Description
For over 30 years a version of this curriculum was used for the Young Inventors Program/Young Inventors Fair in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. Students created inventions and developed products in response to real world problems. Over these years, thousands of young inventors participated in this enriching event, learning how to develop, research, test, and evaluate their ideas. They even spent some time learning about inventors of the past.
The inventing process is not just about building a better mousetrap. A wide variety of skills are involved in this activity. Brainstorming is used, first, to identify a real-world problem to address and then to come up with a number of approaches to solving it. Initial ideas for solving the problem must then be researched. Has anyone else already created that solution? Then there is the trial-and-error process of building and testing the invention or device the student has chosen. Introducing a new solution, though, is not just about having a great idea. Students must think about costs and ways to present their invention to the public. Throughout the process, the student will need to communicate well with their teammates, any experts they have consulted, as well as their teachers and mentors. And they will have been communicating all along with the general public, with future inventors, and possibly with the patent office in the form of the logbook they must keep documenting every stage of the process.
This curriculum consists of step-by-step instructions for activities guiding the student through the entire inventing process. There are also numerous exercises designed to stimulate creative thinking. The activities and exercises can be used by individuals (with some modifications) or groups of any size. As the authors assert, inventing is for everyone.
