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Over Coffee® | Stories and Resources from the Intersection of Art and Science | Exploring How to MakAuthor: Dot Cannon: Public Speaker & New-Media Reporter Language: en Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
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Inventing for Their Lives
Monday, 2 June, 2025
"(Invention education) needs a megaphone," says California Invention Convention Executive Director Brenda Payne.Since 2017, she and her team have been doing their best to provide one.California Invention Convention offers students an opportunity to invent creative solutions to the problems they see around them.Their invention education program, as listed on their website, is a 10-week, open-source invention education curriculum for grades K through 12. Students are encouraged to combine science, technology, engineering, art and math with maker skills to invent a way to solve a problem they've identified.Meanwhile, the program continues to train educators who would like to bring invention education into the classroom. Here's their link for education professionals who would like more information!Creativity, research and a processDescribed on California Invention Convention's website as the Engineering Cycle, the process through which participating students go includes identifying the problem, looking at solutions that may already exist, and brainstorming ways to improve on these solutions. Then, they design, build and test their inventions.And every spring, these young inventors get to take their projects out of the classroom and present them to a team of judges, in regional events in Northern and Southern California.Top Award Winners go on to the National competition, at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan.Some of the young participants have actually obtained patents for their inventions. Some have gone on to pursue careers in the areas they researched. Many times, Brenda says, the problem-solving process captures the students' imagination to the point that they become "serial inventors".And all of them are learning vital communication and research skills.A growing programIn April 2025, more than 190 students, from 49 schools, participated in the Northern/Central California Invention Convention, according to the program website. The 2025 Southern California regional participants presented their work in March, and the National competition, to which the finalists are invited, will be happening this Wednesday through Friday, June 4th through 6th, at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan.Following this National event, the worldwide Invention Convention Globals will welcome selected finalists from the U.S., Mexico, Singapore and China.In addition, preparations are already under way for the regionals in Spring, 2026.Brenda talked about her own educational journey, shared the story of the California Invention Convention and offered a preview of what's next.
