Invention Discovery Scavenger Hunt
Who Invents?
A lot of students just like you come up with some really great ideas. Do you think like an inventor? Put your thinking cap on and go on a Scavenger Hunt to learn more about who invents, and how inventors being their ideas to the world? Read the questions below, and decide where you will look for the answer, then complete the questions. Be sure to write down where you found each answer.
- Who is the first woman to receive a patent? Mary Kies
- What image is the most reproduced in the world? Mickey Mouse
- What did Luis Alvarez invent? Iridium theory
- Who invented google? Larry page/Sergey
- Who invented the personal computer (PC)? Ed Roberts
- Who invented the television? Philo Farmsworth, John Baird Charles Jenkins
- Why is the Monalisa painting so famous? Her smile
- Who invented paper? Tsai Lun
- What is Steve Jobs so famous? Apple computers
- What is the best quote from your favourite inventor? Why? N/A
- Who invented the telephone? Alexander Graham Bell
- Who invented the battery and why is this such an important invention today? Alessandro Volta. Batteries are an important part of electrical devices.
Looking at Real Inventions
What inventions can you find in the kitchen? Find three kitchen objects that are interesting – like tongs or peppermill – and fill out this sheet.
| Objects Name | What does your item do? | What else could it do? | How could you change this to do something else? |
| 1.
Electric mixer
|
Mixes ingredients into one without using your hands. | Splatter paint onto a canvas. | |
| 2.
Chair
|
Used for sitting. | Hold open a door. | Put wheels on it to become wheelchair. |
| 3.
Drinking glass
|
Used for holding liquids to drink from. | Used for tracing a circle. | Put it on its side and use it as a rolling pin. |
Eureka! I’ve done it!
How Inventions Happen
You are embarking on a solution-seeking mission! You will be interviewing as many people as you can about the everyday problems they face and the tools that help solve them. Make a list of people to interview. Ask ahead when you might spend some time with them, and if they can give you 10 minutes to talk during a time when they are not busy. Before the interview, read the ‘Interview Questions’ below to get an idea of what you will ask. During the interview, take notes and fill in the chart as you go. After the interview, make sure you thank each person for his or her time and comments.
INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
Before each interview, go over the questions you will ask. Here are some ideas:
- What problem would you like to see solved?
- Is there something that you do at work or at home that you find difficult or frustrating?
- Would a new product or tool help you? If so, what would it be?
- Are there tools or products that don’t work as well as you would like them to work?
- If you could invent something to make your life easier, what would you invent?
- Any other questions you feel are relevant?
Person interviewed: My Grandpa
Problem he or she has:
I was unable to access the Alexander College website from my home computer . It seemed to be blocked.
Is there something that you can do at work or at home that you find difficult or frustrating?
Accessing my work computer remotely is a very frustrating problem. The connection software is not working as advertised.
Would a new product or tool help you? If so, what would it be?
The principal tool that I use to solve problems like this is Google. I searched for answers to the question, but lots of people that really don’t know what they are talking about makes it is hard to find the accurate solution to the problem.
Are there tools or products that don’t work as well as you would like them to work?
Well, I have already talked about Google. I wish that there was some way to censor the contributions to Google so that you could be more confident in the answers. Wikipedia works this way.
If you could invent something to make your life easier, what would you invent?
I wish there could be a Wikipedia for technical issues so that I could be more confident in the answers.
Any other questions you feel are relevant?
The fact that the internet is free, it encourages people with time and a need to be seen to make contributions beyond their expertise.
There are technical difficulties that are not covered in the documentation.
What device to tool could possibly help this person?
Your notes about this:
Your research to find out if it already exists and if so, how effectively it works to solve the problem.