FutureFixers has a constantly evolving portfolio of programs, many of which are customized to the needs of a particular group. If you are interested in learning more about any of these programs or would like to discuss how we can create one for you, please contact us.

Young Inventors' Program

Based on the Young Inventors' Program (YIP) developed by The Academy of Applied Science, this set of activities guides kids through the full invention process, including opportunity identification, solution brainstorming, model-building, and finally presenting the resulting inventions. In some cases, this can be in the form of an Invention Convention or other spotlight event. 

In general, this process takes place over 4-8 weeks, depending on how often the group meets. This rich, immersive experience develops kids' abilities to see and solve practical problems for which there is no "right" answer. Its duration helps build persistence, "grit," and a deeper understanding of the importance of methodical, yet creative, thinking.

Invention Adventures

Usually structured as a "case" that a crack team of FutureFixers needs to solve, these Adventures string together a series of challenges for kids to overcome. The program is designed for young people who like to invent new and interesting ways to solve tricky problems. Along with having a lot of fun, kids will develop their creative problem solving, deductive reasoning, and collaboration skills.

Adventures can take place in a single session lasting anywhere from 30 minutes to two hours, or they can be made to last several sessions with a more complex storyline and intertwining cases to solve.

STEAMpunks

Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math provide the STEAM, and a fun, irreverent, out-of-the-box attitude provides the "punk" in these programs. Taking its cues from the popular "steampunk" sub-culture (think Victorian-era meets high-tech), this set of activities generally focuses on creating contraptions using inventive thinking and repurposed objects. 

Single sessions, lasting an hour or two, generally have kids making Rube Goldberg devices or using a piece of "old" technology in new and different ways. Multi-session programs develop larger, more complex contraptions that reflect, among other things, an increased ability to combine different, and often opposite, ideas. This sort of "Janusian" thinking can help negotiate a world filled with conflicting demands.

Sustainable Solutions

Many innovators are motivated by the desire to create a better world, for themselves and their posterity. In Sustainable Solutions programs, kids are introduced to frameworks and toolkits that help them understand social and environmental challenges, identify opportunities to intervene, and design products and initiatives to that will have a positive impact. Whether helping people with mobility challenges reach distant objects or decreasing the environmental "footprint" of their favorite toys, kids learn how to use their ideas to make a difference.

Given the amount of material that is covered, Sustainable Solutions programs take at least 8 hours. This can be split up over the course of several days, weeks, or even months. That said, there are shorter "green" modules that can be done in 1-2 hours, as needed.