1. Hometown: Pittsburgh

2. Current City: I grew up in, and still live in, Penn Hills

3. College/Major: Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Communications Media major, with a minor in English and another minor in Theatre

4. Best thing about Pittsburgh: I have two good ones, at least to me, cost of living and I don’t have to worry about dangerous weather (e.g. tornadoes, Earthquakes, hurricanes)

5. If you could have any superpower, what would it be? My sons and I are all comic book, anime and Japanese Manga fans, so we have this conversation a lot… I usually choose Omnipotence, like Dr. Manhattan from the Watchmen comics or when we can’t choose just one power we go with characters. I usually go with the Blue Marvel from Marvel Comics or One Punch Man from Japanese Manga. If I MUST choose an ability I’d choose ‘adaptability’, because my body and mind would adapt to any situation to overcome any issue.

6. Who is your role model and why? I could say ‘I don’t have a role model’, because I never wanted to be like anyone. I always wanted to blaze my own trail and become something of my own. But, I do have one. Jesus. The only perfect person that walked this planet. That is someone who I follow and who inspires me.

7. Favorite part of the tour? The Ball Park. I love seeing the kids’ faces when they walk in. It gives me the chance to tell them that if they get a job they enjoy doing, it inspires them to do better, then the higher ups are inspired to keep that employee happy by doing extra for them. Its a giving circle. I always tell kids that ‘if you’re blessed to get a job in something you like to do, you never work a day in your life’.

8. Tell us one of your most memorable tour experiences. I try to make my tours fun, exciting, informative and inspiring. My most memorable tour experience was with a group of grade schoolers. After the tour, as the kids were piling up and walking out the door, one little girl broke from the crowd, ran up and gave me a big hug. I love kids. I treat them as if they were my own, so my goal is to inspire them the way I do my own four kids.

9. When you’re not at Inventionland, what are you doing? When I’m not in Inventionland I’m busy. My wife home schools our kids, so I jump at the chance to teach as well. My part, surprising, is media and life. Videography, photography, editing, writing, social media, etc. I also work on preparing my kids for the future by teaching life lessons, teaching the lessons from the Bible and how to survive in the world they’ll inherit as adults. When I’m not spending time with my family, I also coach youth football and youth track & field.

10. Unique talents/skills? I guess my biggest talent is working with people, but, if you ask my family, its being a goofy. Life is short, I’m only serious when necessary.

11. Favorite TV Show? I’m a big sci-fi fan, so I’d have to say my favorite is the entire genre. Second to that is action and comedy. Mix them together and I’m in total bliss.

12. Favorite Brunch Food? What ever I like and available, but my wife would say potato chips.

13. Guilty Pleasure? REAL milk chocolate. Not that drab stuff the big candy bar industry has been putting out. Real chocolate products like from Sarris in Canonsburg, Gene and Boots in Perryopolis and Rosalind Candy Castle in New Brighton

14. What one word would your mom use to describe you? Determined. I don’t give up. I may take a break, but I don’t quit.

15. When I was ten, I wanted to be… a butt kicking super hero that fights super humans, aliens, extra dimensional beings, you name it. I wanted to be the protector of the Earth.

16. In high school, I was… the Billy Dee Williams of high school football. I was involved in stage in my last two years of high school. During the Spring I would go straight from a musical rehearsal to Spring football practice. My Head Coach called me the Billy Dee Williams of high school football, because, to him, actors were wimps, but Billy Dee was a tough guy and I was no wimp.

17. People would be surprised to know that I… used to be certified in stage combat and fight choreography

18. In five years, I see myself… finally being able to take my wife on a honeymoon (all the kids will be in college or beyond at that point). My wife had the courage to marry me in the beginning of my career (the broke years). Then we had four kids, then… then… then… life happens. The honeymoon will be almost 30 years late, but I’m going to take my Queen where ever she’d like to be.

