Invention and Design Resources

Boston Museum of Science has helped develop a K-5 engineering and design curriculum called ‘Engineering is Elementary’. The program is paired with age appropriate books which highlight real world problems which students try to answer using the design process. Teacher trainings are available and are posted at the Museum of Science eie website. http://www.mos.org/eie/

Invent Now is a jointly sponsored site of the Inventors Hall of Fame and the US Patent Office. There are activities and forums which seem to be well updated. http://www.inventnow.org/

Camp Invention usually appears as a summer camp offering in various areas around the country. Invention challenges, ‘take apart’

activities and other creative fun. http://www.invent.org/camp/default.aspx

Junior First LEGO League is geared to children 6-9 years old. It is geared toward design and problem solving in a non competitive way which emphasizes teamwork and goals. New challenges are posted each year. http://www.firstlegoleague.org/default.aspx?pid=18130

First Lego League is geared to grades 4-8 and involves designing robotic solutions to yearly challenge sets. Teams compete at the regional, state, and world levels. http://www.firstlegoleague.org/

Design Squad is a new PBS reality based problem solving show. In addition to the shows, which can be streamed from the website, there are detailed resources for each show. http://pbskids.org/designsquad/parentseducators/