Page 77 - IFIA . Magazine No.6

IFIA Celebrates Kid

Inventors' Day

on 17 January

What do you think Television, Water skis, Earmuffs, Popsicle, Trampoline, and Braille have
in common?
All have been invented by Kids!

Annually 500,000 children and teens invent gadgets and games which help to make our
lives easier and more fun!

So, we are required to acknowledge the past and present accomplishments of kid inven-
tors while encouraging the creativity of future kid inventors.

January 17th, the birth anniversary of Benjamin Franklin, who invented the first swim
flippers almost 300 years ago at age 12, is celebrated as Kid Inventors Day all around the
world.

When Franklin was just 12 years old, he invented the world’s first swim flippers, making
him a great role model for every child who dreams of making something nobody has ever
seen before. Over the centuries, other children have invented many other things we con-
tinue to use today, such as popsicles (a very tasty accident!), the trampoline and ear muffs.

Perhaps one of the most impressive things invented by a child is the language of the blind
now used the world over, Braille. Louis Braille, its inventor, lost his vision in a tragic acci-
dent at age 3 and spent his early teen years developing his new language while studying
at The National Institute for Blind Youth in Paris.

Almost 200 years later, American teen Ryan Patterson also improved the lives of the dis-
abled when he invented a glove with special sensors that translate the hand motions of
American Sign Language into written words on a digital display.

IFIA expects all of the member associations to assist children in the realization of their
inborn creative talents by organizing related workshops, hosting kid-specific invention
contests alongside the international events, starting a Young Inventors’ Club or designing
kid inventor’s journals.

IFIA Magazine March 2018 75 76 IFIA Magazine March 2018