KBLOG 33: Unleashing Creativity: Tips for Helping Students Birth Innovative Ideas: 4. The Frisbee, Windshield Wipers, Microwave and the Super soaker!

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Photo by Klub Boks

The Challenge:

As noted in recent KBLOGS I want my students to experience the joy of inventing. I have suggested ways that worked for me to help students apply their innate curiosity to solve problems that they observe every day. Student-derived projects or experiments end up having a profound effect on them. Remember you want your children and students to birth innovative ideas to take ownership of a self-generated idea from hatching the idea, planning, executing and presenting a final product. This can be a profound student experience that can last a lifetime.

A Solution:

To most students, at first, inventing something seems like a huge and almost impossible mountain to climb. In past KBLOGS I have offered suggestions to make that invention mountain less intimidating. Another effective way to help students on their invention journey is to have them explore the different routes that inventors of familiar products took to arrive at a successful product. Students can select a product and research how it was invented. I love to have students explore how inventors derived everyday products. The stories are often amazing! Below are examples of fascinating invention journeys.

Resources:

Frisbee (Walter Frederick Morrison)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6UWF_xttEIE

First Patent:

 Super Soaker Water Gun (Lonnie Johnson) 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1zAO1WkG58

https://www.biography.com/people/lonnie-g-johnson-17112946

 First Patent:

 Windshield Wipers (Mary Anderson):   

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twf_pIJNuag

First Patent:

 Microwave Oven (Percy Spencer)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKZrw2QcF2I

First Patent: