What do swimming flippers, popsicles, trampolines, Braille and earmuffs have in common? They were invented by kids.
Do you think you could you invent something groundbreaking?
Today is Kid Inventors’ Day, marked each year on January 17 because it’s the birthday of Benjamin Franklin. Franklin was 12 when he created paddles for his hands that would help him swim faster — an invention that led to the modern flipper.
Kids can be very creative and can see things in a way that adults don’t. Many of the world’s most famous inventors say that they began inventing things when they were kids, said Thad Parsons, who works at the National Inventors Hall of Fame and Museum in Alexandria. Their early inventions usually didn’t work out that well, but that didn’t matter.
“While their invention when they were 8, 9 or 10 may not have been completely unique, may not have been successful, it was the attempts that were important,” Parsons said. “The investigation of how something worked, trying to figure out a better way to do it, eventually led them later in life to continue to push for . . . an invention that changed the modern world.”
So if you’ve ever had an idea for a new or improved product, tool or game, do something with it! In honor of Kid Inventors’ Day, KidsPost asked some experts for advice on things kids can do to get started if they have good ideas.
●Make a prototype, which is a fancy word for a version of your idea, using items you might find at home or in a hardware store. At the very least it will help you figure out if your idea is really as good as you think. You’ll also learn how to think more creatively and critically (noticing what didn’t work so you can fix it next time).
●Participate in an inventors program. Programs such as First Lego League encourage kids to come up with new ideas that can solve global problems, which is great training for a budding inventor. The organization Invent Now runs school-based clubs and camps, including week-long camps this summer in Germantown, Vienna, Chevy Chase and Waldorf. Your parents can find more information at www.invent.org/clubne.
●Enter a competition. Competitions can give you helpful feedback and possibly get your idea noticed or even produced. Thirteen-year-old Sierra Bouthner of Westminster, Md., invented a math video game when she was 11 and was a finalist in a national invention competition held by Sports Authority last year. Inventions “keep your mind going and help you think of new ideas,” she said. See the list on this page of some competitions to enter.
●Protect your idea. Many countries, including the United States, have a system that allows inventors to get what’s called a patent. If you have a patent on an invention, then no one else can make and sell that invention without your permission. To learn more about this, you and your parents can check out the Web site of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, at www.uspto.gov.
— Margaret Webb Pressler
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