Frequently Asked Questions

• Sites that works with grades 9-12+ students
• Sites outside of Cook, Dupage, McHenry, Lake, Kane, or Will counties in Illinois
• Independent inventors unaffiliated with a CSIC site
• Individual students who are working with a parent or in a homeschool setting unaffiliated with a CSIC site

• No, students cannot participate as individual/independent inventors.
• Students must participate through an approved CSIC site with a trained educator.
  The site can be a school, library, or youth center.
• Check to see if your school is participating by viewing the Current Program.
• Some CSIC sites are private (like a specific school), but many are public and accept participation from any interested student.
• See the Current Program to learn who is participating in CSIC this year and how you can get involved with a public site accepting all students.

• Free training in the NGSS-aligned curriculum, with access to the lesson plans, activities, rubrics, worksheets etc.
• Ongoing professional development opportunities
• One-on-one on-demand staff support
• Option to pair with an industry professional mentor to provide feedback on student projects
• Media exposure: student finalists have been featured on ABC, Fox, NBC, The New Yorker, The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, and WBBM Newsradio
• Suite of resources from community partners.
• Public celebration of invention at escalating events: the annual Chicago Student Invention Convention,  Invention Convention U.S. Nationals competition, and Invention Convention Globals (new in 2021)

• The program is free for all participating schools and students, thanks to our generous sponsors.
• Site registration and curriculum training is required.

• Once trained, the curriculum, activities, and partner resources are available for instructors to use with their students
• Educators will receive a materials list for optional materials needed to run activities; many will utilize on-hand materials already purchased for classrooms
• Students are encouraged to use recycled materials and other low-cost materials to implement the curriculum

• August-November: Educator Recruitment and Orientation
• November- Janurary: Mentor Recruitment and Orientation
• January-April: Curriculum Implementation with K-8 students at your site
• April or May: Chicago Student Invention Convention
• May or June: Invention Convention U.S. Nationals in Dearborn, MI

• The program is a free 10-week curriculum aligned with NGSS and Common Core, but designed to be flexible.
• Pacing guides and modifications are available to meet individual site needs (adapting to a library site versus in school class; adapting to a semester-long program versus a 2 week accelerated club, etc.)
• After being trained in our invention education curriculum, teachers are welcome to use the curriculum in whatever way works best for them. Only teachers can know their own staffing, budgets, interest, and students’ needs.
• Each may host a local, school-wide, or class-wide competition/open house to recognize all of the participating students. This local competition is optional. A set number of finalists from each school (whether chosen through a competition or hand-selected by the teacher) will then move on to compete at Chicago Student Invention Convention finals.

• The program is a free 10-week curriculum aligned with NGSS and Common Core, but designed to be flexible.
• Pacing guides and modifications are available to meet individual site needs
• This program has been effectively implemented as:

• • 10-week curriculum (most typical)
  • One month of invention
  • One or two weeks of invention
  • Invention Club that meets every week/weekend

• The program recruits educators from September through December. Once trained, an educator is welcome to begin implementing the program whenever they wish.
• However, the typical implementation start date is in January
• Implementation typically occurs between January through April
• The convention is typically held at the end of April or beginning of May
• Learn more by visiting the Current Program or Competition

• 10%-30% of participating students from each site will be able to compete at the regional finals
• Sites must submit their total number of projects to CSIC when requested. Finalist allotments will be distributed at that time.
• Each school is welcome to hold a local, school-wide, or class-wide Invention Convention competition/open house to recognize all of the participating students.
• A set number of finalists, based on that site’s allotment as determined by CSIC (10%-30% of total participants), will then move on to compete at Chicago Student Invention Convention finals.

• Yes! Simply register for an account, connect to one of our trainings (offered in person and online) and learn how your school can get involved.

• Each student determines the problem they solve against based on their own interests and life experiences, cultivating student buy-in and engagement from the start
• The students create an original solution in the form of a real-world, practical invention of their own design
• Students showcase their work to authentic audiences ranging from classroom mentors to a series of escalating public events and competitions.
• If you are running a program like NFTE, Science Fair, Robotics Club or other curriculum, your program can fit into the CSIC program. We provide a practical application and audience for your student’s ideas.
• If you’re building a robot already, why not think about how that robot can improve someone’s life and connect the robotics skills to ideas from your own problem-solving and interests?

The generous help of our sponsors and partners sustains and enriches our program. Contact Us to start the conversation!

• Sponsors support the program financially, and help us keep this program free of cost to participants. For more information about getting involved, refer to the Program Sponsors page. 
• Community partners provide opportunities for our students and teachers to help further our mission. For more information visit the Current Program page.