Inventors often build models or prototypes of their inventions. These prototypes allow inventors to test their ideas, and may show them where improvements are needed. The ongoing cycle of testing, tweaking, and testing again is an important part of the invention process.
Gather some friends or family members, a few rolls of tape, and whatever types of pasta you can find in the pantry and spontaneously engage in the invention process first-hand by building a prototype car!
When your prototype is ready, take it for a test drive down a cardboard ramp, set-up an improvised track, or race your cars across the kitchen floor. If your prototype crashes or breaks, rebuild it in a different way to improve the design.
By creating a prototype, testing it, possibly failing, and then tweaking it to make it better, you will actively and quickly play through the invention process.
When you are finished with your prototype, email a photo or video to us at sparklab@si.edu