Belonging GamesInvention Day
This is a day for inventions nobody meant to make. Sticky notes, Velcro, the microwave oven, and potato chips all began as accidents or mistakes, so kids see that a wrong turn can become something everyone uses.
Today's files 12
- 1Educator guideThe flow, the read-aloud, every game
- 8To printTrivia/Facts, Bingo, I-Spy, Word Search, LoopTalk, How to Draw, Coloring, Certificate
- 3To projectFacts, Bingo caller, Trivia game show
Run it today
- GradesK–5
- Group1 to 30 kids
- Time10 to 60 min
- PrepNone
- 10minRead the opener aloud, then project the Facts deck.
- 30minAdd the Facts sheet and Bingo. Five in a row shouts “EUREKA MOMENT!”
- 60minAdd two activities the kids pick, the Trivia game show and certificates.
About the day
Read it aloud1 minute
“Today is Invention Day! Every invention in this pack happened by accident — nobody set out to make any of them on purpose.”
Art Fry used that weak glue on paper bookmarks that kept falling from his choir hymnal, and the sticky note was born. George de Mestral noticed prickly burrs stuck to his socks and his dog's fur after a walk in the mountains. Under a microscope he saw the burrs were covered in tiny hooks that grabbed onto fuzzy loops of fabric or fur. Engineer Percy Spencer was standing near a radar machine when the candy bar in his pocket suddenly melted. Curious, he pointed the machine at popcorn kernels next, and they popped right there on the table. As the story goes, a cook at a restaurant in Saratoga Springs sliced potatoes paper thin after a picky customer complained.
For staff
Making this day welcoming for everyone
Mistakes are the stars of today, which makes it a good day for children who worry about getting things wrong.
Good to know
- September's Invention Day covers different inventors. This one is only about happy accidents.
Three facts kids remember
All 15 are on the Trivia/Facts sheet- Naval engineer Richard James knocked a coiled spring off a shelf and watched it calmly walk end over end.
- None of them set out to invent what they became famous for; each one showed up while aiming at something else.
- The name Velcro comes from two French words, velour and crochet, meaning velvet and hook.
Talk about it
- Tell a partner which accidental invention you think is the luckiest mistake.
- Ask a friend what they would invent by accident today.
- Ask a partner what invention they would like to build someday.
No printer?
Happy accident
- Everyone folds, tears or crumples a scrap of paper without a plan.
- Swap with a partner and decide what useful thing it could be.
- Name your accidental invention and show it to the group in one sentence.
Invention Day is one day. Your staff get one like it every afternoon.
A daily, plug-and-play enrichment service for elementary after-school programs. Ready-to-run activities arrive in your team's Google or Outlook Calendar, and your own staff lead them without planning.
- Every day of the year, covered.
- Easy to run, even for new or untrained staff.
- Meaningful enrichment, not just busywork.