Hooray! Today is K.I.D. (Kid Inventors’ Day). What is it you ask? Well… Today is the day we celebrate all the kid inventions, inventors and innovators out there. But why today? More than 300 years ago a great inventor was born. Perhaps you have heard of him. His name was Benjamin Franklin, and at the age of 12, invented a popular swim toy – swim fins.
How can you celebrate this wonderful day? There’s lots of ways.
- You can read about any inventor – though the stories about kids who invent things are probably the best. Some inventions that kids came up with include, Television, Braille, Earmuffs, The Popsicle, Trampoline, Toy Truck and even the Snowmobile.
- You can write about one of these inventions – Pick your favorite one and write a few words about why you like it or how you could make it better.
- You can do a little research on one of these inventions – Lean what makes them tick, how they work. You may need your teacher or your parents to get you headed in the right direction.
- Create a kid inventors club – You and your friends may just come up with a great game or neat invention.
- Already have an idea? – Enter it! Find an invention competition and enter your idea.
Here is a little taste – to get you started.

In 1898 Frank P. Beal, of Michigan, created a backyard game at the age of 14 – called Paddle Tennis. He was searching for a way to play tennis in his backyard with his friends. Frank took the familiar game of tennis and changed a couple of things. First, he took the court and shrank it by half. Then, he took the tennis ball and replaced it with a spongy rubber ball and played his new game with a wooden racket.
The game has since evolved to what we know today, Platform Tennis. The court is an elevated wooden platform, often heated to keep the snow off, and surrounded by a fence. Get this… you can even play off the fence.
It is an inexpensive game that doesn’t require much equipment and it is easy to learn.
Want to learn more? Here are a couple of websites to get you started. www.bkfk.com and www.kidinventorsday.com