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Invention Convention & Invention PD

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I wanted to share an excellent opportunity that will allow the district, schools and educators to save funds – always an important factor! We have a free Professional Development Workshop this Saturday August 10th – it is being sponsored by the Henry Ford Museum of Innovation and Bright Young Minds Coalition. This will save the cost of training and the curriculum is free to use! It is a win-win for all for all of us! 

We have some spots open this Saturday for teachers or administrators to attend the Invention Convention Workshop. We have members of the Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation and the Invention Convention Worldwide Program onsite and conducting PD. 

Lots of exciting things going on in Florida and much improved resources and support for our state program since The Henry Ford American Museum of Innovation has taken over Invention Convention Worldwide. I look forward to our program and impact growing this 2019-2020 School Year. 

Please share within your network this will allow other educators, schools and districts to save dollars and an opportunity to launch the school year off with a creative and inventive mindset!! 

Just to clarify: 

1. Attendance at the Invention Convention Professional Development Workshop if free! 

2. Curriculum is free and mapped to Florida and National Standards and can be completed in 6-10 weeks in school, after school or as a club! 

3. Every educator that attends on August 10th will have their school’s program registration fee waived for the 2019-2020 school year!! AND there is not an entrance fee for students to participate in regional or state competitions. 

This is good news for educators, schools and districts – and especially the students who will have an opportunity to participate in Invention Education and Invention Convention!! 

Invention Education Advantages 

  • allows students to utilize their STEM and STEAM skills in real world applications
  • develops 21st Century Skills 
  • inspires creativity, innovation, entrepreneurship and leadership success
  • promotes problem solving and critical thinking
  • Invention Convention Curriculum & Invention Conventions are an excellent compliment to existing Engineering, Robotics, STEM or STEAM programs as well as can be used as a stand alone curriculum 

Please write to tracy@innovationworld.org with any questions. Reserve your seat now!!

Why do you need to support Invention & Entrepreneurship Education in schools?

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This middle school team has chosen to address gun violence in schools and has created a sensor that will disable guns as they enter schools. Their product is called Sentinel – AMAZING!

As Executive Director of Bright Young Minds Coalition my job is awesome! My days are spent bringing Invention & Entrepreneurship Education to students throughout the state of Florida. We take them through a 9 week journey through the 7 steps of the Invention Process in preparation for local, state and national invention conventions and contests. It is the most amazing experience to see what these young creative minds can come up with to solve a problem. I am completely blown away! I love having the opportunity to transform young minds, teaching them that they can do and become anything – anything is possible. They can become inventors, innovators and entrepreneurs. 

Check out some recent highlights:

83 Degrees Story on Inventor Community in Florida

83 Degrees Media Story on FLIC Inventors

FLIC 2018 Video

Bay News 9 Story on FLIC Inventor

Link to NICEE 2018 Video

We work with schools, teachers and students throughout the state of Florida, all schools, this includes public, private, charter, magnet or home school co-ops. We provide everything at no cost to the schools. This allows us to make a significant impact in Title 1, urban and rural areas and economically depressed areas. STEMIE Invention Education has above average female participation at 59% and an increase in minority participation at 37%. This will lead to more female and minority entrepreneurs, inventors and those working with STEM Skills. Our goal is to add 250 new schools to our network over the next year. We kick off Invention Season in October! We want to get our inventors for Invention Convention. 

We provide Professional Development training for the teachers, teacher stipends for the training, a supply budget for the students to help with prototyping, printing costs for signage, display boards and Inventor’s Journal to document the entire process. In addition, we supply the schools, teachers and students with STEMIE Invention & Entrepreneurship Curriculum, Tools, Videos, Resources and ongoing support throughout the school year. We offer an amazing program and ongoing support. The cost to support a student in Invention Education is less that $50 per student the impact per dollar invested or donated is unmatched with any other program offering in the school system design to teach STEM Skills, Life Skills, Soft Skills and Career Skills.  

The teachers are so excited to teach Invention Education, they are allowed to be creative and teach their students to be critical thinkers, problem solvers, creative, collaborative and how to communicate and share their ideas. 

And on the Education side, STEMIE Invention & Entrepreneurship Education can be part of almost any classroom, it is project based learning and maps back to standards in not only meeting a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Math) but also to Social Studies, Reading, Language Arts, the Arts and Financial Education and Entrepreneurship Education. Can you name one other curriculum that can be successfully used in so many ways? (In the classroom, as a club or elective, after school program or independent inventor)

It is very exciting to wake up every day and know that through Invention Education we can make a real impact. Every child is a natural born inventor, we want every child to have the opportunity to be an inventor once – twice even better! I have a 6th grader who has been inventing since the 4th grade. She has created 3 products in the assisted technologies space – designed to help people with disabilities. That is incredible!

