1
Notice a problem
Something small, specific and real, that your child has personally been annoyed by.
Own project · Competition pathway
Invention
Convention
Find something that is genuinely broken. Work out why nobody has fixed it. Build a version that does. Then stand up and convince a room of adults that it matters.
Problem finding
Working prototype
Regional to national
What it actually is
The only programme here where nobody hands your child the problem.
In LEGO League the challenge arrives from FIRST. In science fair the method is fixed. In Invention Convention the student starts with a blank page, and that is deliberately uncomfortable.
Invention Convention Worldwide is a K-12 invention education programme developed over more than thirty years and run by The Henry Ford. It teaches problem identification, problem solving, entrepreneurship and creativity. What that means in practice, at a bench in Cedar Rapids, is that your child spends the first few sessions noticing things.
The good problems are small and specific. A grandmother who cannot open a particular jar. A dog that pulls on one side of the lead. Bins that blow over on rubbish day. Children are excellent at spotting these and terrible at believing they count, which is the first thing coaching has to fix.
From there the work is genuinely iterative. Research who else has the problem. Sketch. Build something rough out of cardboard within a week, because a bad prototype teaches more in ten minutes than a month of planning. Test it, watch it fail, work out which assumption was wrong, build the next one.
Then they have to sell it
The pitch is where this programme earns its reputation. Your child stands in front of judges, explains the problem and who has it, demonstrates the prototype, describes how they tested it, and answers questions they have not been given in advance. It is a genuinely demanding thing to ask of a nine year old, and they rise to it far more often than parents expect.
- Format
- Individual, self-directed, closely coached.
- Starts with
- Problem finding. No idea is supplied by us.
- They build
- A prototype that works, plus a documented record of every version.
- They present
- A pitch delivered by the student, to judges, with questions.
- Pathway
- Local events, state competition, and the United States nationals.
- Competing
- Optional at every stage.
The invention loop
Round and round until it works.
Students go through this cycle several times. The number of loops, not the polish of the final object, is what separates a strong project from a weak one.
2
Find out who else has it
Ask people. Search for what already exists. Decide whether to improve it or start over.
3
Build a rough version
Cardboard, tape and a motor if it needs one. Fast and ugly beats slow and precious.
4
Test it properly
Give it to somebody who has the problem and watch what they do with it. Write down what broke.
5
Pitch it
Stand up, explain the whole chain of reasoning, take the questions, and defend the choices.
Is this the right fit
This one demands the most and gives back the most.
A strong fit if
- They already have ideas nobody has taken seriously
- They would rather own a project than share one
- They can tolerate an open-ended brief
- They want to be taken seriously by adults
Harder going if
- A blank page makes them shut down
- They need clear instructions to get started
- Presenting to strangers is a genuine barrier
- They prefer the certainty of a working kit
If the right-hand column sounds familiar, FIRST LEGO League gives more structure, and Magic Pets gives a clearer finish line.
Questions
What parents ask about Invention Convention.
Where do the ideas come from?
The child. That is not a slogan, it is the hardest part of the programme. We spend real time on problem finding, because an invention built on somebody else's idea falls apart the moment a judge asks why it matters. Students are taught to notice the small irritations nobody has fixed.
What if their idea already exists?
It often does, and finding that out is part of the work. Students learn to search for prior art the way an adult would, then decide whether to improve on what exists or change direction. Discovering you have been beaten to it is a normal engineering experience, not a failure.
Does my child have to compete?
No. Some students do the whole process for the satisfaction of finishing it. For those who want it, Invention Convention runs a competition pathway from local events through state and on to the United States nationals.
Is this a craft project?
No. Prototypes here are meant to work, or to fail in a way that teaches something. Students use cardboard and tape early because it is fast to iterate in, then move to better materials once the design has stopped changing every week.
What does the pitch involve?
The student stands up and explains the problem, who has it, what they built, how they tested it and what they would change. Judges ask questions. Nobody presents for them. This is usually the part parents are most surprised by.
Places
Bring us a child with an idea and we will take it seriously.
Tell us roughly what your child is interested in and what they have already tried to make. Coach Tia will tell you whether Invention Convention is the right home for it this year.