Teacher Information
Inventing isn't as hard as you think. It can be something as easy as creating a dance, or building
something unique out of Legos. Check out some of the inventions from last year's challenge... if they
can do it so can you!
http://www.inventivekids.com/
http://inventionatplay.org/
Think About a Problem in Your School and Come Up With an Invention to Solve
It.
Do your clothes get full of chalk after writing on the board? Losing your pens and pencils? Think about
the problems you face during your school day and what could be invented to help solve it.
Check Out This Example:
Think It: My friends and I love to swing, but the swing sets at my school are inadequate. We swing
every recess, but we always have dirty or injured hands from the chains pinching our fingers.
Explore It: How could we protect our hands from the swing chains? Could some kind of hand protection
be invented? Let’s make a protective covering that sits on top of the chains and provides a handle to
hold onto. We just need to make sure it doesn’t slip down.
Sketch It: Let’s sketch a swing and show how the material (maybe felt?) could on the chains and where
we would make handles out of cardboard so we could hold on when swinging.
Sell It: The Chain-o-rama let’s you swing on the playground without getting your hands dirty or cut up.
Everyone will want this for their playground to make swinging more fun!
Find an invention that is used in your school and tell us how you would
improve upon it.
Is there a way to make chalkboards more useful? Could 3-ring binders be easier to use? Maybe
calculators or rulers could become more efficient. Think about how things you use every day in school
could be improved upon.
Check Out This Example:
Think It: My textbooks are so heavy that by the time I get to school, my back aches. My backpack pulls
my shoulders backward and puts pressure on my lower back. There must be a better design that will
equally distribute all this weight!
Explore It: Let’s look at a backpack filled with books. I see the how the weight is handled and the
amount of force it puts on my back. Where are the problem points? How can we redesign it to change
how the weight of the books affects our backs?
Sketch It: I am going to sketch a redesigned backpack. I’ll give it a new shape and put the straps in new
places.
Sell It: This Stress-Free-Backpack will never make your back ache! Wearing it makes your books feel
as light as a feather.
Find a Real World Problem and com up with an invention to solve
it
Is there a problem all the people in your neighborhood face? Something that all your friends complain
about? An issue your parents talk about at your house? How can you help solve it by inventing
something new?
Check Out This Example:
Think It: My mom says that her foot really hurts after sitting at so many red lights and having to push
down on the brake pedal in the car. There has to be another way to stop the car but not have to hold the
pedal down or put it in park.
Explore It: Lets look at how cars work right now. We need a way to not use our feet when we stop.
Would a button work? Some kind of voice-activated stop? What other ways can you make a car stop?
Sketch It: I am going to sketch a plan for a voice-operated brake. I’ll give it a shape, a placement in the
car and describe how to use it and what it would do. What makes this unique?
Sell It: Tired of using your foot to brake the car? Does your foot start to cramp or give you pains when
you brake all the time? Try my new Voice-Activated Stopper! Your feet will never cramp from braking
again.
the official Invent It Challenge
1. Decide which one of the 3 challenges you would like to take on.
2. Think about the problem you are trying to address and how it could be solved.
3. Once you have an idea, consider the Key Steps of the Invention Process. You will need to show
how you used at least 4 of the 7 steps in your entry. You might want to use this PowerPoint template as
a guide.
4. To enter the contest, upload a PowerPoint, video or Microsoft Word document with the challenge you
selected, your invention idea and the key steps. Or, mail in your entry to ePals at Spark!Lab Invent It
Contest, 13625-A Dulles Technology Dr., Hendon, VA, USA 20171. If you are not an ePals member,
email your entry to epalsinaction@epals.com and be sure to include the information below.
Be sure to include the following information in the description box when you upload your entry:
 First name and last initial
 State or Country
 Name and e-mail address of your parent or teacher
Entry Deadline: January 4, 2013 Midnight EST.
the Gaithersburg Elementary Competition
1. Decide which one of the 3 challenges you would like to take on.
2. Think about the problem you are trying to address and how it could be solved.
3. Once you have an idea, complete the Key Steps of the Invention Process.
4. Bring your invention and Key Steps of the Invention Process paper to the Media Center to be
displayed until Winter Break.
Name- ____________________________________________ Teacher- ______________________
Key Steps of the Invention
Process
Describe the problem you want to solve.
________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
Make a list of possible ways to solve this problem. (Sometimes we also add a
question like - How have people tried to solve this problem in the past? Think of how
you can improve on other solutions.)
1. ______________________________________________________________________
2.
___________________________________________________________________________________
3.
