An inventor seeks to create a new product that addresses a specific need and fulfills a role that other products do not. Sometimes an inventor generates a wholly original idea, but oftentimes inventions are simply adaptations and improvements on an older design. With a little imagination and creativity, an old idea can suddenly become something new and innovative.

However, creating a new invention involves much more than generating a brilliant idea. A good designer follows the design process: identifying the challenge, researching and brainstorming ideas, designing a solution, testing and evaluating the ideas, and finally building the product. Designers also use science, math, technology, and engineering to design a tool that satisfies the need they identified.

Anyone can be an inventor — even kids! For example, Chester Greenwood was just fifteen years old when he invented a product that changed his life. In fact, his idea was so good that not only did the proceeds from his invention support him for the rest of his life, but manufacturing the product provided enough jobs to support an entire community of workers. You many not know his name, but you probably know his invention — earmuffs!

The inspiration for his earmuff design came to Chester when he was ice-skating. His ears were cold, and he decided to find a way to keep them warm. Using beaver fur, velvet, and wire, Chester (with the help of his grandmother) fashioned a prototype of a device to protect his ears. After some adjustments and improvements to the design, at the age of eighteen, Chester patented his earmuff design. He went on to patent many other inventions as well, but the story of how he invented earmuffs as a teenager is the best-known.

Many other famous inventors started young as well. Margaret Knight — the inventor of the flat-bottomed brown paper bag — is said to have created a safety device for textile looms when she was just twelve years old. Another example is Thomas Edison, one of the most prolific inventors in history, who applied for his first patent when he was just twenty-one years old. Over the course of his life, Thomas Edison patented a total of 1,093 inventions!

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