Thinking Beyond Outside the Box & Creating a Generation of Innovators
As you know, I am PASSIONATE about creativity and allowing my children to explore and discover, to think, ponder and make. My kids love nothing better than rummaging through our recycling box and making and creating the impossible. Oh how often I have thought “that will never work” and then somehow it did.
Thinking the impossible. Having a go. Experiment.
These are SUCH important skills and essential requirements for our societies future and technological development.
- If you had told YOUNG ME, 30 years ago, that I would be buying my food shopping on a computer, I wouldn’t have believed you!
- If you had told YOUNG ME 20 years ago, that you could make me see better using laser, I wouldn’t have believed you!
- If you had told YOUNG(ER) ME 10 years ago, that a plane would fly on solar power alone, I wouldn’t have believed you.
- If you had told YOUNG(ISH) ME, just 5yrs ago, that I would be filming, editing uploading, good quality craft videos to youtube via a relatively (!) affordable hand held device, I wouldn’t have believed you!
In fact, I would have laughed at you and said “don’t waste your time, that will never happen”. And yet technology and innovations have been developing at a staggering pace. What seemed impossible all those years ago, is old news today.
And that is because scientists BELIEVED in themselves. They didn’t just “think outside the box” for new solutions, they went WAY BEYOND “the outside of the box”. They continued to developed, innovate, create way beyond what people ever thought possible.. in fact, they made what used to be “science fiction” reality. (Here is a great article on some examples of Science Fiction Predictions that are now reality)
We, as parents are in a unique position to create the thinkers and innovators of the future. We have a responsibility to help our children expand their minds. To help them see that the impossible, IS possible. We need to let our children tinker, explore and experiment. We need to let them believe, that anything is possible.
So as a parent, I task you to:
- Let your children explore – and I mean explore EVERYTHING – from your junk box, to the bugs in the back garden, to playing with water. Let them explore how this work and fit together (and how they don’t)
- Never ever say to your children “that’s impossible” or “that is crazy”, but say “how do you think we could do that” – and let them explain
- Take them to the science museum (I love the section about aviation history in our science museum and how “ridiculous early aviators looked and possibly felt” and look at what we have now thanks to those early innovators)
- Let them dream and imagine – play “what if” games with them… and let their minds wander. Get your kids to think BIG and get them to think TINY.
Here are some great websites to help you on your journey:
- The Artful Parent (creativity)
- Tinkerlab (tinkering – well of course)
- Science Sparks (simple science for kids)
Let’s create the next generation of innovators, and WHO KNOWS what our world will look like in another 30yrs time (I simply can’t imagine it, but I know my kids can!!!).