| I have always had a group of students - 'the tinkerers' - who have never had a place in the science curriculum to hang their hats. This experience allows them to tinker and learn about invention, business, and manufacturing on the way.
Susanne Johnston, Germantown Academy InvenTeam teacher (2004) |
Inspiring a New Generation of Inventors
Lemelson-MIT InvenTeams is a national grants initiative of the Lemelson-MIT Program to foster inventiveness among high school students. InvenTeams composed of high school students, teachers and mentors are asked to collaboratively identify a problem that they want to solve, research the problem, and then develop a prototype invention as an in-class or extracurricular project. Grants of up to $10,000 support each team's efforts. InvenTeams are encouraged to work with community partners, specifically the potential beneficiaries of their invention.
InvenTeams was launched in 2002 as a pilot program that awarded grants to three New England high school teams for the 2002-03 academic year. The initiative has expanded each year since its inception, and in the fall of 2007 it awarded 16 InvenTeams grants.
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Germantown Academy InvenTeam (2004)
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InvenTeams Mission
- EXCITE high school students about science, math, engineering, entrepreneurship and invention
- EMPOWER students through problem solving
- ENCOURAGE a sustainable culture of invention in schools and communities
The InvenTeams experience is intended to generate excitement about the rewarding process of identifying a problem or need, brainstorming solutions, and working hands-on to develop a prototype. "Learning by doing" is a central tenet of InvenTeams. Students are exposed to current engineering design methods and teamwork. InvenTeams projects empower students to work collaboratively on a problem and create an environment ripe for "Eureka!" moments, where answers are discovered and lessons are learned.
Lemelson-MIT Program
The Lemelson-MIT Program aims to enable and inspire young people to pursue creative lives and careers. It particularly encourages young people to engage in invention and to pursue sustainable new solutions to real world problems. It was founded by the prolific inventor Jerome H. Lemelson and his wife Dorothy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1994, and is funded by the Lemelson Foundation.
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