By now you are asking yourself, “How can I get involved?’ “I want to be a part of this” and “What can I do?” And we are both very excited! It is really simple, we have several ways to get involved. We love volunteers and mentors; for events we need judges. We need people to LIKE, FOLLOW and SHARE us on Social Media – be an Ambassador push the #inventflorida movement! We can always use donations and sponsors – in kind or monetary to support our mission and help us reach our goals. For every five thousand dollars we raise we can add one new school to our network and that will impact hundreds of students. This is an investment that will keep giving year over year – teachers we train this year will be able to use that training with new students every year! The students that participate in Invention Education this year will likely invent again and will tell others about their inventions. Doubling, tripling, quadrupling – our impact year over year! 

Drop the mic! Now you know why we ALL need to support Invention & Entrepreneurship Education in schools. Our future and their future depends on it.

Are you ready to get started? Please call or text 305-753-5755 or email tracy@inventflorida.org

annalisa_6_(1)

12-year-old girl, a Tampa Technology Innovator poised to take the tech world by storm!

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Having recently partnered with The STEMIE Coalition, I had the opportunity to attend the NICEE (National Invention Convention & Entrepreneurship Expo) in June at the United States Patent & Trademark Office.

What a tremendous event! Kids from all over the U.S. coming to compete and share their invention. The STEMIE Coalition combines STEM-centric programs with Invention and Entrepreneurship. The curriculum is offered to schools and afterschool programs for free and culminate in Local, Regional, State and National competitions.

Kids ranged from Kindergarten – Middle School. There were over 250 Inventions and over 300 children in attendance. A 3-day convention and I must say the kids absolutely amazed me! Professional and well prepared. 

Young Inventors had to journal the process from start to finish. Create a prototype, test the results and record the data. Prepare a Presentation Board for the Exhibit and record a Video – not just any video – their Pitch! These Junior Inventors had to Pitch their idea/invention/business not only on video but to the judges. Incredible to see 6, 8, 9, 12 or 14-year olds with such dedication and to have accomplished so much. Whether they won or not at Nationals they were all winners. 

This brings me to my home town, Tampa and the Greater Tampa Bay Area. Annalisa is currently a 12-year-old sixth grade student at Family of Christ School in Tampa and a member of the National Junior Honor Society.  Young Annalisa was selected to compete at NICEE two years in a row!  She is garnering attention for her inventions, and even more incredible she has invented multiple products that are in the assistive technology space.

Annalisa’s interest in helping children with special needs overcome unique challenges began early in her inventor career. Her first invention was in fourth grade, while attending an all-girl technology camp, where she developed a prototype for a teddy bear to help parents monitor potential indicators for SIDS. Since then she has gone on to become a finalist for the USF Young Innovator Competition in back-to-back years, 2016 and 2017. In 2016, her prototype for a shirt that aids visually impaired people using tiny vibration motors mounted in the sleeves and guided by GPS and an Arduino LilyPad earned her First Runner Up in the competition that had over 900 entrants. 

Annalisa was a top finalist out of 600 participants for the 2017 USF Young Innovator Competition with her prototype for a smartphone app that helps children with autism spectrum disorder better communicate their feelings and emotions by utilizing art and pictures that children individually create. The children can then upload their artwork that help them express their feelings and emotions. Writing prompts are also included to help develop and support social/emotional language skills. More importantly, this information can be shared with teachers, family, and friends to improve the quality of their social interactions. Annalisa’s idea for the app was inspired by an autistic child she met while volunteering in baseball recreational league for children with special needs. Annalisa brought home another win by placing 3rd at NICEE. 

There seems to be no stopping Annalisa. The day after NICEE, she was heading to Space Camp. Annalisa is also a junior member of the National Association of Rocketry (NAR) and has been working on earning badges for reaching rocket-building and -launching milestones. A future in technology seems to be in the stars for Annalisa.

I am active in the Tech Community, a member of the Tampa Bay Wave, Working Women of Tampa Bay and a champion for the Women in Tech Movement. Right now, women only represent 30% of the industry. To increase these numbers, we need to be proactive in bringing these career options to schools.

That is where Bright Young Minds Coalition will make a difference now and a social impact in the future. I spent the past 3 years hyper-focused on Financial Education and Entrepreneurship. I then realized that is only part of the equation. We must pair Financial and Entrepreneurship Education with developing well paid career skills. Career and Life Skills that will be in demand and provide the ability to earn a living wage. You can learn how to budget but if your income keeps you at the poverty level – a budget is not the answer. We need to be teaching kids (and adults) what jobs will be eliminated because of automation. We need to focus on what jobs, skills and careers will be in high demand. 

Please join Bright Young Minds Coalition in bringing these programs to schools and afterschool programs throughout the state of Florida. Join us in our mission to provide life skill training and career focused education to all children regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, or economic status.

Our mission would not be possible without support from the community. We are looking for Program Partners, Corporate Sponsors, Donations and Volunteers. We need to rapidly get the word out as the new school year approaches. We are planning Professional Development Workshops for local teachers and educators. 

Success for me will be had when dropout rates are reduced and financial illiteracy is no longer an epidemic. BYMC wants to create generations of children who will graduate with confidence, capabilities, a life plan and the ability to execute and achieve goals.  

To learn more about bringing programs to your classroom or school or to get involved in supporting our initiatives.

Contact:  Tracy Zuluaga   info@brightyoungmindscoalition.org   Cell: 305-753-5755