19. Who would play you in a movie and why? Dwayne Johnson (The Rock) or Will Smith. Two action actors that can be both funny and serious in a movie and make it look natural. My life is almost as much active as it is everything else. Although, I’ve had some times in my life when Rowan Atkinson would have easily fit right in (like changing my 1st child’s diaper for the first time)!

20. If you were trapped in Inventionland overnight, what would you do? Hook my Ipod up to the sound system and let the music play… and play loud! If I’m going to be trapped, I’m going to at least enjoy myself.

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1. 1. Hometown: Wagontown, PA – though no one really knows where that is, so I normally tell people West Chester or Philadelphia, PA.
   2. Current City: Morningside
   3. College/Major: I went to Susquehanna University for Creative Writing. (Please see abnormally long responses to seemingly basic questions as proof.)
   4. How long have you been in Pittsburgh/What brought you to Pittsburgh: I’ve lived in Pittsburgh for five and a half years. I moved here because my roommate and one of my best friends wanted to move back out here (this was where she went to college), and I just happened to be ready to move out as well!
   5. If you could have any superpower, what would it be? I would love to fly and at incredibly fast speeds. How nice would it be to not need a car?
   6. Who is your role model and why? My role models would be my grandparents—together they’re just a hilarious and unique pair of humans. My grandfather is intelligent, thoughtful, and quick-witted. My grandmother is this fierce old German woman; she’s absolutely terrifying (though she would hit me if she heard me say that) as well as smart and strong.
   7. Favorite part of the tour? My absolute favorite part of the tour is the most unsuspecting part! Right on the side of the castle is a pile of products with the toothbrush sanitizer and the worlds, “It all started… because of a failure.” I’m able to tell the story of one of Mr. D’s original ideas and how it went to market before he was able to present it, but he didn’t take that failure and give up; he went off to make the 9 Step Inventing Experience as well as Inventionland. This isn’t only inspiring to the Student tours and the Client tours, but I see the teachers and chaperones really take this message to heart. We’re a company that is here to help people, we are here because Mr. D was able to take that crappy experience and learn from it. We’re facing the beginning of many generations that would just give up because of something like that, but now they’re able to see and stand inside of Inventionland, something that is only here because of that failure. It’s a resounding message that everyone can bring home with them, I love it.
   8. Tell us one of your most memorable tour experiences. Student tours are my absolute favorite. I feel many high school aged kids always start tours and they’re reluctant to ask questions because they don’t want to seem uncool or dumb in any way. The first high school group I was able to take around the facility was so quiet, to the point where I started talking to myself (loudly, loud enough for everyone to hear me). “Oh, Madie, how many majors would you say are in this building? That’s an amazing question, Madie, great job! There are 35+ majors in this building…” Once I was able to make a foo

      

      l of myself they opened up a bit and all asked for selfies with me at the end. As I was walking the group out of the building, a few of the kids on my tour approached me asking questions. Mr. D came up behind us and offered the kids some Tomorrow’s World Today merchandise and stuck around to ask questions. You could just see the kids light up when they got to see the person that I had been talking about for the last hour. Many kids asked about how to start inventing and everyone’s energy and excitement was palpable. 

