INVENTION CONVENTION

INVENTION CONVENTION COURSE

INTRODUCTION TO INVENTIONS!

Course Outline

Outcomes and Objectives:

Students will practice brainstorming in order to help them identify many problems and solutions in their own life.
Students will learn how to draw models so that they can model their own prototype.
Students will learn the engineering design process so they can build their own prototype.
Students practice communication skills for their invention convention presentation.

What is an INVENTION CONVENTION?

Fostering the development of important science skills is an ongoing challenge. Students should be given opportunities to solve problems, think creatively, experiment, and work with data throughout the school year. The Invention Convention is an event that gives students an opportunity to demonstrate these skills independently as they invent a new product or process.

Participants are encouraged to identify a need or to solve a problem by following the same steps and patent application procedures that an inventor would follow in patenting an invention. Once a need or a problem has been identified, students are directed to use problem-solving and creative-thinking skills to invent a product or process that would fill the need or overcome the problem. Communication and research skills are also greatly enhanced throughout the invention procedure. T

Participants are encouraged to identify a need or to solve a problem by following the same steps and patent application procedures that an inventor would follow in patenting an invention. Once a need or a problem has been identified, students are directed to use problem-solving and creative-thinking skills to invent a product or process that would fill the need or overcome the problem. Communication and research skills are also greatly enhanced throughout the invention procedure. T

THE INVENTION CONVENTION PROCESS

STEP I: Learning About Inventors
STEP II: Finding an Idea
STEP III: Research and Planning
STEP IV: Developing and Testing
STEP V: The Invention Convention

STEP I: Learning About InventorsIn this step, students will learn about inventors and their inventions. The knowledge gained in this step will help students develop an appreciation for inventors and will help establish in them a positive attitude about the invention process. They will learn that successful inventors:

Keep an open and curious mind about the world around them.
Acquire as much information as possible about an idea, a problem, or a future invention before beginning to invent.
Continually use trial and error as they engage in problem solving.
Continually strive to improve upon an idea or design after finding a solution.
Are dedicated, persistent, and most of all, optimistic about finding a solution.

STEP II: Finding an IdeaFinding a need to fulfill or a problem to solve is the second step in the invention process. The invention may be a new product or it may be a new process for doing something.

STEP III: Research and PlanningStudents should create detailed plans for their invention or process. In the plans the developmental steps are laid out, preliminary drawings may be made, time limits are established, materials are listed, and testing methods are defined. During the planning step, students must decide whether they will produce a small model or a full-size prototype of their invention. Students inventing a new process will want to develop an outline for their report.

STEP IV: Developing, Testing, and MarketingIn this step, students build their invention or develop their process. They will learn that plans need to be changed along the way and that trial and error is a part of the invention process. In addition, they will do appropriate testing and record any necessary data for their test report.
Once students have built their product or have developed their process, they will plan a strategy to market their invention. They will consider their potential customer and how best to convince that customer of the value of their idea. Students will write and design advertisements for newspapers, magazines, television, and the Internet.
The culmination of this step will be the completion of an application that makes the student eligible to take part in the Invention Convention. The application form has been modeled after the U.S. Patent Office form and should be "notarized" by the school principal.

STEP V: The Invention ConventionThe Invention Convention is the event that students have been waiting for. It provides each qualifying student with an opportunity to display her or his project.

INVENTOR HANDOUT