Thinking outside the scientific box in Long Beach

As part of a district-wide enrichment program for all first graders in Long Beach Public Schools, students at Lido, East, Lindell and West elementary schools invited their parents to attend Invention Conventions.

The first-grade enrichment program promotes creative and divergent thinking skills, coupled with exposure to scientific concepts. Students in all four schools received enrichment for the entire year. At their Invention Conventions, students were able to showcase everything they had learned and created through the program.

Students learned about the inventions of people, such as Leonardo DaVinci, the Renaissance artist and scientific explorer, who ideas were deemed “crazy” to some. They examined everyday objects like cardboard paper towel rolls and imagined alternate uses, such as a telescope or a rolling pin.

Next they made guitars from shoeboxes and rubber bands, parachutes from paper bags and string, and silly putty from glue and laundry detergent to study the science of sound, aeronautics and chemistry.

In the process they learned how to brainstorm, and to be brave enough to use their imaginations to test their own ideas. The children thought about things people might need to make their lives better and more fun.

“For this project, there was no right or wrong answer,” said enrichment teacher Caitlin Fuentes. “The idea was to encourage everyone to think outside the box, and to develop a sense of pride and success in the validation of their unique ideas.” The children all brainstormed their ideas, and then created a "blueprint" of what they envisioned their inventions to look like. Their blueprints and nameplates were proudly displayed at the Invention Convention.