   9. When you’re not at Inventionland, what are you doing?  Trying to show off to my 13 year old sister with my lacking Overwatch skills! If I’m not playing games, I’m walking my dogs, reading, or watching my fiancé cook while asking every 2 minutes if we can eat yet.  
   10. Unique talents/skills?  I’m super handy around the house. I can fix just about anything, except plumbing, because I don’t mess with that one. I have fixed all of my minor electrical problems and the like for the last 5 years. All in all, I’m probably the worst tenant in the world because I don’t like to wait weeks for someone to come out and fix a problem that I can fix myself.
   11. Favorite TV Show? Archer, for sure.
   12. Favorite Brunch Food? There is no way I can pick between Eggs Benedict and Eggs-in-a-Basket.
   13. Guilty Pleasure? Any romance reading material ever; I say reading material because I have been whisked off one too many times with some crappy fan-fiction or one-off blog posts as well.
   14. What one word would your mom use to describe you? Unique.
   15. When I was ten, I wanted to be…a veterinarian, but only because 10 year old Madie wanted to come off as sensible and realistic. On the inside I wanted to be a pop-star.
   16. In high school, I was… always busy!  I would play roller hockey with my friends after school, on weekends I would go off-roading and swimming in a local creek.
   17. People would be surprised to know that I…play Dungeons & Dragons, like a LOT. I play on Tuesday and Wednesday nights from 7-11 most of the time. In college I used to play every Sunday from 10am until 6pm. My longest session was 13 hours with a group of friends about a year ago.
   18. In five years, I’d like to be…a billionaire, but who wouldn’t? All in all, I’d settle for millionaire, or at least having my student loan debt paid off.
   19. Who would play you in a movie and why? I know she’s significantly older than me, but I would want Lucy Lawless to play me. If I could say I was played by the actress who was Xena the Warrior Princess, I would die happy. Plus, we’re both brunettes!
   20. If you were trapped in Inventionland overnight, what would you do?
       1. I would start the night by digging through all of my old creative writing pieces from college and pick out the one which would be most fun to open up again to work on.
       2. Then, I would go to Chipper’s Tree House and use all of the whiteboards re-storyboarding my story. This would take a few hours, but before I knew it, it would be around 9pm and I would start to feel hungry.
       3. I’d skip—yes, skip—over to Brainpower Ballpark where I’d make a small dinner feast of Ramen and Slim Jims.
       4. Finally, I’d find a blanket, probably in Crafty Cottage, and I’d snuggle up on one of the recliners in Dare to Invent Theater and watch Netflix on the big screen until I fell asleep. 

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When we talk about Inventionland tours, we likely talk about groups of young school students and community members who make their way around our 61,000-square foot design factory. But today, we’re focusing on one of our own Creationeer’s first impressions of our space.

Creationeer Mara works at Inventionland as a Graphic Artist, who joined the team at the end of May. From the moment that she stepped foot into Inventionland for her interview, Mara was amazed.

“Honestly, I was like there is no way I am going to get this job; this was way too cool for me,” said Mara. “It just really didn’t seem real… I’ve never been interviewed in a castle before; I just didn’t know where to look; there’s stuff everywhere!”

Like many, Mara was more attuned to the traditional office setting – cubes, offices, etc. Sometimes, that sort of environment can become stale and it certainly does little to inspire.

“It’s a big change of pace for me,” said Mara, who also said she particularly enjoys the helpful, friendly atmosphere she’s found at Inventionland. “Everyone here is really positive and happy and friendly. Everybody reaches out and tries to make plans and eat lunch, and just in general help you meet everybody here.”

Friendliness is a common theme that’s shared throughout Inventionland and Mara has definitely taken notice.

“I like the end of the month parties. I like that everyone gets together to do things on certain days, whether it’s lunch or happy hour or volleyball. There’s just always some way to connect with the [other Creationeers] here. Everybody has been very welcoming, even Mr. Davison. He comes around and says ‘Hi’ and asks how everyone is doing. It’s nice to have a boss that’s so involved, especially for a company this size,” said Mara.

Beyond the camaraderie that’s felt throughout our invention factory, Mara also values the opportunities that she has to pursue her professional dreams. In fact, her journey has already led her to meet celebrity chef Paula Deen, who even complimented Mara on her baking!

“I think that was probably my best day, if not the day before. It’s so cool I get to bake as part of my job. I get to bake and do food styling and graphic design. It’s broad and I did all of those things in just those two days. I like doing different things every day. I hardly like things even being the same all day for even just one day,” said Mara. “I’m doing the kind of work that I’ve been wanting to do. So, I get to focus on what I like doing instead of having to do art and design only in my free time. I still do it in my free time and it doesn’t wear me out; I don’t get tired of it!”

Art and design are part of her day-to-day tasks and Mara finds inspiration and motivation to do both whenever she can.

