Inventions

Inspire innovation in young learners through a study of important inventions throughout history. The four-lesson unit includes four separate lessons with activities ranging from researching and describing the history of noteworthy...

3D printers, selfie sticks, smart watches. GPS, self-driving cars, YouTube. Imagine life without inventions. Believe it or not, these items were all invented in the last 10 years. Inventions, and the inventors responsible for them, are...

Curiosity gets you everything. With this assignment, inspiring minds come together to create and invent. Learn how and why we invent and what it means to patent an invention.

Learners examine the drawings of Leonardo da Vinci's flying machines and discuss when they were conceptualized and how they are similar to today's flight vehicles. They collect recyclables such as wood and foam trays and create an...

With the help from an interactive timeline, scholars discover the time and order in which inventions came to be—popular items from eyeglasses to the compact disc. 

Can you build a homemade speaker out of a potato chip? Bestselling author and do-it-yourself expert William Gurstelle shows you how in his brief presentation at TEDYouth 2012. He encourages young people to be creative and explore science...

Class groups investigate the inventions found in different rooms of a house and create invention cards that detail the invention, the inventor, and how this object helps people. These cards are then added to the appropriate room on a...

Students identify and solve problems as they modify the design of an everyday household item. They gather and analyze information and work in collaborative teams to create a design plan for a new product.

Technology—what exactly is it? Find out with a project designed to inspire the inner inventor in us all. The activity begins with a captivating podcast and a search of multiple websites that display different inventions and technology,...

Use this lesson plan to discuss inventions that have changed your class's world and have impacted society. Middle schoolers investigate important inventions of their time and design an invention in a simulated business atmosphere. Modify...