We hope you enjoyed this week’s experiences focused on Power and Energy. Were you inspired to create or invent something? Please share your photos with us on social media using #WeAreInnovationNation!
If you missed anything from our series this past week, check out the recordings and resources below. We hope that you will join us this upcoming week to explore new themes drawn from our Model i Learning Framework, beginning with Be Empathetic.
What We Covered This Week
Power & Energy: How is power created?
STEAM Stories
Join us for a reading of Wind by Marion Dane Bauer and then learn about wood and metal using a lesson from our early childhood curriculum, Innovate for Tots. Watch the video here.
#Innovation Nation
Watch segments related to power and energy from The Henry Ford's Innovation Nation here.
Innovation Journeys Live!
Join us for an Innovation Journey Live when Jessica Robinson, our Entrepreneur in Residence, and Matt Anderson, our Curator of Transportation, talk about electric and autonomous cars. Watch the video here.
Our Friday segment will be a little different this week as we hear from Attorney Michael “Max” Sneyd, an attorney at Kerr, Russell and Weber, PLC in Detroit, Michigan all about patents, copyrights and trademarks. This is a great opportunity for all of our invention convention participants to learn the difference between each, what you might need and what might not apply to your invention, what to consider when developing your invention, how to apply for a patent, copyright, or trademark, how long it takes, and how families can support their inventors in the application process. Watch the interview here.
Learn more below about how our Invention Convention Curriculum activities can to keep your child innovating.
Resource Highlight: Invention convention Curriculum
In our continued efforts to help parents, students and educators during these times of uncertainty, The Henry Ford is providing helpful tips that assist parents in adapting its educational tools for implementation at home.
This week we are highlighting a lesson from the Invention Convention Curriculum. The program is open to students in grades K-12. The lessons teach students skills that will give young innovators the chance to design, build, and pitch an original invention to their peers and judges. Competitions are held at local or regional levels and those qualifying move on to state competition. State qualifiers can then compete at the Invention Convention U.S. Nationals held here at The Henry Ford.
Our Invention Convention curriculum takes young inventors through the complete process of inventing. The activities in our curriculum take young inventors through the seven steps of the invention process. These 7 steps provide the framework for the heart of the Invention Convention curriculum. The lessons are organized by step:
- Identifying
- Understanding
- Ideating
- Designing
- Building
- Testing
- Communicating
Entrepreneurship lessons are also added. We have designed the activities to build skills in invention and engineering while supporting the creation of your students’ very own inventions. You can learn more about the Invention Convention Curriculum Link here. Parents and educators can learn more about Model i here.
Janice Warju is Coordinator, Learning Content Development, at The Henry Ford.
Additional Readings:
- Made in America: Power- Maudslay Production Lathe, circa 1800
- Behind the Scenes with IMLS: Batteries Included
- Test Tube, "Edison's Last Breath," 1931
by Janice Warju, Invention Convention Worldwide, power, educational resources, innovation learning
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