“When it’s somebody’s birthday or a holiday, I like to make the cards instead of buy them. I can still help friends on the side if they need any design work. It’s motivating in itself, because it doesn’t make me just sick and tired and angry at design; I can still do it after I leave here [at the end of the day], which was the plan,” said Mara, who also said that she garners inspiration from other hobbies.

Music and video games are also a big part of Mara’s life.

“I like and appreciate the art of video games. It’s not something I foresee myself ever doing, but it’s something that I like to appreciate and maybe someday [will] challenge myself to do,” said Mara. “Before packaging design, I wanted to do design for video games.”

But, as is with many across the world, Pokemon Go has ignited a fire within Mara and some of her fellow Creationeers that have helped the team bond even more.

“I play it a lot. I try every day… It’s nice, because it gets me out walking. I try to run three times a week, but when I’m not, at least Pokemon Go gets me outside… otherwise, I just stay in all day,” said Mara, who said she enjoys playing the game and chatting about it with Creationeer Jason, though she admitted he’s about three times her level when it comes to advancing through the game.

When she’s not trying to Catch ’em All, Mara turns to Indie or pop-punk music to inspire her during the work day.

“I listen to almost the same bands I did 10 years ago. I used to play, so I appreciate that from an artistic standpoint. When I listen to music, I feel I’m able to hear parts of the music that most people don’t normally pay attention to. That helps me zone out. It helps me get work done well, instead of just get it done. It helps me focus and slow down. When I listen to music, I can do a better job of getting it done in a way that I am happy with,” said Mara.

Now that you’ve seen Inventionland through Creationeer Mara’s eyes, see it through your own.

Copyright Inventionland, 2016

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Each week, Inventionland welcomes many groups through the doors of our invention factory. While tour goers are immersed in excitement over our creative 61,000 square foot space with 16 unique sets, they also come to realize that this fun and excitement also encourages learning. It’s a chain reaction!

When it comes to chain reactions, there are three young men who toured Inventionland last week that know a lot about it!

Students from North Allegheny Senior High School came for a tour of Inventionland as part of their winnings from the 2015-2016 Chain Reaction Contraption Contest, sponsored by the Inventionland Institute and held at Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Science Center at the end of last year. The students won the “What Will You Create” special award category for their contraption, which also won third place overall.

Members of our Inventionland team took part in judging this very innovative competition that pitted teams of high school students against each other in the name of innovation to build, engineer and operate a wacky contraption that would aid with an everyday task. As our Creationeers can attest, every product has a unique story, so students were also challenged to tell their contraption’s story.

Creationeers Chris and Michael, also known as “Spicy,” lent their expertise in judging the 9^th-12^th grade students’ work.

“I was blown away by the many complex and fun projects that were on display. These kids worked hard and were quite proud of their work,” said Chris.

“[The contest] allowed [students] to create unique physical solutions to solving problems,” said Spicy. “I loved it. It was fun [and] exciting to see people’s enthusiasm.”

While Chris and Spicy were blown away by the students’ work, the three young winners were equally blown away by finally seeing our invention factory. Here’s just a taste of the fun they had in touring our creative space last week:

These Chain Reaction Contraption winners weren’t the only students to tour through Inventionland last week. Here’s a look at other groups that had a great time touring our creative facility.

North Allegheny School District – Sixth Grade Students

McKeesport Area School District Students

Keep up with the Inventionland blog to see more happenings at our invention factory, ask us about teaching innovation in your school, or schedule a tour today!

Copyright Inventionland, 2016

The post Learning STEMs from Inventionland Tours – It’s a Chain Reaction! appeared first on Inventionland.

Each week, after tours travel through and depart from our invention factory, Inventionland tour guide Sam can’t say enough about how groups experience the mix of education and entertainment that consists of 16 uniquely themed sets from Inventalot Castle to Pirate Ship Discovery and more.

“They were in awe of the whole place,” said Sam regarding reactions from gifted students from Mount Union Area School District, who toured through Inventionland last week. Mount Union Area School District English as a Second Language (ESL) and Gifted Services Teacher Anita Young agreed.

