This month, we’re celebrating all those who use their curiosity and imagination to move our world forward. Whether they’re improving an existing design or creating something entirely new, inventors are turning science fiction into real life.
Here at Midwest Technology Products, we’re inspired to help future inventors learn the skills they need to imagine new and greater possibilities for all of us. That’s why we offer a variety of machines, tools, and project kits to turn your classroom into an innovation laboratory. Take a look at some of the ways we can help inspire your students.
Makerspace
A makerspace is a place for students to explore digital technologies and use them to create something all their own. In these classrooms you’ll find a variety of computer-controlled tools such as CNC machines and 3D printers.
CNC machines are used to create millions of parts in our everyday lives. They hold together your car as you drive to school and even help perform vital functions in rockets and spacecraft. It’s the best way to produce high-precision metal parts for engineering designs.
As a teacher, you know that if a student has a question, there’s probably another student with the same question. Well, if you need a custom item to solve a problem in your everyday life, someone else probably does too. 3D printers are a great way to build an example of the solution and continue to modify until you find the exact right design. Send this to a manufacturer for mass production and you’ve invented a life changing tool.
STEM Classes
Climate change has already become a major concern in the last two generations. With the right alternative energy tools, the next generation may be the one to save our planet. Learning how to harness energy from the sun, water, and wind can lead to powerful inventions.
Video games have come a long way, from just being a fun way to spend time, to becoming an exciting avenue of learning. Audio and video tools such as HUE cameras and Bloxels help kids stay connected to their education and make it more enjoyable to learn, whether in class or at home.
Engineers work in many ways you may not even notice. From the buildings you teach in, to your drive into work, it takes a team of talented individuals to design and build the spaces we occupy. Construction and engineering kits from Strawbees, Elmer’s, LEGO, K’nex and more, all provide the tools and instructions to teach kids the fundamentals of creating these structures for our future.
Benjamin Franklin, Allesandro Volta, Thomas Edison and Ada Lovelace all helped further our understanding of electricity, circuits, light, and programming. Without these inventors, we wouldn’t have lightbulbs, computers, cell phones, and many other modern day conveniences. Inspire the future Franklins, Voltas, Edisons, and Lovelaces in your classroom with electronics project kits.
Although we may not have robots as personal assistants the way we imagined them decades ago, we do have robot vacuums, manufacturing machines, and high-tech (nearly self-driving) vehicles. Children love building their own robot and giving it unique functions. They learn how to write code that controls each piece, as well as how all the pieces work together. The opportunities for robotics in our future are endless.
Science is the foundation of our world. Without physics, chemistry, agriculture, and nanotechnology, we would never be able to understand how our world works, nor how to improve it. Science kits give students an age-appropriate way to learn about and explore these concepts so they can create new ways to live our lives.
To All Our Future Inventors…
Happy National Inventors Month! We hope you find fun and exciting ways to explore your creative minds and come up with new ideas to change the world. We can’t wait to see what you create!