Step 1: Find Your Skill Level

Take one minute to draw an original alien on a blank piece of paper.  Try to make it as unique as you possibly can. After the minute is over, answer the next 3 questions about your drawing.

When you’ve finished your drawing, select the alien ship below then click the “Next” button to move onto the next questions.

How many human-like features does it have?  Mark all that apply.

How similar is your alien to something you have seen before in movies, books or toys?

What was the inspiration of your alien drawing?

Alright we’re all done with the alien questions.  You can send it on back to the mothership!

Next question:  How creative do you think you are?

How comfortable are you coming up with a new story?

These don’t have to be stories you are writing.  This can just be stories you come up with in your head or make believe when you play with your friends.

In what areas in life are you able to create original ideas, stories, or works of art?  Mark all that apply.

In what areas do you read books, watch videos, or take classes for fun?  Mark all that apply. *Please note that fictional books, movies or classes do not count as they are for entertainment and not to increase your knowledge.

When you are playing and you find something new or something you don’t understand, what do you do?

Please rate your desire to learn or try new things.

Sometimes we don’t realize that we are “learning”. Learning could include taking local and online classes, watching how-to youtube videos, following social media accounts that put out mostly educational content, or listening to educational podcasts (Wow in the World, Smash Boom Best, Science Vs, But Why, etc).

What is the first thing you do when you have a new idea?

When you are attempting to fix your computer that keeps crashing and turning off, how often do you check to see if you have fixed the problem?

Jim has an idea for a new invention.  His idea is to create a robot that will brush his teeth, freeing up his hands to comb his hair while his teeth are being brushed.  What should he do with his idea? Write down the next steps you would take with your idea.

When you’ve written down all your ideas, select the robot below and click the “Next” button to move onto the next question.

Based on your answers to the previous question about Jim’s new idea, mark all the answers you included on you sheet of paper.

You are growing a garden but have noticed that your plants are not growing as tall as expected.  And once it is time to pick the vegetables, you notice that they are smaller than normal. You want to figure out what happened so you can have a better garden next year.  On a separate piece of paper, design an experiment to find out what is wrong and how to have a better crop next year.

Which of the below answers were part of your garden experiment.  Mark all that apply.

You wake up one morning and find that the television will not turn on.  What would YOUR process be to find out what is wrong?  On a blank piece of paper write down ALL steps that you would complete before calling a professional.

Look at the answers you wrote down on a piece of paper and mark all that YOU included:

Maria is attempting to fix her Xbox.  Below are the steps she took in attempting to fix the problem.  She was not able to find the problem and ended up using her Xbox as a target for her potato gun.

• She checked to see if it was plugged in to the wall:  It was
• She checked the chord to make sure it was not damaged
• She opened up the unit and could not find any broken or burned up parts

What mistakes did Maria make when attempting to fix her Xbox?  Write down all the mistakes you can see before moving on to the next question.

Look at your answers for Maria’s mistake fixing her Xbox and mark all that you included in your answer.

You design the world’s first thingamajig.  It is a combination fork and hairbrush. You quickly build one and test it out.  It works fine but easily breaks while brushing thick hair. What is your next step?

You have a favorite drone.  It had a few problems but you were able to fly it anyway.  Now your sister played with the drone without asking, and you can’t get it to fly at all!  What is your first step to fixing the drone?