Exploratorium: Invention Challenge: Design, Create, & Pitch Your Idea!

Step into the world of innovation and entrepreneurship! In this exciting class, students will transform everyday problems into creative solutions by designing their very own inventions. Using 3D modeling tools, they will bring their ideas to life and learn how to market them just like real entrepreneurs. With a Shark Tank-style presentation at the end, students will pitch their inventions, explaining how their products work and why people should buy them. It’s an engaging blend of problem-solving, technology, and business, all while fostering creativity and critical thinking! 

Key Highlights: 

• Problem-Solving Skills: Students will identify real-world problems and create solutions through innovative inventions. 

• 3D Design & Technology: Learn basic 3D modeling to create digital prototypes of their inventions. 

• Entrepreneurship: Students will develop basic marketing strategies and learn how to "sell" their product, including pricing, branding, and pitching. 

• Manatee Tank Pitch: At the end of the course, students will present their inventions to a panel, simulating a real-world business pitch. 

This hands-on class will give students the confidence to think like inventors and entrepreneurs, all while having fun in the process! 

Science Standards: 

• SC.3.P.8.1 – Identify simple machines and describe how they make work easier. 

• SC.3.E.5.1 – Recognize that many inventions are created to solve a problem. 

• SC.3.N.1.1 – Define a problem based on observations and gather information to solve the problem. 

Mathematics Standards: 

• MAFS.3.MD.3.7 – Solve problems involving measurement and estimation of intervals of time, liquid volumes, and masses of objects. 

• MAFS.3.G.1.1 – Understand concepts of area and perimeter and apply them in real-world scenarios, including the design of inventions. 

Language Arts Standards: 

• LAFS.3.W.3.8 – Recall information from experiences or gather information from print and digital sources to answer a question. 

• LAFS.3.SL.2.4 – Report on a topic or text, tell a story, or recount an experience with appropriate facts and relevant details, speaking clearly at an understandable pace. 

Entrepreneurship & Social Studies Standards: 

• SS.3.E.1.2 – Understand how the decisions of individuals, businesses, and governments can affect the economy. 

• SS.3.E.1.4 – Recognize the roles of producers and consumers in the economy. 

Technology Standards: 

• K-12.CS.1 – Use digital tools to create, communicate, and collaborate (e.g., creating 3D designs, presentations). 

• K-12.IT.1.1 – Explore digital tools and resources to solve problems and make decisions in a creative context (e.g., 3D modeling software).