Empowering the Next Generation on World IP Day

Celebrated on April 26, World Intellectual Property Day was established by the World Intellectual Property Organization to acknowledge world-changing creators and encourage us all to examine how intellectual property has shaped our world. This year’s theme is “Building Our Common Future With Innovation and Creativity.”

While the concept of intellectual property, or IP, might seem challenging to grasp, there are many opportunities for children and young learners to discover how their unique thoughts have value. When kids learn how IP can help support their goals, they build the self-assurance to turn their ideas into reality and make a difference in the world.

Transforming How Students Explore IP

At the National Inventors Hall of Fame^®, part of our mission is to promote creativity, and advance the spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship. One of the most powerful ways we achieve this is through our nationally acclaimed education programs, which are infused with hands-on STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) concepts, real-world lessons in IP and valuable stories from Our Nation’s Greatest Innovators^™, our Hall of Fame Inductees.

Through interactive challenges and high-energy collaboration, students in our programs use creative problem solving to design and construct their own inventions. They customize and brand their creations, and learn about how real-life patents protect innovators and their novel discoveries. As students gain an understanding of how to protect their one-of-a-kind designs, they grow into confident, capable creators.

In this summer’s brand-new Camp Invention^® program, Illuminate, campers will experience IP in action through four all-new experiences. Campers will:

• Design a light-up game board complete with a custom name and branding
   
• Construct a Glow Box, adding one-of-a-kind visual effects through shadows and color mixing
   
• Personalize a mobile Lab-on-Wheels, earning certification stickers
   
• Prototype unique inventions made from their big ideas and learn how to protect them with IP

While there are many ways to teach children about the value of IP, Camp Invention provides an unmatched opportunity to explore such concepts through immersive experiences and exciting challenges that make learning fun. While students take pride in their creations, they’re simultaneously uncovering the importance of building their innovative identity and protecting their rights as creators.

Discover More

Explore more aspects and examples of IP here, or visit our website to learn more and register for this summer’s all-new Camp Invention!