The true story of how Momofuko Ando was inspired to create one of the world’s most popular foods after seeing long lines of hungry people waiting for a simple bowl of ramen following World War II. He dreamed about making a new kind of ramen noodle soup that was quick, convenient, and tasty for the hungry people because he believed that peace follows from a hungry stomach. With persistence, creativity, and a little inspiration, Ando succeeded. The resource includes a lesson plan/book card, a design challenge, and copy of a design thinking journal that provide guidance on using the book to inspire students' curiosity for design thinking. Maker Challenge: Develop a food product (a new food, tool, or invention, et al) to help increase access to food in your community.

Tells the story of how the Slinky, the most popular toy in American history, was invented. The resource includes a lesson plan/book card, a design challenge, and copy of a design thinking journal that provide guidance on using the book to inspire students' curiosity for design thinking. Maker Challenge: Develop a commercial about the Slinky.

A document is included in the resources folder that lists the complete standards-alignment for this book activity.

A young girl has a wonderful idea to make the most MAGNIFICENT thing! But making her magnificent thing is anything but easy, and the girl repeatedly tries and fails. Eventually, she quits, but a walk with her dog and time to think, she comes back to her project with renewed enthusiasm and manages to get it just right. The resource includes a lesson plan/book card, a design challenge, and copy of a design thinking journal that provide guidance on using the book to inspire students' curiosity for design thinking. Maker Challenge: Create small groups. Pass out one of the challenges listed in the lesson plan/book card to each group for them to come up with an invention that will solve the problem at hand.

A document is included in the resources folder that lists the complete standards-alignment for this book activity.

Isatou Ceesay observed a growing problem in her community where people increasingly disposed of unwanted plastic bags, which accumulated into ugly heaps of trash. She found a way to be the agent of change by recycling the bags and transforming her community. The resource includes a lesson plan/book card, a design challenge, and copy of a design thinking journal that provide guidance on using the book to inspire students' curiosity for design thinking. Maker Challenge: Use plastic bags to develop a new product (i.e. jump rope).

A document is included in the resources folder that lists the complete standards-alignment for this book activity.

With encouragement and ideas from his family, Papa, based on the real-life inventor Lodner Phillips, builds a working submarine that takes his family on a ride to the bottom of Lake Michigan. The resource includes a lesson plan/book card, a design challenge, and copy of a design thinking journal that provide guidance on using the book to inspire students' curiosity for design thinking. Maker Challenge: Students will use materials on hand to design a solution to a problem they see in their school or at home. The invention should meet the needs of fellow students, teachers, bus drivers, principals, siblings, friends, or even parents.

A document is included in the resources folder that lists the complete standards-alignment for this book activity.

During the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, we all made sacrifices to slow the spread of the virus and to flatten the curve of infections.The curve itself appears in the susceptible-infected-recovered (SIR) model – a simple epidemiological model that explains some of the basic dynamics of infectious disease. Curve-flattening effects of mitigation measures such as social distancing, mask wearing, and hand washing can be seen in the dynamics of the SIR model as can the phenomenon of herd-immunity.In this activity, students are encouraged to derive the SIR model from scratch and to explore dynamical features of the model such as curve flattening and herd immunity.These resources were created by Dr. Robert Kipka of Lake Superior State University. They are intended for high school students and teachers. Calculus or familiarity with families of functions such as logarithms is not required. However, in spite of the relatively modest mathematical background called for, this activity may be challenging.It may help to complete the Three Weeks in March activity before beginning.

New York City in the 1860s was a mess: crowded, disgusting, filled with garbage. You see, way back in 1860, there were no subways, just cobblestone streets. That is, until Alfred Ely Beach had the idea for a fan-powered train that would travel underground. On February 26, 1870, after fifty-eight days of drilling and painting and plastering, Beach unveiled his masterpiece—and throngs of visitors took turns swooshing down the track. The resource includes a lesson plan/book card, a design challenge, and copy of a design thinking journal that provide guidance on using the book to inspire students' curiosity for design thinking. Maker Challenge: Think about the way most people in your community travel. Invent a new way of traveling around your community that takes into account the following: helpful to the community, economical to those who use it, convenient for users. What would your new travel system look like? Sketch a new design, and then create a physical prototype of the new design to scale. Keep in mind: Where the system travels, how it is powered, why it is helpful to the community, and any features that make it special.

A document is included in the resources folder that lists the complete standards-alignment for this book activity.

