In the Wild Blue Y’Under module, Y’Under Incorporated needs to deliver important documents to the National Inventors Hall of Fame … and the company knows just who should carry them! The children of the Club Invention program must design and build methods of sea, air, and ground transportation that will safely transport the top-secret documents around the world and protect them from spies who want to swipe them!
On Day One, children begin their mission in Egypt, where they must build a boat that will carry the important documents down the Nile River, across the Mediterranean Sea, and up the Atlantic Ocean to England. On Day Two, children must transport the secret papers from England to Kitty Hawk, North Carolina using hovercrafts, originally invented in England. On Day Three, children create air gliders based on the work of Orville and Wilber Wright to fly the top-secret documents to Detroit, Michigan. Henry Ford and his invention of the automobile inspire children’s work on Day Four, as they build land vehicles that transport their secret documents from Detroit to the NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio. Then on Day Five, children finish the week by inventing their very own method of futuristic travel!
Are we alone in the universe? Might there be other inventors in our galaxy? In the Tape Me to Your Leader module, radio signals reach Club Invention headquarters, and children tune in to make contact! Children explore engineering principles by building three-dimensional structures using tape, cardboard, and other recycled materials. They use problem-solving skills and lots of creativity as they prepare for their alien encounter.
On Day One, children build command centers for communication using structural engineering principles. To hear the aliens’ messages, children add to their command centers by building radio towers on Day Two. On Day Three, children construct tall, but strong, antennas for their command centers so that both the aliens and children can hear each other. Excitement mounts as the children prepare to meet the aliens on Day Four – but first, they must create space clothing. Lastly, on Day Five, children finish constructing their command centers and act out their messages to the aliens.
In the Solve It: The Missing Inventor’s Log module, Dr. June Clever’s Inventor’s Log is missing, and it is up to the children of the Club Invention program to discover who has taken it! A week of crime scene investigation will uncover the guilty party, as children conduct experiments and utilize forensic science and deductive reasoning to find the culprit. Could the guilty party be Dr. Clever’s twin sons, able assistant, nosey neighbors, or her inventor competitor? Any of these suspects could be responsible … and it is up to the children to find the Inventor’s Log thief!
On Day One, children begin their investigative quest by creating character sketches of the possible suspects and model rooms that depict Dr. Clever’s house. On Day Two, children put their model rooms together to make a whole house and practice their observational skills in a game of memory. On Day Three, children continue their work as crime scene investigators by measuring out a grid system for evidence collection. Children then sketch the crime scene and collect several pieces of evidence. On Day Four, children examine fingerprints, footprints, teeth impressions, and ink from suspects’ markers. On Day Five, children solve the mystery by voting on the number-one suspect based on collected evidence.
The I Can Invent: Fantasy Inventions & Complicated Machines II module illustrates the joys (and frustrations) that real inventors face during the process of creating totally new inventions. This module, divided into separate parts for younger and older children, uses science, creative problem solving, and hands-on applications to further children’s inventiveness and critical-thinking skills. While younger children focus on building fantasy inventions that will help solve a problem that “bugs” them, older children work in teams to create multi-step, Rube Goldberg-type machines that solve a given challenge.
On Day One, both older and younger children learn tool safety and take apart broken appliances. During Day Two, all children continue dismantling their appliances; younger children focus on finding gears and magnets within their Take Apart items, while older children begin developing complicated machines that must employ four separate steps to solve the given challenge. On Day Three, while younger children continue taking apart their appliances, older children begin building their multi-step machines. During Day Four, younger children discover how product names are chosen, and older children enhance their multi-step machines. The week ends with younger children wrapping up their invention process (including applying for and receiving a mock patent) and older children setting their complicated machines in motion!
Recess Remix™
The Recess Remix module combines physical activity and creativity. Children practice teamwork, cooperation, coordination, and creative problem-solving skills during fun, energetic games. Recess Remix activities are based on the premise that traditional games can be modified using nontraditional approaches. Inclusion and creative problem-solving skills are stressed, rather than winning or losing. Different games are played based on children's ages and abilities. Like inventions that combine two ideas into one product, different parts of a game can be changed to make a new game.
Each day, the challenges are new and exciting. Children play approximately four games per day, sometimes featuring water, recyclable materials, and balls. New experiences are created when children are challenged to use nontraditional equipment or incorporate items like water balloons into classic games. All activities are designed to engage the mind and body together while children work as a team. Recess Remix games challenge teams to depend on their own inventiveness and inquisitive thinking. Children discover that all games can be adapted and modified to create fun, new challenges!