Create An Invention
Excite students to the idea of inventing something.
A famous Scientist once said: "To develop working ideas efficiently, I try to fail as fast as I can."
1. Types of Inventions - Challenge students by asking if the examples below could be true or false.
2. The Inventive Persona - Describe personality traits that encourage creating inventions.
3. Brainstorm Invention Ideas - What is something you have always wanted to invent?
4. Create concept maps of your Invention - Go from a mental image to a concept map.
A scientist made an adhesive material too weak. When applied
to a book page, this glue-like material stuck, but it was so weak it couldn't
lift the page to turn it. He had invented rubber cement. (False).
This happened in 1974, and it is how Post-it Notes were invented.
In 1898 two brothers trying to make a tasty cereal accidentally left a mixture of boiled wheat out. The next day they rolled and toasted it. They had invented a process for making wheat flakes and corn flakes. (True)
When an ice cream vendor ran out of cups, she substituted a
very thin rolled waffle and made an ice cream cone. (True)
This happened in 1905 at the ST. Louis World's Fair.
One chilly night in 1905, a kid aged 11, left a bowl out on
his porch. The bowl held a mixture and a stirring stick. The next morning
the kid was shocked to discover a frozen treat on a stick - a Popsicle. (True).
A kid really invented this!
A factory worker over mixed a batch of soap. Although it contained too much air, the soap was packaged and sold anyway. Customers were delighted with Ivory, the new floating soap. (True)
Ask students to describe personality traits that encourage creating inventions. Challenge them to suggest negative, as well as positive persona aspects.
i. Positive - Creative, a good imagination, perseverance (stick-with-it attitude), brave, an independent thinker, analytical, not afraid to try things, adaptable
ii. Negative - impulsive, restless, frustrated easily, not easily pleased, willing to go against the norm (rock the boat), slightly neurotic, stubborn, "hyper", low tolerance for ambiguity, complains a lot
iii. Think of a problem, keep a journal of things that frustrate you. Then find a way to solve your problem. List solutions and materials needed. List obstacles to solutions, analyze the frustrations by SCAMPER technique (substitute, combine, adapt, modify, put to other use, eliminate, reverse or rearrange). Choose the solution that makes most sense. Make a model. Make positive observations (much harder to do), then negative observations. Ask yourself challenging questions about your invention. Make observations of other inventions and keep notes. Make changes to your inventions to make it better. Revisions are an important part of the process.
Market your product, get a fair price, promote it in an appropriate place.
Ask students to brainstorm invention ideas and choose one. Allow students time to draw their inventions and/or build models using miscellaneous materials.
Resources on the web: African-American Inventors, Black History and Inventors, Henry Sampson invented the cellular phone, Inventors for Girls , and finally a really fun game to enhance your awareness of how to invent something.
Create Concept Maps of your Invention
Have participants begin to make concept maps on large white butcher paper, using markers and stickies.
Teach students how to use Inspiration software (you can get a 30-day free download) and have them create c-maps of their invention.
Students should seek solutions to the following questions:
What is the function and underlying science?
How can this invention draw on the strengths of my culture?
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