When it came to her students’ and her initial impression of Inventionland, Young mentioned they were left in “Awe!”

“As an adult, you stop and think to yourself, ‘Is this really someone’s work place?’ My students had visited the website and had an idea of what Inventionland looked like, but upon seeing it, they saw a giant playground. They knew they were work spaces, but they could not believe how detailed everything was,” said Young.

With an increasing force behind STEM and STEAM initiatives in today’s classrooms, Inventionland is proud that our unique environment can inspire and increase students’ power of observation, making them realize that they, too, can work in a place like this, no matter their background or career goals.

“My students were surprised at the endless possibilities of careers that [prepare people to] work at Inventionland. They were under the impression that they had to be an engineer only to work at a place like Inventionland; however, they learned otherwise,” said Young. “I think my students will be much more driven to participate in STEM/STEAM activities.”

When it comes to STEM/STEAM, Reynoldsburg City Schools’ Courtney Heppner (Director of Innovation) and Tommie Timmons (Innovation Lab Coordinator) are no strangers, but still a tour through Inventionland last week hopefully sparked further inspiration.

Inventionland offers courses, training and resources for teaching 21^st Century Skills. Students from the Colonial School have already experienced our real-world approach to inventing and innovation in a pilot program taught at their school this year.  Visiting our invention factory was a highlight of the week.

Also inspired last week were two large groups of North Hills Middle School students who also toured around Inventionland’s unique space.

Keep up with the Inventionland blog to see more happenings at our invention factory, ask us about teaching innovation in your school, or schedule a tour today!

Copyright Inventionland, 2016

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Tour groups bring the usual hustle and bustle of Inventionland to a whole new level, with groups ranging from corporate groups, schools, educators and more.

Early last week, executives from Amita Health of Chicago, Illinois made their way to Inventionland as part of their road trip across the United States visiting different companies.

“It’s kind of interesting to have a company from Chicago jump in a van and make a trip through the U.S. like that! They are stopping a couple of different places,” said Inventionland tour guide Sam who was happy to show the group what’s unique about our Pittsburgh design and innovation factory.

“Their CEO feels it’s good for their team of people to see how different companies are run and visit companies that have some kind of cool aspect. How many companies would do a road trip with their top management team to expose them to different things that are out there? You could tell he was proud to bring his folks through,” said Sam.

“It kind of harks back to our CEO, Mr. George Davison, taking our folks on a trip to Dearborn, Michigan to the Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village. It’s a different kind of CEO that exposes employees to things that they can grow from,” continued Sam.

Once the Amita Health tour wrapped up, the rest of the tour week was dedicated to schools and educators, a favorite for Inventionland tour guides Sam and Tony!

First up was a large group of Northgate students, whose group split into two to tour with Tony and Sam.

“I enjoy [tours] because of kids,” said Tony. “They need to know that creativity is the lifeblood to everything; literally everything. I can relate it back to me being a youth football coach; I teach my team to be creative and then we’ll figure out if it’s going to work or not. It goes from sports, to work, to life.”

Though some might say variety is the spice of life, Tony believes that creativity is and through his tours, he works to pique the interest of the students!

“When I take kids on a tour, I encourage questions, because I want to jumpstart their curiosity, which leads to their creativity. I enjoy having the kids here, walking them through, answering questions and making it fun. I joke with them, ask them questions, try to insert trivia here and there,” said Tony.

Tony particularly had an impact on a group of 6^th grade students from North Allegheny School District.

For the North Allegheny tour, Tony had the chance to lead about 40 kids around our invention factory.

“It was more than I’ve ever taken on a tour myself, but it didn’t seem like it, because they all were just engaged. They were good kids. I got a really big hug from one of the kids. She just walked up to me and gave me this huge hug before they left; adorable kid. That was important to me, because she just came up to me because she was so grateful, I’m assuming. The teachers came up to me as well and said ‘you were really good with the kids; they enjoyed it as well,” said Tony.