Sarah E. Goode was one of the first African-American women to get a US patent. Working in her furniture store, she recognized a need for a multi-use bed and through hard work, ingenuity, and determination, invented her unique cupboard bed. She built more than a piece of furniture. She built a life far away from slavery, a life where her sweet dreams could come true. The resource includes a lesson plan/book card, a design challenge, and copy of a design thinking journal that provide guidance on using the book to inspire students' curiosity for design thinking. Maker Challenge: Your school has had an influx of new students and every class seems to be bursting at the seams! You have an additional 10 students just in your classroom alone. Because of this limited space, your school is looking for solutions. They decided that every student is going to get a new desk and chair, but it’s going to be PORTABLE. That way, you can take your desk & chair with you wherever you might go.

A document is included in the resources folder that lists the complete standards-alignment for this book activity.

Three Weeks in March is a data-driven approach to modeling the spread of coronavirus cases in the United States.In this activity, students will use a difference equation to model day-to-day changes in the known cases of coronavirus within U.S. borders, as reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, during the first three weeks of March, 2020. The solution to this difference equation is an exponential model. The activity can serve as an introduction to exponential models.The main goals of this activity are to:Learn the idea of difference equation;Model exponential growth using a difference equation;Simulate exponential growth and estimate a parameter value using software.These resources were created by Dr. Rob Kipka of Lake Superior State University.

At a time when most African Americans were slaves, Benjamin Banneker was born free in 1731. Known and admired for his work in science, mathematics, and astronomy, he built a strike clock based on his own drawings and using a pocket-knife at the age of 22. The resource includes a lesson plan/book card, a design challenge, and copy of a design thinking journal that provide guidance on using the book to inspire students' curiosity for design thinking. Maker Challenge: Find a discarded object that can be taken apart. Take apart the item and make your own Things Come Apart arrangement.

A document is included in the resources folder that lists the complete standards-alignment for this book activity.

In order to show the world that the completed Brooklyn Bridge was strong enough, P.T. Barnum and his twenty-one elephants parade across to prove to everyone that the bridge is safe. The resource includes a lesson plan/book card, a design challenge, and copy of a design thinking journal that provide guidance on using the book to inspire students' curiosity for design thinking. Maker Challenge: Build a bridge between two tables or chairs that will hold one elephant per student in the class. Each student designs their own “elephant” using materials in the classroom.

A document is included in the resources folder that lists the complete standards-alignment for this book activity.

Lonnie Johnson tried to create a new cooling system for refrigerators and air conditioners, but instead created the mechanics for one of the top twenty toys of all time, the Super Soaker. From childhood to adulthood, Lonnie had a love for rockets, robots, inventions, and a mind for creativity. He was driven toward innovation through his persistence and passion for problem solving, tinkering, and building. These traits served him well as we went on to work for NASA as an engineer. The resource includes a lesson plan/book card, a design challenge, and copy of a design thinking journal that provide guidance on using the book to inspire students' curiosity for design thinking. Maker Challenge: Students will use materials on hand to invent and design a new toy or game.

A document is included in the resources folder that lists the complete standards-alignment for this book activity.

Emma Lilian Todd was a self-taught engineer who tackled one of the greatest challenges of the early 1900s: designing an airplane. As an adult, typing up patents at the U.S. Patent Office, Lilian built inventions in her mind, including many designs for flying machines. However, they all seemed too impractical. Lilian knew she could design one that worked. She took inspiration from both nature and her many failures, driving herself to perfect the design that would eventually successfully fly. The resource includes a lesson plan/book card, a design challenge, and copy of a design thinking journal that provide guidance on using the book to inspire students' curiosity for design thinking. Maker Challenge: Design a new mode of transportation (air, sea, or ground) or select a current mode of transportation and improve it then use household items to create a prototype of your new or updated invention.

A document is included in the resources folder that lists the complete standards-alignment for this book activity.

Zaha Hadid grew up in Baghdad, Iraq, and dreamed of designing her own cities. After studying architecture in London, she opened her own studio and started designing buildings. But as a Muslim woman, Hadid faced many obstacles. Determined to succeed, she worked hard for many years, and achieved her goals—and now you can see the buildings Hadid has designed all over the world. The resource includes a lesson plan/book card, a design challenge, and copy of a design thinking journal that provide guidance on using the book to inspire students' curiosity for design thinking. Maker Challenge: Identify an area in your school that is very traditional. Redesign it to better fit the needs of the end-users. Then sketch out a new design, and then create a physical prototype of the new design to scale.

A document is included in the resources folder that lists the complete standards-alignment for this book activity.