Inventing the Future: A Look Back at an Inspiring Year
As we embark on a new school year, we’re reflecting on an incredible 2025-26 season of Invention Convention.
Building a Nationwide Invention Convention Community
Throughout the 2025-26 season, over 305,000 students participated in Invention Convention programming nationwide. Our affiliate network has continued to grow, allowing more educators to experience the power of invention education and giving more students than ever the tools to invent their own future. In the winter we announced the addition of University of Maryland, Baltimore County; Terra Science and Education; and Louisiana State University as affiliates for Maryland, New York and Louisiana respectively. Most recently we welcomed Oregon State University 4-H as the state affiliate for Oregon. OSU 4-H's mission to support lifelong learning and co-create innovative solutions to address local challenges directly aligns to ICW's vision of empowering youth to solve real-world problems they identify in their communities and in the world. The addition of these affiliates brings our program’s footprint to 36 states with several others on the horizon — stay tuned!
Building Momentum in Invention Education
The Invention Convention Worldwide team also continued to be active members of the invention education community. From Beyond 100K and the InventEd convening to SXSW EDU, the American Alliance of Museums Annual Meeting and more, our team attended and participated in education conferences and forums nationwide to build awareness of ICW, make connections with mission-aligned organizations, support youth inventors on the local and national stage, and generally share the power of invention education and the impact it has on today’s youth.
Over the last several years, we’ve been working with organizations like Project Lead The Way (PLTW), NAF and 4-H to show how invention education can integrate seamlessly with their curricula and align with their mission to prepare students for their future careers. This past year we’ve expanded our impact through FFA and Advancing Indigenous Science and Engineering Society (AISES) who see value in offering invention education to even more budding innovators across the country.
The National FFA Organization is an intra-curricular student organization that provides a path to achievement in premier leadership, personal growth and career success through agricultural education. Through our partnership, we're creating a pathway for youth in FFA to engage in hands-on learning that builds critical thinking, communication and entrepreneurial skills as they embrace their creativity, identify problems and design unique inventions to advance our communities and the industry of agriculture.
AISES is a national nonprofit focused on increasing the representation of Indigenous peoples in North America and the Pacific Islands in STEM careers. Invention education provides hands-on, real-world opportunities for youth everywhere to learn to identify and solve problems that matter to them. By attending AISES conferences and competitions, we're excited to introduce Invention Convention to these communities and look forward to empowering more Indigenous youth with skills to invent their own futures.
Impact in Action
It’s always exciting to witness the passion and resourcefulness of ICW inventors who participate in the program and to welcome those who advance to the U.S. Nationals competition. At this year’s event, we welcomed 513 inventors — our highest participation to date — and were blown away by their creative, thoughtful and empathy-driven solutions to problems they identified. As the skills they gain go beyond their time in the program, we’ve steadily grown our Alumni program to help inventors stay connected and give back to this community. We were honored to welcome five alumni to this year’s U.S. Nationals event to serve in a variety of capacities. For the first time, we hosted an “Ask Me Anything” fireside chat with our alumni, where they discussed their experiences of being in the Invention Convention program, their life and careers since participating, and advice for future inventors and students wondering what’s next in their own educational journey.
Alumni also served as moderators and panelists for our Youth Patent Panel Discussion where they spoke about their experience earning a patent and what they learned about intellectual property along the way. Throughout the event, two of our alumni took on ambassador roles, creating content for social media, engaging with youth and program partners, and supporting outreach efforts. ICW alum Julian Kage, Founder and CEO of Exactics, addressed attendees during the Awards Ceremony to share the lessons he learned in his time with the program, how his experience shaped the trajectory of his career and advice for the next generation. We could not be prouder of the outstanding alumni in our program. They are entrepreneurs, researchers, students and incredible advocates for the invention education community and Invention Convention Worldwide. We are honored to be part of their story and even more grateful for their enthusiasm and passion for this program. Special thank you to Julian Kage, Jonathan Walker, Suhani Gandhi, Sadie McCallum and Meera Ramaswami for joining us this year.
Some of the most coveted prizes at U.S. Nationals are the Patent Application Awards, providing the winners with counsel and guidance towards patenting their inventions. This year we were thrilled to have seven youth inventors receive notice that their patents have been accepted and filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. This brings our total patented inventors to 36! Join us in congratulating the following students for being awarded their patents during the 2025-26 season:
- Sadie McCallum: The A.T.O.M. (Automatic Therapy Orthopedic Machine), a device that alerts the user to incorrect posture or muscle use and assists with alignment correction.
- Nikhil Kosanam: Hands Free Dice Roller, a device designed to roll dice without physical touch.
- Meera Ramaswami: Cargility, an assistive device that helps people enter and exit a vehicle safely.
- Ava-Elizabeth Bell: OCT-D Defense For Your Car, a device that uses electrochromic film and multifactor authentication to prevent car theft.
- Ryker Crabtree: The All Rodent Roll Bowl, a pet exercise ball containment device.
New Resources to Spark Youth Innovation
The flexibility of the Invention Convention Curriculum makes it easy for educators and facilitators to implement its lessons in a variety of education settings including the classroom, afterschool programs, clubs or camps, and in programs like the Scouts.
To inspire and support educators and students working through the invention process, we launched a new resource called Youth Inventor Connects. Using ArcGIS StoryMaps and highlighting ICW’s 7-step invention process, this resource provides virtual mentoring, Kahoot! games and videos to ignite inspiration. Through this self-paced and self-directed learning resource, students gain exposure to key invention concepts and meet a vibrant cast of young inventors who share their own invention journeys.
As part of our ongoing commitment to empowering students with the skills to become the next generation of innovators, we have partnered with Project Management Institute Educational Foundation to develop new resources that introduce project management concepts to young learners. Our newest Kahoot! course, “Project Management: Initiating,” includes three exciting games to introduce learners to the first steps in starting any project. The new Invention Charter lesson is an optional supplement to the Invention Logbook lesson, providing guidance to help students stay organized as they begin their invention process. An Invention Charter is a great starting point to help students focus on the key parts of the process by asking students to identify the why, what, who, when, where and how of their inventions. These tools help teachers seamlessly integrate project management into their lessons, giving students the organizational skills essential for success in their invention journeys and beyond.
Help us inspire the next generation of problem-solvers and innovators. Visit our website to learn how you can bring Invention Convention to your classroom or email ICW@thehenryford.org to get involved.