After touring Cardinal Maida Academy through Inventionland as the last school tour for the week, Sam echoed Tony’s sentiment that kids’ tours are among their favorites, because of the opportunity that they present to make a difference in a child’s life – for the better!

“You’re really impacting a kid. Kids always lose their minds when the door [to Inventionland] opens; that never gets old. They’re pinching themselves for the first 15 minutes as they have such a hard time putting their heads around the fact that a company can be like this and you can come to a job like this. How would you get anything done in a cool place like this?” said Sam.

Making an impact on students is also key for educators, as Pennsylvania Intermediate Units 1, 7 and 8 can attest to as they visited Inventionland where they got hands-on with our Inventionland course work designed specifically for educators to develop a culture of innovation in their schools.

“They’re just blown away by the whole concept, this hands-on approach and 9-step method that was developed by Mr. Davison. It just really reinforces in their mind what 21st century teaching should be. It’s about taking kids on this wonderful journey of learning and allowing kids to realize and understand that they’ll make mistakes. There will be problems that they’ll have to overcome and they learn to find their own solutions. It just seems to be infectious with these Intermediate Units. When they come here, they seem to have a blast,” said Sam.

 Last week was a whirlwind of tours, but that’s exactly how we like it! If you’d like to see our invention factory for yourself, schedule an Inventionland tour, today!

Copyright Inventionland, 2016

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On Wednesday, March 30th, yet another excited group of students were led on a tour through Inventionland by none other than tour guide-extraordinaire, Sam.

Students in the gifted program from the Washington School District, of Washington County here in Pennsylvania, joined Sam on their first tour of our creative space.

“They were a very enthusiastic crowd of kids with some very good questions. Just to be able to see all of the capabilities is always eye-opening for the students,” said Sam.

In addition, “They’re interested in all of the different jobs and how cool it is that we have so many people from different backgrounds. Engineering, design, building, video, still photography and more,” he said.

“They see the fun in it all,” said Sam of the students. But a highlight of the tour was that this group of gifted students was able to talk with Inventionland’s creator himself, our very own founder and CEO, George Davison.

Mr. Davison and the group stopped to chat in front of the Workshop.

“Mr. Davison is always really engaging with the kids,” said Sam.

Let’s just say the tour left many of the students eager for their next opportunity to come back!

“One student threw a coin into the wishing well [at the treehouse]. He said his wish was to be able to work here!” smiled Sam.

To say the least, their Inventionland tour got these gifted students inspired.

Another student even planned to write an article about her experience for her local newspaper – we can’t wait to read it!

Schedule your group for an Inventionland tour today!

Copyright Inventionland, 2016

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Let’s get right to it! Here was this week’s busy schedule:

Monday, February 22 –Christ the Divine Teacher Catholic Academy
Tuesday, February 23 –Girl Scout Troop 52478
Wednesday, February 24 ­– Gifted math students from Fox Chapel Area High School, Business Education
Thursday, February 25 – Avonworth Middle School

Students and teachers alike are always in awe as they walk around our 61,000-square foot invention factory. With 16 uniquely-themed sets, there’s a lot to look at!

For Christine Salvi, Middle School Science Teacher at Christ the Divine Teacher Catholic Academy, Inventionland is always a treat for students. It was Salvi’s fifth year bringing young minds to tour our creative space, hopefully lighting the fire of their inner inventor. So how’d we do this year? Salvi listed every unique set her students enjoyed seeing on the tour!

• Pirate Ship Discovery
• Inventron 54
• Nursery Nook
• Inventionland Motor Speedway
• Inventalot Castle
• Brainpower Ballpark
• Crafty Cottage
• Davy’s Treehouse
• George Davison Studios
• Creation Cavern
• Concept Kitchen
• Health and Beauty Boutique
• Creativity Cabin
• Home Sweet Home

“They LOVE IT ALL!” said Salvi. “We want to make a school like Inventionland!”

Speaking of “a school like Inventionland,” Avonworth Middle School students toured on behalf of the Inventionland Institute, stopping to pose for a group photo in our green screen space at George Davison Studios.

