Experiencing the Inventor’s Challenge
— By Steve Sherman, Cape Town, South Africa
The Inventor’s Challenge is upon us! There is much excitement in the air! Although we are looking to submit entries for this year’s challenge, we have always believed that we do not require a specific event to dust off our inventor’s coats. For us, EVERY DAY is an inventor’s challenge and our children are encouraged to be creative makers, thinkers, and doers. Inventions are not necessarily coordinated or planned discoveries. They are often spontaneous and, on many occasions, the result of an experiment gone awry!
When we sat with our Imagination Chapter last week in preparation for the Challenge, we spoke about inventions and how some are devised through necessity, some through dedication, some through accidents and some are just unintentional surprises. We showed the kids video clips of crazy inventions and spent some time talking about inventions that would be helpful to us today.
…we spoke about inventions and how some are devised through necessity, some through dedication, some through accidents and some are just unintentional surprises.
The children took the week to dream up ideas and at the next session we are planning to film them with a green screen while they present their ideas. One of our Imagineers, Rachel, came up with two lovely ideas, which you can see pictured here.
The amount of thought that went into her ideas is clear, as is her dedication to designing the actual inventions. She was so delighted with the outcome!
It is so important to encourage students to climb out of their comfort zones and take a dip in the pool of creativity. When children apply themselves and their ideas are nurtured and given support, they become better thinkers and grow their self-confidence. Successful inventions have no hold over race, gender, or age. The pursuit of invention touches on some many of the maker skills we try to impart weekly. The students also feel empowered that one day, the world could rely on them for their invention.
We look forward to gathering up the entries and then filming the kids as they explain their inventions in their own words. Some ideas are off the wall while some are quite conservative. It is always an honour to participate in the creative process and more so when the students make use of your guidance and enthusiasm to produce work of an excellent standard.
This article was written by Steve Sherman, Chief Imagination Officer and Managing Director of Living Maths, in Capetown South Africa. See more of Steve’s work in Science at Play: Episode 3 — What is Science?
If you would like more information regarding how your students or children can participate in the Inventor’s Challenge, check out www.inventorschallenge.org.
