inHub's Summer Programs and Activities Recap

This summer turned out to be an incredibly busy yet rewarding season. It saw the return of THF Summer Camps, inHub surpassed 3,000 members, we hosted our virtual Invention Convention Globals competition, and we welcomed several groups of educators on-site for networking and professional development, energizing all of us for the 2022-23 school year. Here’s a look at all of the activities our team has been up to!

Educators-in-Residence

On July 19, we welcomed 11 educators from Michigan, Ohio, Texas, and Connecticut on-site to The Henry Ford for three days to kick off our Educators-in-Residence Program. This program is a hybrid professional development opportunity for PreK-12 teachers, instructional coaches, and administrators looking to connect with a cohort of like-minded educators and cultivate a culture of innovation in their classrooms, schools, and districts.

During their time on-site, educators were introduced to inHub and learned about our Model i Framework, curriculum, and digital learning resources. They also explored Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation and Greenfield Village through guided tours and participated in workshop sessions led by the Learning & Engagement team. By the end of the three days on-site, educators determined a need or problem that they wanted to address in their classroom or school during the 2022-23 school year and began identifying their actions steps.

Going forward, this cohort will meet virtually to support each other, furthering the rapport and community of practice that they built during the on-site portion of the program. By the end of the school year, participants will reflect on the impact of their ‘innovation journeys’ as they design, optimize, and implement new ideas, resources, and content to foster innovative thinking among their learners. We hope to one day share their journeys with the larger inHub community.

The 2022-23 Educators-in-Residence Cohort with members of the Learning & Engagement team.

The Henry Ford’s Teacher Innovator Awards, presented by Raytheon Technologies

We were pleased to host the 2022 Teacher Innovator Award (TIA) winners onsite from July 25-29, 2022. The seven winners who were able to join us in-person represented Hawaii, California, Ohio, and Michigan. The winners participated in behind-the-scenes tours with curators, explored THF’s venues, tried out lessons from inHub, and were recognized in an awards ceremony on July 28. These teachers were selected as TIA winners because of their innovative approaches to teaching and learning and they certainly inspired our staff with their accomplishments and dedication to their students. We received overwhelmingly positive feedback from the teachers, including one educator who wrote: “Last week was definitely memorable and I keep reflecting about the experience. You planned a wonderful week and gave us top notch treatment. We all got along so well which made it even better. I can’t wait to share my experiences with my colleagues and students.” If you are an innovative educator, check our website in January to apply for the 2023 Teacher Innovator Awards!

(Top) Winners of The Henry Ford’s Teacher Innovator Awards, presented by Raytheon Technologies, pose with their awards after the awards ceremony. (Bottom) TIA winners take a tour with Charles Sable, Curator of Decorative Arts at The Henry Ford.

THF Summer Camps

This summer we welcomed 276 campers to our reimagined THF Summer Camp experience after having postponed this program for the last two years. Our campers spent their week with us building an innovative mindset through learning by doing activities, exciting exploration of our venues, and culminating projects where they could let their own personalities shine.

Our Superheroes in Camp 2 investigated what it means to be a superhero of innovation by exploring stories of the past and practicing their own superpowers like staying curious, learning from failure and being empathetic.

After reading the “If I built” series by Chris Van Dusen, the Superheroes in Camp 2 challenged what houses, schools and cars could be by designing their own schools and building forts outside of the Dymaxion House.

Our Movers in Camp 3 spent their week exploring the many extraordinary mobility innovations that have kept us on the move. Throughout the week campers imagined ways we can help our communities with mobility and built their own solutions to share at the closing camp celebration on Friday.

The Closing Camp Celebration for our Movers in Camp 3 included presentations of their innovative mobility solutions.

Our Explorers in Camp 4 spent their week investigating our earth, its resources and how we use them, the unintended consequences of innovation, and how to work towards positive change.

Canoeing in the Suwanee was one of the favorite activities for our Explorers in Camp 4.