___________________________________________________________________________________
Draw pictures and diagrams to show your invention and how it might work.
If possible, build your prototype. Write down each step so that you will remember
exactly how you built your model.
Perform some experiments to find out how well your prototype works. Write down
the results of each test.
What happened?
Test 1
Test 2
Test 3
How can you improve your prototype?
________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
Give your invention a name and explain why people should buy it.
________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
Cómo Inspirte
Inventar no es tan difícil como usted piensa. Puede ser algo tan sencillo como crear un
baile, o construir algo único de Legos. Echa un vistazo a algunos de los inventos de
desafío del año pasado ... si pueden hacerlo tú también puedes!
http://www.inventivekids.com/
http://inventionatplay.org/
Seleccione su Desafío
Desafío 1
Piense en un problema en su escuela y llegar a una
invención para resolverlo.
Desafío 2
Encuentra un invento que se utiliza en su escuela y
cuéntenos cómo le mejorarla.
Desafío 3
Encontrar un problema del mundo real y llegar a una
invención para resolverlo.
Cómo participar Inventar el funcionario impugnarla
1. Decidir cuál de los 3 desafíos que le gustaría asumir.
2. Piense en el problema que se intenta resolver y cómo se podría resolver.
3. Una vez que tenga una idea, considere los Pasos Clave del Proceso de Invención.
Usted tendrá que mostrar cómo se utilizan por lo menos 4 de los 7 pasos de la entrada.
Es posible que desee utilizar esta plantilla de PowerPoint como una guía.
4. Para participar en el concurso, cargar un documento de Word en PowerPoint, video o
Microsoft con el reto que ha seleccionado, su idea de la invención y los pasos clave. O,
envíe por correo su entrada a ePals en Spark! Lab inventarlo Concurso, 13625-A. Dulles
Technology Dr., Hendon, VA 20171 Si usted no es un miembro de ePals, enviar su
entrada a epalsinaction@epals.com y asegúrese de incluir la siguiente información.
Asegúrese de incluir la siguiente información en el cuadro de descripción cuando usted
cargue su entrada:
• En primer nombre y la inicial del apellido
• Estado o País
• Nombre y dirección de e-mail a un padre o un maestro
Fecha límite de inscripción: 04 de enero 2013 la medianoche EST.
Cómo participar
the Gaithersburg Elementary Competition
1. Decidir cuál de los 3 desafíos que le gustaría asumir.
2. Piense en el problema que se intenta resolver y cómo se podría resolver.
3. Una vez que tenga una idea, considere los Pasos Clave del Proceso de Invención.
4. Traiga su invención y pasos clave del proceso de la invención del papel de la
biblioteca que se mostrarán hasta las vacaciones de invierno.
5. Ud. tiene que entregar los pasos claves del su proceso de invención con su
invención para participar en nuestra compencia.
Inventing isn't as hard as you think. It can be something as easy as creating a dance, or
building something unique out of Legos. Check out some of the inventions from last
year's challenge... if they can do it so can you!
http://www.inventivekids.com/
http://inventionatplay.org/
Think About a Problem in Your School and Come Up With an
Invention to Solve It.
Find an Invention That is Used in Your School and Tell Us How You
Would Improve Upon It.
Find a Real-World Problem and Come Up With an Invention to Solve
It.
the official Invent It Challenge
1. Decide which one of the 3 challenges you would like to take on.
2. Think about the problem you are trying to address and how it could be solved.
3. Once you have an idea, consider the Key Steps of the Invention Process. You will
need to show how you used at least 4 of the 7 steps in your entry. You might want to use
this PowerPoint template as a guide.
4. To enter the contest, upload a PowerPoint, video or Microsoft Word document with the
challenge you selected, your invention idea and the key steps. Or, mail in your entry to
ePals at Spark!Lab Invent It Contest, 13625-A Dulles Technology Dr., Hendon, VA, USA
20171. If you are not an ePals member, email your entry to epalsinaction@epals.com
and be sure to include the information below.
Be sure to include the following information in the description box when you upload your
entry:
 First name and last initial
 State or Country
 Name and e-mail address of your parent or teacher
Entry Deadline: January 4, 2013 Midnight EST.
the Gaithersburg Elementary Competition
1. Decide which one of the 3 challenges you would like to take on.
2. Think about the problem you are trying to address and how it could be solved.
3. Once you have an idea, complete the Key Steps of the Invention Process.
4. Bring your invention and Key Steps of the Invention Process paper to the Media
Center to be displayed until Winter Break.
5. You MUST submit the Key Steps of the Invention Process with your invention to
be entered in our competition.