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Lesson Plan
National Geographic

National Geographic: American Genius: Perseverance

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Students investigate the importance of failure to the process of innovation by investigating several items that were invented by accident. They share one "failure to success" story by creating a 3-panel comic strip poster, and then write...
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Website
National Inventors Hall of Fame

National Inventors Hall of Fame Inductees

For Students 9th - 10th
The National Inventors Hall of Fame (NIHF) recognizes the enduring legacies of exceptional U.S. patent holders. Inventors not only create new inventions, but they can create new industries that employ millions of people. Their...
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Website
Other

Innovation News Network

For Students 9th - 10th
Innovation News Network is a source for the latest news dedicated to research, emerging science, policy and innovation topics across the globe.
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Handout
Other

Branksome Hall Asia: Design and Inquiry: Stakeholders in Invention and Innovation

For Students 9th - 10th
Collaborative generation of knowledge and high efficiency information flow allow for diversity, increased resilience, reliability and stability within an organization. Through participatory research, stakeholders can make full use of the...
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Unit Plan
PBS

Pbs Nova: The Design Process: From Idea to Solution

For Teachers 9th - 10th
What does innovation look like, and how can one generate innovative ideas in the classroom? This collection is built around "design thinking" and is intended to help educators and learners explore the invention of real, practical...
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Unit Plan
Discovery Education

Discovery Education: 3 M Young Scientist Lab: Innovation Exploration

For Students 6th - 8th
Advance your way through everyday life by exploring the science all around you. Click on an innovation within each scene and answer each question to proceed to the next.
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Unit Plan
Other

Branksome Hall Asia: Design and Inquiry: Invention and Innovation

For Students 9th - 10th
A comprehensive resource on invention, innovation, and creativity. Explores the field of product design, marketing, innovation strategies, collaboration of stakeholders, product life cycle, and Rogers' elements of innovation. Includes...
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eBook
OpenStax

Open Stax: Entrepreneurship: Creativity, Innovation, and Invention: How They Differ

For Students 9th - 10th
This resources teaches students how to distinguish between creativity, innovation, and invention, and to explain the difference between pioneering and incremental innovation, and which processes are best suited to each.
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Article
FNO Press

From Now On: Building Good New Ideas

For Teachers 9th - 10th
An article, from the online journal From Now On, that discusses a wide range of issues related to originality of thought--the kind of thinking that leads to new ideas, innovation, and creative problem solving. Covers a variety of...
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Unit Plan
PBS

Pbs Kids: Martha Speaks: t.d. Reports: Chewing Gum

For Students 2nd - 5th
Take a walk through history with this kid-friendly, multimedia research report on the inventors of chewing gum.
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Unit Plan
TED Talks

Ted: Ted Ed: Forget Shopping. Soon You'll Download Your New Clothes

For Students 9th - 10th
Downloadable, printable clothing may be coming to a closet near you. What started as designer Danit Peleg's fashion school project turned into a collection of 3D-printed designs that have the strength and flexibility for everyday wear....
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Unit Plan
TED Talks

Ted: Ted Ed: Re Thinking Progress: The Circular Economy

For Students 9th - 10th
There's a world of opportunity to re-think and re-design the way we make stuff. 'Re-Thinking Progress' explores how through a change in perspective we can re-design the way our economy works- designing products that can be 'made to be...
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Unit Plan
TED Talks

Ted: Ted Ed: Meet a 12 Year Old App Developer

For Students 9th - 10th
Most 12-year-olds love playing video games- but Thomas Suarez taught himself how to create them. After developing iPhone apps like "Bustin Jeiber," a whack-a-mole game, he is now using his skills to help other kids become developers. [4:33]
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Unit Plan
TED Talks

Ted: Ted Ed: Is There a Limit to Technological Progress?

For Students 9th - 10th
Many generations have felt they've reached the pinnacle of technological advancement. Yet, if you look back 100 years, the technologies we take for granted today would seem like impossible magic. So- will there be a point where we reach...
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Unit Plan
TED Talks

Ted: Ted Ed: Supercharged Motorcycle Design

For Students 9th - 10th
Yves Behar and Forrest North unveil Mission One, a sleek, powerful electric motorcycle. They share slides from distant (yet similar) childhoods that show how collaboration kick-started their friendship- and shared dreams. [2:21]
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Unit Plan
TED Talks

Ted: Ted Ed: The Rise of Human Computer Cooperation

For Students 9th - 10th
Brute computing force alone can't solve the world's problems. Data mining innovator Shyam Sankar explains why solving big problems is not a question of finding the right algorithm, but rather the right symbiotic relationship between...
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Unit Plan
TED Talks

Ted: Ted Ed: A Call to Invention: Diy Speaker Edition

For Students 9th - 10th
There's a pleasure in making things for yourself- especially something unexpected. William Gurstelle shows how to make your own speakers from objects probably already laying around your house, like copper wire and an empty yogurt cup. [6...
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Unit Plan
TED Talks

Ted: Ted Ed: Unintended Consequences

For Students 9th - 10th
Historian Edward Tenner tells stories that illustrate the under-appreciated gap between our ability to innovate and our ability to foresee the consequences. [16:10]
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Website
Other

American Girl: Samantha, a Victorian Beauty

For Students K - 1st
Meet Samantha, a character in the American Girl series, and discover how she learns to be thoughtful about making changes, and to be both respectful of traditional ways and open to what is new. Features a collection of stories, games,...
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Interactive
Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences

Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences: Pot Biz

For Students 3rd - 8th
Learn how to be a successful innovator as you try to turn an idea for a decomposing plant pot into a profitable business. It won't be easy; being an innovator never is. In this interactive game, the decisions you make could lead to fame...
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Article
How Stuff Works

How Stuff Works: 5 Strange Items Developed From Nasa Technology

For Students 1st - 9th
Review an article highlighting five inventions developed by NASA that evolved into sought after mainstreamed creations such as baby formula and Speedo swim suits.
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Professional Doc
Buck Institute

Pbl Works: Teach and Assess Creativity and Innovation in Pbl

For Teachers Pre-K - 1st
Understand how PBL can help students learn a process for effective innovation in this article. Article points out three ways educators can teach creativity and innovation in PBL. Site also includes a video discussing the same issue as...
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Website
Mind Tools

Mind Tools: How Creative Are You?

For Students 9th - 10th
Do you know how creative you are? Take this quiz and find comprehensive and personalized answers to find your creative strengths and weaknesses.
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Lesson Plan
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Time for Design

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students are introduced to the engineering design process, focusing on the concept of brainstorming design alternatives. They learn that engineering is about designing creative ways to improve existing artifacts, technologies or...