Req 8 — Choose an Inventing Experience
8.
Do ONE of the following:
You must choose exactly one option for this requirement. Both choices take inventing out of your own notebook and place it in a wider world. One shows how teams build useful things together. The other shows how museums and exhibits preserve the stories behind inventions.
Your Options
- Req 8a — Build with a Team: Participate with a robotics, science, or engineering club that builds something useful. You will experience collaborative problem-solving, shared roles, and the way team projects improve through discussion and testing.
- Req 8b — Visit an Inventing Exhibit: Visit a museum or exhibit focused on an inventor or invention, then create a presentation to share with others. You will learn how inventions are explained, displayed, and connected to history and society.
How to Choose
Which option fits you best?
Compare the real-life demands and benefits of each path
- Time commitment: Req 8a may require multiple meetings or practice sessions. Req 8b may fit better if you can complete a museum visit in one outing.
- Access: Choose Req 8a if you already know about a local club or team. Choose Req 8b if you live near a museum, science center, or traveling exhibit.
- What you will gain: Req 8a teaches teamwork, iteration, and build culture. Req 8b teaches observation, historical interpretation, and public presentation.
- Equipment needs: Req 8a may involve tools, kits, or team materials. Req 8b usually needs note-taking and presentation prep.
- Best fit for your style: If you love building with others, Req 8a may feel more natural. If you like research, displays, and storytelling, Req 8b may be stronger.
Both options can help you see that inventing is bigger than one person working alone. Even famous inventors depended on teams, communities, workshops, museums, and public sharing to spread ideas.
Smithsonian Spark!Lab Hands-on invention resources from the Smithsonian that connect teamwork, creativity, and invention history.Next, you will start with the club-and-team option page so you can see what that experience involves before deciding.