Invention Convention

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Invention Convention

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Invention Convention Worldwide is the go-to global community for firsthand experiences that ignite the spark of innovation, invention and entrepreneurship in young people.

09/24/2026

Real Learning. Real Problem-Solving. Real Impact. Hear why Nathan Lastra of Largo High School brings Invention Convention to his students.

Florida Inventors Hall of Fame University of South Florida

09/23/2026

Yesterday a few of our teammates attended the STEMconnector Innovation Lab. Carolyn Ward Senior Director of Learning, Engagement, Outreach and Impact at The Henry Ford, served on a panel alongside ICW Youth Ambassador Arnav Chaphalkar where they discussed how we can reframe messaging around STEM and invention education pathways to engage potential stakeholders. Arnav, who competed in the Illinois Student Invention Convention (ISIC), was also accompanied by Molly Seedhouse, Program Director of ISIC, part of Chicago Innovation.

Special thank you to Drew Glassford and Ted Wells, Co-CEOs of STEMCONNECTOR for the opportunity to share The Henry Ford and Invention Convention Worldwide's perspectives on helping students relate to STEM experiences.

09/22/2026

This week is Child Passenger Safety Week and we're highlighting Emma, a youth inventor with the Young Inventors Program at UNH Leitzel Center, whose invention, "The Tunebuckler," makes buckling up fun and keeps children safe. The Tunebuckler is an attachment that would play music once buckled, alerting parents that their children are buckled in and giving children a fun incentive to buckle up. This past summer, Emma got to show off her unique invention at RTX Invention Convention U.S. Nationals. Way to go, Emma!

09/20/2026

Every year during the Invent it Forward Summit, we recognize a few affiliates whose leadership, creativity and commitment helped move Invention Convention's impact to the next level.

✨Our Start Up Award recognizes affiliate programs who have experienced remarkable growth in their first few years. This year's award was presented to Dawn Bowlus & Kelsi Harms of Iowa Invention Convention, a program of the Jacobson Institute at the University of Iowa, and Leeanne Gleim & Mary Lou Ewald of Invention Convention Alabama, a program of iSTEM Alabama and Auburn University I - STEM Connectory.

✨Our Scale Up Award recognizes an affiliate program that has grown exponentially since joining the Invention Convention community. This year's Scale Up Award was presented to Dani Lay & Rachel Haselby with Purdue Extension and Indiana 4-H Invention Convention (not pictured).

✨Our Model i Award recognizes an affiliate program that embodies the actions and habits of an innovator. This year's award was presented to Deb Ivie of Invention Convention Utah and Utah State University 4-H Extension program whose spirit of staying curious, taking risks, showing empathy and collaborating has translated into steady growth.

Congratulations to this year's winners! We are so proud of the collective impact this community is creating and we couldn't do this work without you. Thank you for helping us .

09/19/2026

Invention Convention Worldwide is proud to have affiliates representing 27 states across the country, including Iowa Invention Convention, led by the Jacobson Institute at the University of Iowa. Since 2025, Kelsi Harms has served as the Invention Education Program Manager at the Jacobson Institute and has been working to impact more students across the state.

For Kelsi, one of the most powerful parts of the Invention Convention is watching students recognize their own potential. "I love seeing students exude confidence through presentations because they're explaining an invention they created based on a problem they identified and worked through," she says. "You can hear the resilience they've built through iterations to their inventions and see the pride in their finished product."

Iowa Invention Convention provides the opportunity for students to gain real-world skills through hands-on, project-based learning. The program has seen tremendous growth over the past year — growing from nine schools represented at the state competition in 2025 to 23 schools represented in 2026 — a direct result of outreach efforts by Kelsi and her team.

"It's incredibly rewarding seeing educators come through professional development and just get it," says Kelsi. "They get to be the students for the day, and you can see the lightbulb go off of, 'Oh, this is how I'd do these activities with my students; I can do this.’" Through PDs, educators see how accessible, impactful and hands-on this program can be and they leave inspired to empower their students to see themselves as problem-solvers.

If you’re an Iowa educator interested in learning how to bring invention education to your classroom or learning setting, Iowa Invention Convention is hosting a free "Sprint to Invent" professional development workshop on Wednesday, October 14. Learn more and register here: https://bit.ly/4gCX4XO. Interested educators can also contact Kelsi Harms at [email protected] or visit https://bit.ly/4iNywg1.

09/17/2026

While the Invent it Forward Summit is a three-day event full of learning and gaining inspiration and motivation for the year ahead, it’s not all work – fun activities help us strengthen our relationships and grow together as an Invention Convention community.

On Monday, we spent the evening at CODE313, a Detroit non-profit that seeks to provide equitable access to STEAM education, providing workforce development and career readiness for today's youth. Code313’s approach to STEAM gives kids hands-on experience with coding, robotics, AI and more – including a pathway focused on drone technology. Our team and Summit attendees had a blast learning how to fly the drones, attempting to navigate them through an obstacle course and playing "drone basketball."

In between sessions on Tuesday, our affiliates took part in a Model i scavenger hunt throughout Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation and for dinner we took a step back in the past for an authentic 1850s dining experience at Eagle Tavern in Greenfield Village. It was a wonderful evening together, complete with the delicious family-style meal and a unique atmosphere.

