favorite stuffed animal. It’s equipped with a recordable voice module and blue LED strobe light. If there ever was a fire, the child would press a button on the vest that would allow them to hear their parents recorded message going over the family’s fire safety plan.

"I have two little brothers and I want to keep them safe in case of a fire," Aiden said. "They wouldn’t remember what to do, but the vest helps them stay calm and safe."

Michelle Walton, the boys’ mom, added: "The strobe light will help firefighters easily locate the child."

Landon’s The Hot Spot is a magnet that is used on surfaces that many may not know are hot, including slides, playground equipment, stadium seating and cars. The magnets are painted with a thermochromic powder that is green, and when they heat up and the surface becomes too hot, the green turns clear and the magnet displays a warning message: "caution hot surface."

"One of the main reasons a lot of kids get burned is by a hot surface they don’t know is hot," Landon said, "like a slide."

About 108,000 K-12 students from across the country participated in invention conventions this year, and 493 made it to the nationals at the Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation in Dearborn. Invention conventions tap into various subjects, included STEAM.

"It's almost become a sport for them, or a hobby," Michelle said. "They look forward to it every year. Landon has already set goals for himself when he’s older. He wants to be an engineer."

Landon can thank his brother for sparking his interest.

"I didn’t do the Invention Convention the first year because I wasn’t sure I would like it," Landon said. "When I saw Aiden make it far, I thought I would like it."

Every year, the family sits down comes up with a list of ideas. This year, as fourth-graders, the boys barely asked for help. Both like focusing on safety when they try and come up with an idea.

"They 100 percent did everything," Michelle said. "They brought the projects to life."

Sayles School Principal Danielle Schoman liked Landon's invention so much, he decided to make a batch for the playground equipment at school.

"It's his summer project once baseball All-Stars is over," Michelle said.

At Sayles School, several students have competed in the annual Invention Conventions. This fall, Aiden and Landon will being going into the fifth-/sixth-grade — Sayles has adopted multiage classrooms. Both plan on entering a project in next year’s Invention Convention — in what would be Aiden’s fifth and Landon’s fourth consecutive.

"I haven’t started thinking about an idea," Aiden said. "But I think I should soon."