Resources

Western New York Invention Convention

Guidelines for Streamlining the Invention Experience

Inventor’s Guide to My Invention Story: A workbook to document your invention process.
Original Invention Development Guidelines: Includes guidelines for Display Boards.
Goodwill Industries Re-Invent Guidelines: Includes guidelines for Display Boards.
Judging Rubric: Use these categories to help your students with their presentations.
Invention Timeline & Event Day Schedule: A detailed outline to help you track key dates and prepare for event day.

National Invention Convention: K-12 Invention Curriculum and additional information.
CA Invention Convention: California Invention Convention has many lessons to browse through.

PPCO A way to evaluate ideas and provide constructive criticism
SCAMPER tool and a great video that shows it in action. A fun way to generate many ideas!
Take-Apart A way to teach observation and understand how things are put together
Literacy & Invention. Together! Many children’s books- each with different invention tools and lessons to encourage solving challenges within the stories

Kid Inventors Tell All Kids talk about why they love to invent
Buffalo Museum of Science Makeshift Lab offers workshops and a great place to tinker.
Top 10 Inventions By Kids A fun video that shows 10 surprising things invented by kids.
USPTO Kids A site for kids from the USPTO with games, trivia and great links to other sites.
National Inventor’s Hall of Fame Links to invention and patent resources, workshops, and camps.
Lemelson MIT Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s info on awards, outreach, and links to inspire the next generation of inventors
Boy Scouts of America Scout Merit Badge and resources for Inventing
Girl Scouts Girl Scout Merit Badge and resources for Inventing
Institute for Arts Integration and STEAM Providing Arts Integration and STEAM professional development for educators
What is the Public Domain on the Internet? Understand what is and what isn’t protected by copyright law