Our Growers in Camp 5 spent their week immersed in edible education. They spent time at Greenfield Village’s working farms learning how food is grown and prepared and they got to experience our newest building, the Detroit Central Market, firsthand as they explored how food is sold and distributed.

The Growers in Camp 5 learned how to make pickles, applesauce and soybean lip balm, then created slogans, advertisements and labels for their products and “sold” them to their families during the Closing Camp Celebration each Friday.

It was an awesome summer filled with lots of laughs, unique experiences and amazing memories that will last a lifetime. We’re already looking forward to planning a fun-filled summer camp experience for next year’s campers!

Custom Professional Development

On August 17, the Learning & Engagement team hosted 29 administrators from Grosse Pointe Public Schools for a custom workshop about the connections between deep learning and innovation. The workshop included a tour of the museum, a group discussion, and a hands-on activity.

Our team believes that professional development shouldn’t be one-size-fits-all. That’s why we offer the opportunity for custom virtual, onsite or hybrid experiences (for groups of 5 or more educators) that make relevant connections between your teaching needs and stories of innovation from The Henry Ford’s collections. If you are an educator and would like to explore the possibility of a custom workshop with The Henry Ford’s inHub, please fill out a request form.

Invention Convention Globals, presented by Pratt & Whitney

On August 26, 174 young inventors from participating Invention Convention national programs in the United States, Mexico, Singapore and China were honored during the second annual Invention Convention Globals Awards Ceremony, presented by Pratt & Whitney. The virtual celebration was hosted by inventor and Senior Director of Product Design & Development at Hasbro, Gray Bright, with special keynote speaker Kavita Shukla, founder and CEO of FRESHGLOW and inventor of the FreshPaper.

Invention Convention Globals participation consists of select student inventors from Invention Convention affiliates across the globe. To participate, students were required to submit a video presentation of their invention, a prototype, an inventor’s logbook showing the journey of their invention process and a display board highlighting key points of the invention process.

Rachel S. of Connecticut Invention Convention won the Best in Show, Most Innovative Award, presented by Pratt & Whitney for her invention, the Remember It Bracelet! Learn more about her invention here!

We are so proud of all of the young inventors who participated this year and we can’t wait to see what they invent next! Check out the full winner’s list here and to see what Globals participants experienced this year, check out this recap video.

Invent it Forward Summit

Invention Convention Worldwide hosted its annual Invent It Forward Summit at The Henry Ford September 19-21. This three-day event, hosted by The Lemelson Foundation, consisted of learning, community building and best practice sharing among 14 affiliates who joined us in person and even more affiliates who were able to engage in hybrid learning sessions.

This year’s theme was "Building Back and Scaling Up", and featured our kickoff speaker David Coronado, Senior Program Officer from The Lemelson Foundation. We were also thrilled to have Dr. Calvin Mackie—award-winning mentor, inventor, author, former engineering professor, internationally renowned speaker, successful entrepreneur and founder of STEM NOLA—as our keynote speaker. We were all amazed by the talk Dr. Mackie gave and it was truly a spectacular way to begin our time together.

Throughout the week our entire team, along with special guests, contributed their knowledge and expertise to lead discussions on a number of topics to help our affiliates get ready for the new program year. They also participated in special tours and fun activities together and the connections and conversations made were priceless. This was such a wonderful way to kick off our 2022-23 year, a great way to assist our affiliates to grow our impact with Invention Convention and ultimately making our programs stronger, more resilient, and more sustainable for the future.

(Top) We were thrilled to have so many affiliates from across the country join us in person for the Invent It Forward Summit. (Bottom) It was a great three days for networking, connecting and learning from one another to get energized for the 2022-23 program year.

This summer went by quickly, but we are so excited for what this school year has in store for all of our educators. Stay in-the-know on upcoming events, new resources and all things inHub by subscribing to our newsletter! If you’d like to connect and share innovative ideas about teaching and learning with other educators and inHub staff members, join our inHub Educator Connects group on Facebook. And as always, you can enjoy our curricula and learning resources with a free inHub membership.  Join today!