Fantastic Inventions

This project was all about stretching the limits of imagination and to get students thinking about the process of creating a new device, while also presenting the inventor/designer as a type of artist. Bringing more art into STEAM concepts is a valuable way of creating connections in students’ minds between the different subjects they learn about in school while also increasing their interest in art.

Students in third grade designed elaborate futuristic inventions to solve everyday problems and create detailed “schematics” using white china markers on blue paper to mimic the look of blueprints. We looked at some real blueprints as well as Rube Goldberg drawings and Shel Silverstein's "Homework Machine" poem for inspiration on style and content.

The underlying theme of this lesson is about solving daily problems and making the world a better place. While the inventions are encouraged to be silly and elaborate and otherwise unrealistic in design, the root of the project is about looking to the future and using our powers as artists for good.

It all starts with the question: if you could invent anything, what would it be?