Sparklab - Design a 21st Century Farming Device

Welcome to Spark!Lab digital. This is an online invention space where you get to be the inventor. There are no wrong answers, and you can create an invention using the pieces provided — or create some pieces of your own. Think like an inventor: how does your design solve a problem?

Design a 21st Century Farming Device. Using Tinkercad, you can delete, reshape, and duplicate elements - and you can create new parts, too.

• Free Tinkercad account
• Inventive creativity
• "Design a 21st Century Farming Device" parts from the Tinkercad website

There are just two things to keep in mind as you create a 21st century farming device.

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

• Sell it: Market your invention to people who might buy it

2. We also know everyone is inventive — and we do mean everyone! Today, you become the inventor. You will try new ideas, take risks, and learn how to keep going when things don’t go as planned.

The first step of the invention process is to "think it," meaning to identify a problem you would like to solve and begin to imagine your solution.

What is the problem you are trying to solve?

What types of farming will your device be used for? How will your device be connected to 21st century technologies like the internet or other electronic devices? How will having your device "connected" make it work differently from other farming devices? What type of energy source will your invention use? Who will use your invention?

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

Humans have farmed and harvested food for thousands of years. Advances in farming technology, both low tech and high tech, continue to reshape farming. GPS, wireless technology and computers have become an everyday part of many farming operations. In 1996 John Deere released their first production GPS receiver named "green eggs and ham." Today farmers can use 5G wireless, drones, and self driving tractors to increase the production of their harvest.

Explore some resources that talk about the history and science of farming:

Click here to learn more about 21st century farming technology.

Click here to try an online farming challenge.

Click here to explore objects in the National Museum of American History's agriculture collection.

Watch this video that talks about "what happens when farming goes high tech."

Watch this video showing modern agricultural machines in action.

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 invention before building! Take some time to sketch your ideas, images, and thoughts about what you think a 21st century farming device might look like.

You can sketch your ideas with paper and pencil, or you can try using a digital format. Remember! Inventors rarely get it right on the first try. Whatever the method, you may need to erase and re-draw 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 three dimensional. Building a model can also help you learn about any issues there are with their invention design. Your prototype will show the design and unique features of your connected farming device.

How can you use these virtual materials to design a21st century farming device? How will your device make use of WIFI or other modern communication technologies? Who will use your invention? What will your invention do to improve how farmers work a farm?

"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 design a 21st century farming device.

Now that you have created your 3D model, take some time to imagine how people would use your connected harvesting device.

• What type or types of farms would use your invention?

• How does making your farming device more modern help the people who are using it?

• How do weather conditions like rain, heat, or snow affect your invention?

• Will your invention work by computer or will a person control it?

• What are some of the key features of your invention?

• What types of safety features are part of your farming device?

• Does your invention need to be connected all of the time to operate?

• What type of information (data) does your invention use, store. or transmit while it is in use?

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 21st century farming device, thought about how it will be used, and shared your idea with others, it’s time to tweak your invention! Now is the time to ask yourself, "What changes can I make to improve my invention?”

Inventors typically don't succeed with an invention on the first try. Inventors make changes to their prototypes to make them work better. Usually, they tweak their idea many times before it is finished. Once tweaks are made, inventors test their inventions again. It can take many tries to get it right.

Go back to your design in Tinkercad and tweak your invention, based on what you learned from the "Try It" step.

The final step of the invention process is to sell your idea. Selling your invention is not only about putting it up for sale. Selling an idea often happens when you share your idea with 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?

We want to hear from you!

Follow us on Instagram and Twitter at @si_invention or Facebook@lemelsoncenter and use the hashtag #sparklab on your posts.