Marker Keeper

Little kids love magic markers. Markers = power! But capping them back up is so hard to remember when you are a little kid. And then the markers dry out overnight and the person who bought the marker swears it will only be crayons from now on. Then along come some new markers, and the cycle starts anew.

The marker keeper is a long white cylinder. The marker is uncapped and placed within. At rest, the front of the Keeper is a rubber orifice with overlapping flanges that keep air out. To use, a plunger on the back of the marker keeper is pushed forward and the marker tip emerges out through the flanges in front, ready for use. The plunger has a spring attached to a kitchen timer-like device. After 5 minutes elapse, the marker springs back down into the keeper. If there is still art to be made, the maker can push the marker back out.

Each marker keeper can host successive generations of marker until the spring wears out.