Innovation Challenge and Showcase
Welcome back, brilliant innovators! 🚀
Today, we’re gearing up for the ultimate showcase of your creativity and ingenuity: the Innovation Tank! This is your chance to shine and present the amazing animal-inspired STEM projects you’ve been working on.
Before we dive into your pitches, let’s take some time to revisit and supercharge the incredible creations you’ve already brought to life this workshop!
Revisit & Refine Your Creations! 🛠️✨
Remember all the cool things you built and discovered? This is your opportunity to make them even better, bolder, and more innovative.
- Bioluminescent & Magnetoreceptor Slime: Did you discover new ways to make it glow brighter or respond more strongly to magnets? Could you imagine this slime being used in a real-world application for animals?
- Animal Prosthetics: How could you improve the design for a specific animal? What new materials or features would make it more functional or comfortable for the animal?
- Animal Dream Home Design: Are there any new features you’d add to make it more sustainable, more enriching for the animal, or better suited to its natural habitat?
- Animal Inspired Scribble Bots: Can you refine its movement to mimic a particular animal’s gait? How could you make its “animal features” more functional or expressive?
- AI and the Environment (Teachable Machine): Can you train your model with more diverse images? Could you think of a new animal identification challenge or environmental monitoring task for AI?
- Strawberry DNA Discovery Lab: What if you thought about how DNA extraction is used in real-world animal conservation or research? Could you brainstorm other animal-related applications for DNA technology?
- Animal Sounds & Echolocation (Micro:bit): Can you refine the code to create more complex animal sounds or echolocation patterns? Could you imagine a way this could help animals in their environment?
Your Task Now:
- Choose one (or more!) of your past projects.
- Think about it:
- What did you love about it?
- What challenges did you face?
- What could make it even better, cooler, or more effective?
- Do you have any new ideas for it, especially inspired by the “Live Zoo to You Day” or other activities?
- Tinker Time! Spend some time rebuilding, redesigning, or improving your chosen project. Maybe you want to make your animal prosthetic more adaptable, add a new “habitat zone” to your dream home, or refine your Scribble Bot’s animalistic movements.
This is your chance to explore further, apply new insights from our animal explorations, and add a fresh twist to your original creation!
Materials for Revisit & Refine:
- All the original materials used for the projects you want to revisit (e.g., slime ingredients, craft supplies, Micro:bits, motors, batteries, AI models, DNA extraction materials).
- Your previous notes or designs.
- Extra crafting supplies (tape, glue, scissors, markers, decorative elements).
Once you’ve had a chance to enhance your creations, we’ll move on to preparing your pitch for the…
Innovation Tank: Pitch Your STEM Creation!
Now that you’ve refined your work, you’re even more prepared to showcase it! You’ll develop a compelling pitch for one of your animal-inspired STEM projects (it could be the one you just worked on, or any other from our list). Think like an entrepreneur or an inventor trying to get support for your idea, especially for its benefit to animals or the environment.
What’s Your Big Idea? 💡
First, confirm which ONE project from our past sessions you will pitch:
- Bioluminescent & Magnetoreceptor Slime
- Animal Prosthetics
- Animal Dream Home Design
- Animal Inspired Scribble Bots
- AI and the Environment (Teachable Machine)
- Strawberry DNA Discovery
- Animal Sounds & Echolocation (Micro:bit)
Crafting Your Pitch 🎤
Think about how to present your chosen project in an exciting and persuasive way. Here’s a guide to help you structure your pitch (aim for a 3-5 minute presentation):
The “Hook” (30 seconds):
- What is your project? Clearly and briefly introduce it.
- What problem does it solve or what cool thing does it do? Grab our attention!
The “Wow” Factor (1-2 minutes):
- Show and Tell: Demonstrate your project!
- How does it work? Explain the science or technology. What did you discover, create, or improve?
- What makes it unique or innovative? What’s special about your design, approach, or recent refinements?
The “So What?” (1 minute):
- Why is it important or interesting?
- Who would benefit from this or be interested in it?
- What are its potential real-world applications or future possibilities?
The “Closing” (30 seconds):
- Summarize your main point.
- End with a strong statement that leaves us impressed!
Presentation Pointers ✨
- Be enthusiastic!
- Speak clearly.
- Use visuals (your project is the star!).
- Practice your pitch.
- Have fun!
Materials for Pitching:
- Your chosen (and possibly refined!) STEM project.
- Any notes or cue cards for your pitch.
- Optional: Poster board, markers, or other simple visual aids if you want to create them during your refinement time.
Let’s get those creative gears turning, first with refining and then with pitching! We can’t wait to see what you come up with. 🌟
As of 2024, Scrub Daddy had the third highest revenue of any product successfully pitched on the ABC reality show Shark Tank.[8]
Use this scoring sheet as you listen to your classmates pitches:
🦈 STEM Shark Tank Student Scoring Sheet
Team Name: __________________________________
Product Name: ________________________________
| Category | Description | Score (1–5) |
|---|---|---|
| Innovation & Creativity | Is the idea original or does it creatively improve an existing product? | _____ |
| STEM Application | Did the team clearly use science, technology, engineering, or math in their design? | _____ |
| Problem Solving | Does the product solve a real-world problem or meet a need effectively? | _____ |
| Prototype or Visual | Did they present a model, drawing, or prototype? Is it clear and well thought out? | _____ |
| Presentation & Communication | Was the pitch clear, confident, and well-organized? Did they explain their idea well? | _____ |
| Teamwork | Did all members participate and contribute to the pitch? | _____ |
| Marketability | Could this product be successful in the real world? Would you invest in it? | _____ |
Total Score (out of 35): _______
💬 Comments for the Team
What did you like most about this project?
What is one suggestion you have for improvement?
Post your product on the Padlet below:
