Beware: invention at play

ChildArt, April-June, 2004 by Kate Swiencki

What does an inventor look like?

Consider this picture. You are a curious and imaginative person, who likes to solve problems. You think visually. Your daily routine includes walking the dog, going to soccer practice or taking dance lessons. You like to play. That's right--an inventor looks a lot like you!

When you visit the Children's Museum of Indianapolis, in Indiana, USA, you'll get to see some of the really good ideas kids have come up with when they were "just playing around". The museum's exhibit "Invention at Play" has many examples of these great ideas! Let's take a look.

"It's not your problem!" Suppose young Garrett Morgan, the son of freed slaves, had not tried to improve the world around him. Our world would be very different. After witnessing an accident involving a horse-pulled buggy and an automobile at a street intersection, Morgan, with only six years of formal education, put his problem-solving talents to work and created the electric traffic-light signal.

"Come indoors or you'll catch a cold." A youthful George de Mestral might have heard those words because he loved to explore the great outdoors. While hiking in the woods with his dog, he became annoyed by burrs that stuck to his wool pants and his dog's fur. He wondered why the burrs stuck. Upon examining them under a microscope, de Mestral noticed that each consisted of hundreds of tiny hooks that "grabbed" onto loops of thread or fur. He decided to turn what Mother Nature had created into an everyday useful product that we know as Velcro[R].

"Curiosity killed the cat." It's a phrase that Percy Spencer probably heard often growing up since he was such a nosey boy. It's a good thing he didn't listen because when he grew up, he became the inventor of the microwave oven. The idea came about while he was visiting a lab where magnetrons *, the power tubes of radars, were being tested and he felt a peanut bar start to cook in his pocket. Other scientists had noticed this phenomenon, but Spencer itched to know more about it.

"Do your homework." Just a friendly reminder, in case you were thinking that invention was all play and no work! The more you learn about the world around you and how it works, the more ideas you'll have in your mind to play with! This will help you come up with interesting inventions, create more fascinating art, and of course ... you'll probably end up with a good report card, too!

Invention at Play was developed by the Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History in partnership with the Science Museum of Minnesota and the National Science Foundation.

* A magnetron is a vacuum tube containing electrons that are exposed to magnetic and electric fields in a way that produces microwave radiation.

Wheels of Change Be a driver of change: Design and Make Your Dream Car

1. Get together with three or more family members or friends.

2. Brainstorm. Think about improvements or changes you would like to make to the car you ride in every day. You might want to add things on the inside. Or, you may want your dream car to do something that it doesn't do now. Talk about different ideas and list all of them to come up with a plan for what your car will look like.

3. Build your model dream car! Here are some ideas for materials:

Egg carton

Art foam

Styrofoam balls

Straws

Craft sticks

Tape

Paper

Glue sticks

Pipe cleaners

Markers

Crayons

Scissors