2007 Invention Convention

Teacher Tips and Ideas

Below you will find some information that might help keep your students interested in the invention process, now that ‘Dr. Pepper’ has turned on their inventive brains.

You may want to talk with kids about what an invention is, and why people create inventions. You can explain to students that almost everything they see that is man-made was at some point created for the first time. Most of these items are created to make someone’s job or life a little easier. Inventions that make life more difficult are usually ignored or tend not to work.

Another idea is to place a random assortment of objects on the table, and have students identify what problems needed to be solved in order to create those items.

Ball point pen:            created because someone was sick of having to dip their quill in ink, or refill a fountain pen.

Staple remover:         someone was sick of using a knife or other sharp object to remove staples, or maybe had been hurt trying to remove the staples.

Mechanical pencil:     a person thought of a better way to keep a writing utensil sharp, which would save time from having to sharpen the pencil again and again.

Velcro strips:              someone wanted a material that could be reused to fasten items together.

Spork:             fast food restaurants wanted a utensil that was universally useable, saving production costs.

You might try having a brainstorming session with the kids, trying to find problems at home or at school that need to be solved. List them on the board, and allow time for students to think about how to solve those problems.

1.                 Maybe you are tired of having to wipe down the art table in your room every time you do a project.

2.                 You have a large amount of used 2 liter bottles, but no purpose for them…

3.                 You have a window you would like to open in your classroom, but it is too high to easily reach.

4.                 You are constantly misplacing important items.

The point for this activity is that the more problems that you can generate with your students, the more likely students will be to generate their own problems, and then solutions to those problems.

Definition of invention:

Invention ... means the process of devising and producing by independent investigation, experimentation, and mental activity something which is useful and which was not previously known or existing. An invention involves such high order of mental activity that the inventor is usually acclaimed even if the invention is not a commercial success. Often inventions are put into use after they become public property.

Websites:

http://www.bkfk.com/

            A site devoted to helping kids learn how to invent, and how to market their ideas to others.

http://www.bkfk.com/kids/process_start.asp

            Part of the above site, with specific instructions on how to get started.

http://www.education-world.com/a_lesson/lesson240.shtml

            A great site with lesson plans for teachers to help get kids started.

http://www.inventiondb.com/

            Learn about what other inventors are making as we speak, through their blogs and pictures.

http://www.invent.org/

            The hall of fame site for inventors. Also includes info on contests.

http://www.invent.org/hall_of_fame/1_1_2_listing_inventor.asp?vAlpha=

            List of inventors in the hall of fame.

http://invention.smithsonian.org/centerpieces/ilives/womeninventors.html

            A list of famous female inventors.