The perfect place for young inventors: an insider’s view of this June’s NICEE (National Invention Convention Entrepreneur Expo) event.
If you're looking for something to motivate young students to imagine, design, and innovate, you should know about the STEMIE (STEM + invention + entrepreneurship ) Coalition. Initially founded to “elevate K-12 invention and entrepreneurship education to a national level”, this organization brings over 600 concurrently operating K-12 youth invention and entrepreneurship programs across the U.S. under one hood.
This year's NICEE event was held at the esteemed mecca of American innovation, the Henry Ford Museum where over 500 inventors from over x states showcased their invention prototypes to the likes of United Technologies, McGraw-Hill, and Stanley Black and Decker.
photo taken from the Henry Ford Museum Website
Inventions ranged from innovative pet grooming systems to life-saving bullet proof wall systems for schools. Most inventors are associated with schools but luckily for us, the STEMIE Coalition has an independent inventor track, making the program accessible to all young inventors.
As a company with an already developed product with 8 months of sales to over 30 educational programs, we were not sure if this event would right for our product. But in fact, it was the perfect venue. We had a unique opportunity to share our product with our peers, learning about their passions and inspiration along with their pathway for future success. We also had the opportunity to share our experiences with the challenges and rewards of bringing a prototype to production and marketing.
We also had the chance to get our product in front of eyes of major sponsoring corporations, an opportunity that may well lead to collaborations in the near future.
The Henry Ford Museum was the perfect venue for inspiring young inventors to forge forward with their creations. Student projects were displayed to the public throughout the museum amongst some of the greatest innovations in American history.
3Dux/design was thrilled be awarded “The Best Educational Product” by McGraw-Hill and the STEMIE-hosted specialty award for “Best Art and Creativity” product. We also had the opportunity to meet and chat with representatives from Pratt & Whitney, United Technologies, Stanley Black and Decker, and Koch Industries to name a few.
