Please contact kerry@ctinventionconvention.org if you cannot find an answer to your question.
Invention Education programs such as CIC provide an extremely effective and approachable means to teach STEM, Entrepreneurship, and important 21st Century Skills such as problem-solving, collaboration, and communication. Our program is flexible and adaptable, making it accessible to many types of learners and teaching formats. The process is highly engaging because Inventors are encouraged to bring their own unique interests and perspectives to their project. Unlike other STEM programs, invention education does not require expensive materials or specialized training in science and engineering. Educators of many different backgrounds can successfully implement CIC.
No, the CT Invention Convention is a long-standing K-12 STEMIE (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math, Innovation and Entrepreneurship) education program. We offer curriculum, professional development and programs for in-school, after school and community groups and organizations. CIC is part of a larger invention education network, connecting inventors to both National and Global competitions. A highlight of our programs is our state finals event, where student finalists from around the state present their inventions to judges from many professional backgrounds. Some state finalists are then selected to move on to National Invention and Innovation events.
Connecticut students in grades K-12 can participate in our programs through many avenues, including: in school programs, after school programs, homeschool groups, clubs and organizations, summer programs and as independent inventors.
Your school or program should first decide which students you would like to participate and who from your school will be running CIC. There is no set way to run the program. It can be done in certain grade(s), during science or STEM class, after school, as a club, or in enrichment or talented and gifted programs. The program is flexible and adaptable to the needs of your school and students.
Once you know who will be participating, the CIC lead at your school should register for the program. From there we will provide curriculum access, support and PD opportunities to help you successfully run Invention Convention at your school.
Students in your program will each come up with an idea for a unique invention, documenting the process in a logbook. In late winter/early spring, your school will decide which projects/inventors will move on to our online semi-finals round. Semi-finalists will then submit their logbooks, along with a short video, to our online judging system. From there, judges will help to decide who will move on to our in-person state finals event at the end of the school year.
Inventors may compete as individuals or as a team of two inventors. No more than two inventors are allowed on a team, and teammates should be no more than one grade apart.
A science fair project is often based in research and experimentation, while Invention Convention requires students to create a unique solution to a specific problem. While there are some similar elements to a science fair (e.g. doing research, collecting data, communicating ideas) the process follows an engineering design format. While inventors sometimes conduct a scientific experiment to test their ideas, oftentimes user feedback is gathered and used to improve and iterate on a design. Invention is all about trial and error - we encourage failing forward and trying out multiple ideas.
There is no limit to how many students can participate from your school. It’s up to each school or program to decide who and how many students should be involved. In January, we let each registered program/school know how many of their students can advance to our state semi-finals event. This number is a percentage of your overall participating students, and depends on how many programs and students in CT are participating in the given year. Each program is guaranteed at least two semi-finalist entries.
Programs can register for CIC from September through December 31st. For programs looking to register after December 31st, please email kerry@ctinventionconvention.org to inquire about participation. While some programs begin CIC in the fall, others choose to teach Invention Convention in the winter, in preparation for our semi-finals event at the end of March. You’ll want to complete your school-based program (and any showcase event your school may want to hold) prior to the semi-finals registration deadline in mid-March, so that students moving on to our state event have time to register and submit their project materials. Following the online semi-finals judging round in the spring, selected inventors will be invited to attend our in-person finals event which occurs in early June.
CIC can be implemented as primarily an at-home, homework-based or extra credit project; however some in-class support and check-ins will be necessary. Educators are also welcome to attend a PD session, serve as a volunteer or judge and/or attend our in-person event to learn more about the program in preparation to run CIC in the future.
We highly encourage new CIC participants attend a training session to become familiar with program. Returning educators, and those looking for a refresher are also welcome to attend. We offer virtual and in-person professional development sessions periodically in the fall and winter for both new and veteran CIC participants. Training will provide a solid foundation to run the program and familiarize you with some of our activities. CIC staff is also here to support you and your students throughout the process! CIC can also accommodate requests for schools, districts or programs that would like specialized or more in-depth training.
CIC is approachable for educators of all backgrounds. While having knowledge of STEM is helpful, it is not a prerequisite for success in teaching invention. CIC offers a range of activities and lessons that help to teach invention skills. You can choose what activities work for you, or bring in your own ideas.
Your school or program will decide how you’d like to showcase your student’s inventions and who will move on to our state semi-finals event. You can use our official CIC rubric as a guide, or create your own judging criteria. Your school-based event can be as large or as small as you like. Each school will be allowed to select a certain number of semi-finalists based on the total number of participants at the school.From there, state semi-finalists will submit their projects online, including their logbook and a short video, where judges from many backgrounds will view and evaluate their work. Projects with the highest overall scores, as well as projects up for specialty and sponsor awards, will then be invited to participate in our in-person finals event. Here judges will walk around to view dsiplays and prototypes, and speak with inventors about their ideas. Judges will then score the finalist projects to choose the winning inventions.
School CIC leaders will receive templates that can be used to create certificates for both their school participants and semi-finalists. Finalists at our in-person event will receive a CIC T-shirt and swag, certificate, and may also win a medal, trophy or special sponsor award. Some sponsor awards include other prizes or opportunities as well.
Top projects, as determined by our volunteer judges, will be invited to compete on a larger level which may include invitations to:
- The U.S. Innovator virtual challenge - this takes place soon after state finals in summer
- The National Invention Convention in Dearborn, Michigan - selected finalists will receive invitations to attend Nationals for the following year.
Inventors may also be eligible and invited to participate in other CIC related events, competitions and summer programs, and may even be asked to showcase their ideas for local and national media.
Let your school administrators and teachers know that you'd like to see CIC at your school! In the meantime, students who are not eligible to participate in CIC through their school can register as an independent inventor, which allows them to submit a project to our online semi-finals event, and possibly compete at our state finals. CIC even offers a virtual inventors club that helps to support independent inventors with their projects.
School programs can register here. Community programs can register here. For inquiries on participation please contact kerry@ctinventionconvention.org
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