Girl Scout Troop 52478 echoed the first group’s sentiments. In scheduling their tour, their troop leader exclaimed how excited this group of girls was to visit Inventionland. “We are all very excited!” she said.

Of course, Inventionland tour guide-extraordinaire Sam had nothing but good things to say about this week’s batch of tours and their excitement that fuels his motivation!

But no tour is complete without a little extra something Chipper or Stormy, depending on how you look at it. No, we’re not talking about the weather; we’re talking about the balloons that groups receive at the end of their tour! Learn more about it here!

Interestingly enough, students from Christ the Divine Teacher Catholic Academy mostly chose Stormy Cloud balloons, which Sam thought was fun as most groups choose Chipper.

Which balloon would you choose? Come visit us and let us know! Schedule your group for an Inventionland tour today!

Copyright Inventionland, 2016

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Taking a walk around our 61,000-square foot invention factory is awe-inspiring on its own, but when tour guide-extraordinaire Sam Sandora is leading that walk around our creative space, the tour gets that much better.

This week, Inventionland was seen through the eyes of two groups of eager young minds, a Brownie Troop from Hance Elementary from the Pine Richland School District on Monday and on Tuesday, Cub Scout Pack 243 from Sewickley, PA.

On Monday, February 15th, the Brownie Troop received the grand tour. Like many young minds who venture through Inventionland, this group of girls seemed “overstimulated with the facility,” said Sandora.

With 16 unique sets in our invention factory, it definitely is a lot to take in.

“They were excited,” Sandora said.

This Brownie Troop wasn’t the only excited group to visit Inventionland this week. As we mentioned before, Cub Scout Pack 243 of Sewickley, PA also got a tour of our creative space.

“They seemed genuinely blown away by Inventionland,” Sandora said.

Sandora himself was blown away by the questions that the Cub Scouts asked.

“They were really smart kids, asking these ‘brainiac’ questions! Some really technical questions for a young group,” said Sandora.

The group was full of intelligent questions and great invention ideas of their own; so, Sandora explained the importance of maintaining the confidentiality of an invention idea.

With intuitive questions and ideas like those brought on during Inventionland tours, it’s safe to say that groups of young, creative minds are inventors in the making!

Copyright Inventionland, 2016

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Last week was a fun-filled week at Inventionland with several young groups visiting our creative space. But according to Inventionland’s own tour guide-extraordinaire, Sam, visitors were in for a fun surprise!

Now, young and middle school-aged children on a tour receive their choice of a Chipper or Stormy cloud balloon, which some may recognize from the pages of Chipper Cloud in Use Your Imagination – the children’s book published by our very own founder and CEO Mr. Davison.

“That was a surprise,” said Sam. “It was fun to see who grabbed Chipper versus Stormy. They were pretty excited about the balloons and book, too.”

From the pages of the book itself, “You’ve got what it takes to make amazing and creative things…you just have to believe in yourself,” says Chipper Cloud.

Inventionland’s Michael “Spicy” and Builder Jon seemed to take Chipper’s advice as they collaborated to create a “Cloud Filling Station” for an efficient and easy way to fill the new balloons.

“We brainstormed a couple different ideas. Sometimes you think of [what you believe is] a really great idea and lay it out in your head only to realize, ‘Oh! It’s not going to work like that.’ It’s fun to brainstorm all the parts, so it works like it’s supposed to,” said Spicy.

To simplify the cloud-filling process, Spicy developed “mechanisms” for properly adjusting the length of the balloon string and also for making it easier to tie the string to the balloon once it’s inflated with helium.

“I cut a slit in the center to hold the part where you tie the balloon and then mounted [the trash can] to a piece of wood. Then, we heated the ends to round them or soften them so [no sharp edges] would damage the balloon,” said Spicer who was thankful for Jon’s assistance in the process.

From the looks of some “Chipper” faces, it looks like the new additions to the tours are being well-received. Schedule your group for an Inventionland tour today!

Copyright Inventionland, 2016

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