Change Your Game - Create Some Sports Gear

Welcome to the Change Your Game / Spark!Lab digital activity space. In this space you are the inventor who exercises your inventive creativity though sports focused invention challenges.

Create some sports gear with virtual materials. Using Tinkercad, you can delete, reshape, duplicate and create new parts.

Free Tinkercad account

Your Inventive creativity

"CYG Create Some Sports Gear" mannequin from Spark!Lab's Tinkercad designs

Invention is a Process

There are just two things to keep in mind as you create you sports gear::

1. The invention process is not always linear, but inventors engage in these steps in some form or another.

"Think it" : Have a great idea for an invention.

"Explore it": Investigate inventions and ideas of the past.

"Sketch it": Draw pictures and diagrams to figure out how your invention might work.

"Create It": Build a prototype or model of your idea.

"Try It": Test your invention.

"Tweak It": Keep improving your idea.

"Share It": Get your idea out there for others to see, use or purchase.

2. Everyone is inventive- and we do mean everyone! Today, you get to put your creative problem solving to action as you express your inventive identity. By tapping into your inventive ability, you make it possible to have an impact. You make it possible to change your game. 

The first step of the invention process is to "think it." This involves identifying a problem you would like to solve, or imagining something you plan to create.

To get started you can ask yourself, "What will my idea do? What problem does it solve? How will my idea improve what currently exists?

Here are some things you may want to think about when designing your sports gear.

Are you creating protective gear or playing gear? Will your sports gear be for an existing sport, or a new sport that you have made up? Who will use it? How will your idea be new and different?

The next step of the invention process is to "explore it.” Inventors ask: “How have inventors created solutions in the past?” and then conduct research to learn more about the problem they would like to solve, or the idea they would like to create. This is done to understand solutions that may already exist. They learn from what others have tried and make sure that their solutions are new or different.

Sports take on many forms. Some are individual some are team based. Some sports even involve a combination of athlete and machine. Regardless of the sport some sort of gear is usually needed. This gear may include protective equipment or any thing that is used to take part in the sport. There are endless possibilities for what may be needed.

Explore the links below as part of your inventive path:

Visit the Change Your Game webpage to learn more about sports and what motivates inventors, like you, to invent.

Explore how innovation has made sports more accessible to everyone.

Learn how an act of congress and the invention of the jog bra helped to empower women athletes.

See how science and engineering has affected winter sports.

Inventors use sketching as a way to organize their ideas.

Drawing an idea allows inventors to imagine what their invention might look like and how it will work. Try sketching out your inventive idea before building! Take some time to sketch your ideas, images, and thoughts about how a stadium should be designed.

You can sketch your ideas with paper and pencil our use any means of expression that is comfortable for you. Remember! Inventors rarely get it right on the first try. Whatever the method, you may need to undo and re-do your invention as you continue to think through how you want to solve the problem.

Click here to learn more about inventors' sketches in the Smithsonian Collection.

Now it is time to build a prototype of your invention idea. In this step, inventors get to see their idea turn into something real. Building a model can help you learn about any issues there are with their invention design. Your prototype will show the size, shape, and type of sports gear your inventing.

In what ways will you use these virtual materials to invent your sports gear? Will your idea focus on performance, the look of the gear, or both? What types of athletes would use your gear?

"As you create your design be sure to use the "Notes" feature in Tinkercad to describe the parts and features of your invention."

Click here to go to the Tinkercad site where you can begin designing your sports gear.

Once you have created your design, move on to the Try It step.

Now that you have created your 3D model, take some time to think about how your sports gear looks and how it would work.

• Does your gear focus on game play, protection, performance or design?
• What would your gear be made of?
• What season of the year is your gear best suited for?
• Who could use your sports gear?
• How could you make sure that your gear is usable for any athlete?
• What are some of the special features about your gear?
• How could you make your gear even better?
• Are the colors of your gear part of your design?
• How could you make your gear affordable?

Share your 3D model and ideas with others. Ask them for their input about your design.

• What did they like best about your design?
• What did they think needed improving?
• What new ideas did you get by sharing your idea with them?

Now that you’ve created your sports gear, thought about how it would work, and shared your idea with others, it’s time to tweak your inventive ideas! Now is the time to ask yourself, "What changes can I make to improve my sports gear?”

Inventors typically don't succeed with an invention on the first try. Inventors make changes to their designs and prototypes to make them work better. Usually, they tweak their ideas many times before they are finished. Once tweaks are made, inventors test their inventions again. It can take many tries to make your ideas work or look the way you imagined they would.

Go back to your design in Tinkercad and tweak it so that it best fits your inventive ideas, meets the needs you hoped it would meet, and has a look you are pleased with.

Sharing your idea is not only about putting it up for sale. Sharing an idea often happens when you present your idea to others after you have made your final tweaks.

Tell us about your invention on social media!

• Who will use your invention?
• What makes your invention unique?
• How does your invention work?

Share your ideas with us on Instagram or Facebook @lemelsoncenter.