The California Invention Convention is honored to be the benefitting non-profit at this year’s Wine Country Distillery Festival. Although the California Invention Convention began in 2015, in Davenport CA, it actually had its start in the 1980s when Gail Eagan and I were teaching two 3rd/4th grade classes in Sonoma County, at Hahn Elementary School in Rohnert Park. She and I kept our doors open and jointly taught 60 students each year. We had students with a great variety of learning styles and looked for a program that would capture all their interests and passions. We found it in something called Invent America, which asked students to identify a problem in their lives, or that of their families or their community, and invent a solution using an engineering and design curriculum. There were very few lessons accompanying the program, so we created them and learned that the format was engaging for all our students because what truly compelled them to stay involved was that they got to identify a problem that was meaningful to them and one that they had a true interest in solving. The program expanded to many of the schools in Rohnert Park, and eventually to other schools in the county. It received an award from Sonoma State University for its creative approach to educating young people.
All these years later, the program has continued to grow and has become the California Invention Convention, which last year had spread to 8000 students, and this year, to 22,000 kindergarten through 12th grade students throughout the state. Three years ago, we began a collaboration with Lemelson-MIT in Cambridge Massachusetts.
We firmly believe that in order for students to become the solvers of the problems with which they will be confronted in their futures, we must, as educators, provide them with the necessary tools, in an environment that fosters creativity. We are thrilled with how many educators agree with us, as we continue, with your help today, to offer the opportunities for our young people to Invent Their Futures…
For more information about the California Invention Convention, see our website at www.cainventionconvention.org.
