The fact is, improvised is what life is. We all do it daily; it’s the way of we humans if it hasn’t been tamped down by the various repressive forces we come in contact with in the course of living. It’s especially the way of kids as DeMilked recently affirmed in their wonderful compilation of inventions that kids came up with, like a rig that keeps a book from dropping in the tub, fueled by the clear pleasure in reading in the bath.
This lithe spontaneous tablet holder is a touchingly time-limited invention made for little legs perfectly sized to the device.
Our favorite was inspired by Mary Poppin’s kite: a balloon tied to a fishing pole, so you can let it fly and reel it in. (The rain did not stop him trying out his big idea.)
Where did the ideas start?
With imagining,
dreaming,
fantasizing
what they need or would like to have and then figuring out how to make them.
Designer/inventor/imagineer Dominic Wilcox asks children to think up their own inventive ideas and sketch them out. Then he helps them actually make their invention. His project has been so popular, it’s grown into Little Inventors, a non-profit that runs workshops, school programs and challenges, and features them on its website.
Instead of just putting the drawings on the fridge door as most adults do with a child’s drawings, why not push the ideas as far as they can go?
Taking the power of children’s imaginations seriously and see where it leads to…
Like…
A Family Scooter that lets a whole family ride together:
…a Phone Friend to allow wheelchair-bound people to talk more easily on public phones:
The (touching) Liftolator War Avoider, that lifts your house and the surrounding area above the dangerous fray…
We think grownups should take a cue from these wonderful inventions and Wilcox’s mandate:
Such an inspiration! I love this idea of seeing where imagination leads us, people should have more incentive to let imagination fly!