09/16/2026

For our final day of the 2026 Invent it Forward Summit, we kicked off with a fun team-building balloon challenge. Next, we dove into the Innovation Atlas with Hannah Fuentes, GIS Analyst at The Henry Ford, and heard from several affiliates about how they are using customized Storymaps to tell their story, develop cases for support and share data with potential funders and internal stakeholders. Special thank you to Leeanne Gleim and Mary Lou Ewald from Invention Convention Alabama, Jennifer Easterling and Trisha Jordan of Invention Convention Texas, and Dawn Bowlus and Kelsi Harms of Iowa Invention Convention for sharing their Storymaps with the group.

After a quick break, we were joined by Alyssa Vásquez-Colón and Junelle Mariñas of Cultured Enuf who led our affiliates in a workshop to help them recognize the realities and environment shaping outreach efforts and identify practical ways to expand access and belonging for underrepresented communities in innovation and STEM learning.

To close out the Summit, Patricia Mooradian, President and CEO of The Henry Ford, gave a warm send off and thanked our affiliates for joining us this week and for championing Invention Convention in their states.

This Invent if Forward Summit was our largest turnout to date and we could not be more thankful to this community for an incredible few days of learning, collaboration and inspiration. We're excited for what this coming year has in store for our program and we're looking forward to building on this momentum to expand our collective impact together.

The 2026 Invent it Forward Summit would not be possible without the support of The Lemelson Foundation and PMI Educational Foundation. We're grateful for these organizations and their commitment to inspiring the next generation of innovators.

| Jacobson Institute Auburn University I - STEM Connectory Alabama STEM Council Spark: Texas A&M PK-12 Engineering Education Outreach Project Management Institute Educational Foundation

09/15/2026

Day two of the Invent it Forward Summit focused on valuable conversations around funding and sustainability, as well as highlighting our resource expansions and learning more about the work our affiliates are doing.

We were honored to be joined by Drew Glassford, CEO of STEMconnector, who shared some great insights and guidance for building fiscal sustainability for our affiliates and we introduced new resources we've created in collaboration with Drew to help our community's funding efforts.

We kicked off our afternoon sessions with Amber Buschmann, Global Partnership Manager at PMI Educational Foundation, who shared some resources for integrating project management into the invention process.

Next, we heard from our affiliates who highlighted some of the work they've been doing. Brenda Payne of California Invention Convention and Sara Leiken of COSI - Center of Science and Industry and Ohio Invention Convention discussed the curriculum they've created to introduce intellectual property to students working through the invention process. Kerry Macfarland of NextMinds informed the group about their initiative to build smaller, accessible invention experiences. Finally, Maggie Mills of Invention Convention Arizona presented the Create for Change Fellowship, an initiative to help bring sustainability education to educators.

To round out the day, Pascha Marlin Griffiths and Emily Shannon shared learnings and next steps from our Design Sprint Challenge related to teacher support and training and led our affiliates in a mini design sprint of their own to brainstorm solutions to challenges they are all working through.

A special note of thanks to Mike Mroz, Amanda Hayes and Melissa Frey for leading and facilitating some of our sessions today. We're looking forward to one more day together tomorrow!

| Project Management Institute Educational Foundation Connecticut Invention Convention Massachusetts Invention Convention

09/14/2026

We had a full house this afternoon for day one of the 2026 Invent it Forward Summit. This annual convening of Invention Convention Worldwide affiliates provides us an opportunity to strengthen our community relationships and learn together as we work towards growing our collective impact.

Spence Medford, Senior Vice President and Chief Advancement Officer at The Henry Ford, kicked off the program with a warm welcome to our affiliates while Carolyn Ward, Senior Director of Learning, Engagement, Outreach and Impact at The Henry Ford led our first session around "Leading with Purpose."

We were joined virtually by Katie Krummeck, Program Officer of Invention Education at The Lemelson Foundation, to talk about our collaborative Design Sprint Challenge while Pascha Marlin Griffiths, Manager of Educational Programming for ICW led us in a fun groupthink game called Convergence.

Our second session focused on "Program Assessment and Evaluation," where Avi Kaplan, Professor at Temple University, discussed our new research initiative around the inventive identity. Next, we were joined by our Competition Integrity Committee who shared new updates to the competition rubric. Finally, Mitch Hufnagel, Manager of Monitoring and Evaluation, and Phil Grumm, Head of Learning & Engagement at The Henry Ford, shared some findings from our Model iQ survey and best practices for data collection.

We are looking forward to another great day together for day two tomorrow! The Invent it Forward Summit is made possible by support from The Lemelson Foundation and PMI Educational Foundation. (Project Management Institute Educational Foundation)

09/13/2026

Throughout the 2025-26 school year, the Invention Convention community expanded its reach to more students than ever before, welcomed four new state affiliates to the program, and strengthened partnerships with organizations across the nation that are committed to empowering youth with the skills they need to thrive and lead the future workforce. As we embark on the 2026-27 school year, check out this article to see the program's impact last year: https://bit.ly/4xg4KUI

Address

20900 Oakwood Boulevard
Dearborn, MI
48124

Website

http://inventionconvention.org/

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