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Inventions and Innovations

Inventions and Innovations

Students will think outside the box as they investigate inventors, inventions, and innovations and come up with their own new products.

Lesson Plan

Supplies Needed

Gather all the supplies needed to bring your craft ideas to life! From paints and markers to glue and scissors, our crafts section has everything to spark creativity and make every project truly special.

  • Paper

Steps

  • Step 1

    Sometimes people intentionally set out to create or innovate a product or process. Other times a creation might be serendipitous as when Swiss engineer George de Mestral took a walk with his dog and noticed the burrs that stuck to its coat. This led to the creation of Velcro. Have students investigate the origins of some inventions that help make life easier of more pleasant. In addition to de Mestral some suggestions might be Thomas Crapper, the plumber who revolutionized indoor flush toilets; Hedy Lamarr, the actress and inventor whose concepts in the 1930s and 1940s were the basis of cell phone and bluetooth technology; and Charles Drew, an African-American who fought many obstacles to receive a medical degree and who would save many lives through the process he invented for separating whole blood from plasma.

  • Step 2

    Ask students to think of a product or service to invent or innovate. Encourage them to stretch their imagination and think outside the box. Have them sketch and then illustrate their idea and label the various parts or steps.

  • Step 3

    Have students present their sketches and explain how their product improves an existing task or product or makes life easier or more enjoyable.

Standards

SS: Science, Technology, and Society: Become aware of how science and technologies influence beliefs, knowledge, and people’s daily lives.

SS: Science, Technology, and Society: Identify how technologies such as communication and transportation have evolved and how people have employed advances in technology to modify daily lives including health and economics. Explore historical examples and imagine future technologies.

Adaptations

Have students learn about inventions created by children. Suggestions might include 11-year-old Frank Epperson who in 1905 mixed powdered flavoring with soda water and accidentally left it outside in the winter with the stirrer still in it. This inspired him to create and market "popsicles." Eight-year-old Abbey Fleck devised a microwave-safe dish that hangs bacon while it cooks so that the fat could drip off. She and her father patented it in 1993.

Challenge students to create a prototype of their inventions using materials such as Model Magic, craft items, and recycled material.