Invention Kitchen – the beginnings of iCreate

People have often asked me "why did you start iCreate" or "how did you get this idea?" or "you're not a teacher, you're an engineer, where's the connection?"  To be honest, I can answer all of those questions with 2 words: Invention Kitchen

The picture to the left is a scaled model of "Invention Kitchen" — a brainstorm of myself and fellow engineer Lindsay Shanholt (who also designed the current iCreate site) when we were undergraduate students….Inspired by a presentation we saw at a SWE (Society for Women in Engineering) conference to participate in a Disney Imagineering Design Competition.  

We ended up winning the competition, after conceptualizing and presenting our brainstorm of a new type of restaurant experience at DisneyLand, and I went on to work as an Imagineer shortly thereafter.  But the real connection to iCreate is this:

I have a vision of all students having the creativity, problem solving skills, confidence, and passion to conceptualize an idea they have — as it will lead to paths that they never would imagine, as they become the innovators of our future.  To get to that vision we are starting small, providing opportunities for students to openly express their ideas and be creative.

Written by Melissa.