Ignition Point: Try these invention challenges at home over the holidays

Dear educators, mentors, and parents, 

In the spirit of the holiday season, I’d like to express my gratitude for the tireless care and attention you show to our nation’s students. 

One of the USPTO's priorities is building a more inclusive and accessible innovation ecosystem, as reflected in our National Strategy for Inclusive Innovation. Achieving the goals in the National Strategy begins with our youth, and you play a critical role in inspiring and nurturing the next generation of American innovators. 

A writer once said the influence of teachers extends beyond the classroom, well into the future. You help students realize their full potential as creators, inventors, and entrepreneurs, preparing them to succeed on whatever career path they choose. Your hard work and dedication are vital to driving American innovation, inclusivity, and global leadership for the benefit of everyone.

Our nation’s greatest resource is our people, and especially our children. All of us at the USPTO are immensely grateful for the work you do every day to shape and encourage curious and creative young Americans. 

Best wishes to you and yours this holiday season. 

Warm regards, 
Derrick Brent
Deputy Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Deputy Director of the USPTO  

Try these invention challenges with the whole family over the holidays!

• Oobleck, kazoos, pop-up timers, oh my! Join the USPTO and the Cade Museum for Creativity and Innovation for some invention fun in the kitchen. In these do-it-yourself videos, you’ll learn about non-Newtonian fluids, melting points, viscosity, and hydrophobic substances while exploring some of the unexpected ways intellectual property appears in kitchens everywhere. Suitable for all ages, these invention activities use common pantry ingredients and kitchen tools—a great way to engage kids while preparing holiday meals.
  
• Build a hologram projector. Ellen Ochoa is an astronaut who became the first Hispanic American woman in space. She is also an inventor with three patents in optical technology that created new ways to “look” at objects in space. Check out the “Create a hologram projector” activity on the Ellen Ochoa USPTO Inventor Trading Card page. You’ll use the same principles of light Ochoa used for her inventions to build a working hologram projector!
  
• The “Babybird” ventilator. Put yourself in the shoes of an inventor trying to save lives in the “Waiting to exhale” invention challenge on the Forrest Bird USPTO Inventor Trading Card page. Drawing on his experience as a pilot, Bird invented a low-cost ventilator that filled sick babies’ lungs with oxygen so they could breathe. First, you’ll follow the instructions to create a model lung using balloons. Then, you’ll figure out how to make the “lungs” inflate using the suggested materials and your imagination.

If you try out any of these activities or others created by the USPTO education team, we’d love to hear how it went. Send us a note at education@uspto.gov. 

 When did you know you wanted to be an inventor? 

"Very young, about 7 years old. I spent hours tinkering with little bird kites, experimenting with all different ways to make the wings. One of my favorite books when I was in about third or fourth grade was about famous inventors. I loved reading about Thomas Edison and the invention of the steamship, sewing machine, rubber, and other inventions. And that’s why I wanted to be an inventor—it started at a really young age. Which brings up a really important thing: getting kids exposed to different things. So many kids today, they don’t grow up using tools. I was using tools in second grade!"

"A lot of times you’ll get an idea for something, but then you have to do some tinkering to perfect it. I did that with my little bird kites: I experimented with different ways to bend the wings. And one of the things that I invented—you know the little winglets airliners have on the wings? I had those on my bird kites long before airlines were using them. They were all flying with propellers at that point. So, you just keep tinkering with things until you get it right." 

Is there any advice you have for kids today? 

"Find out what you’re interested in. You’ve got to expose kids to interesting stuff to get them interested in interesting things. I got interested in the cattle industry because I was exposed to it as a teenager... I think the worst thing schools ever did was take out cooking, sewing, woodworking, welding, machine shops—how can you find out you’re good at those things if you weren’t exposed to them?"

Read our entire conversation, including some of Dr. Grandin's thoughts about the need for different types of thinkers when it comes to space travel, and learn more about her remarkable career in this Journeys of Innovation story.

The assignment: Create a video game that imagines life 75 years from now in the year 2100. Students can explore areas such as sustainable ecosystems, futuristic cities, advanced medical technology, and more. The only limit is your imagination! Students will compete for $7,500 in various prize categories, and their games will be featured as part of NSF’s 75th anniversary celebration.  

Entries are due January 31, 2025. You can find more details online at the NSF Game Maker Awards website.