While walking out of the grocery store with his mother in a downpour so heavy he could barely see their parked car, Dalton Potter was struck with one of those ah-ha moments. What if they had a face spray that forces raindrops to bounce right off, keeping you . and your eyes . dry?

Dalton, a sixth-grader at Corey Elementary, first shared the idea with his mother, who thought it was a good idea, and later to his teacher, who thought it was a great one. Dalton designed it as an art project, explaining how he would do it, what it could cost, what he could call it (The Dry Face) and exactly how it could help other people who find themselves handicapped by the pouring rain.

His idea was good enough to be selected as one of the winners Saturday during the 2013 AISD Entrepreneur Day at UT Arlington's College Park Center where students were rewarded for their ingenuity and creativity of products they could sell or businesses they could create.

The ideas for this annual gathering sponsored by the Arlington Chamber of Commerce, AISD and the City of Arlington were all over the map.

A sixth-grader came up with an outerwear suit that had control buttons to automatically unleash an umbrella for hail, a backpack and a hot cocoa maker while a fourth-grader's idea of keeping noise down was a Sound Proof Poster that kept everything quiet whenever you put it up.

To understand just how big a deal this is: about 1,700 third- through-sixth graders and 1,800 seventh-grade students entered the contest, of which only about 400 elementary and 185 seventh-graders were invited Saturday as semi-finalists. Grand Prizes went to the top three among each grade in the art or essay competition.

The prize package includes season tickets to Six Flags, two box seat tickets to a Texas Rangers baseball game, a $50 gift card to Alley Cats and a summer season pass to the City of Arlington aquatic pools.

"When I heard my name, I just sat there because I couldn't believe they'd said my name,' said an ecstatic Dalton. "I was asking, 'they talking about me?'

The Arlington Chamber of Commerce, AISD and the City of Arlington sponsor this annual gathering of ideas.

"Every time I hear one of these ideas I often wonder, 'why didn't I think of that?' said Mayor Robert Cluck, who attended the event along with City Council members, AISD Superintendent Dr. Marcelo Cavazos, State Senator Wendy Davis and a number of other dignitaries. NBC Five Anchor Brian Curtis emceed the event.

Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Wes Jurey said the idea behind the Essay and Art Entrepreneurship Contest is to inject the entrepreneurial spirit into students early enough that the notion of starting a business isn't intimidating.

"In the drive to be a society of innovators, this is where it starts,' Jurey said. "I tell these kids the sky is the limit. Why can't the next big idea be yours?'

Click here to see all the photos from this event.