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The Activity – Designing for a Fairy, Wizard, and Pirate

This activity is based off of the design game, The Extraordinaires by Hub Games

Program Leaders,

The people inventors design for are called end users. Your inventors will design a product for a character.

In the first round, your inventors will choose to solve a problem through inventing for either a fairy, pirate, or wizard. First, inventors will need to identify problems that their end user might experience.

Have your inventors think about the end users, where they live, and what problems they might face.

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Brainstorm these ideas:

  • What does your end user’s daily life look like? What do they do all day?
  • What problems would your end user have in their daily life?
  • What materials does your end user have around them to build?

After some thinking and brainstorming, have your inventors draw out their ideas.

Inventors should share out their ideas. Have peers give each other feedback and then ask the inventors to use the feedback to modify their drawings.

If you have time, there is a second round, with different end users! You can also do the second round on a different day.

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Possible Timeline for 60+ minute session

Review the activity – 5 minutes

Introduce the end users and the mission – 5 minutes

Brainstorm ideas – 15 minutes

Draw! – 20 minutes

Share out – 15 minutes

If you have more time, have your inventors use feedback from the discussion to modify their invention. In addition, there is a second round with new end users!

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Designing for �a Fairy…�a Wizard…�a Pirate!

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When inventing, you should know WHO will use your invention.

That’s your end user.

End users should test your invention, if possible.

Knowing your End User

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Here are your end user choices:

Your End User for Today

A wizard

A superhero

A fairy

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Choose One End User!

What does the end user’s daily life look like?

What problems would that end user have?

What materials does that end user have around them to build?

Think about where that end user lives.

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Usually an inventor interviews their end user to discover what they need.

What Will you Design?

You discover your end user wants you to choose one of their problems and solve it for them!

What can you design for your end user to solve one of their problems?

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Think about your design.

Draw out your idea.

Your Design

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Share your ideas with the group.

What materials would you use to build the invention for your end user?

Idea Share Out!

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Provide feedback to your peers. Help them improve upon their designs.

Think about the feedback you received.

Iterate your design – redraw your new and improved invention!

Iteration – Improving your Original Design!

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Choose a different end user:

ROUND 2: Who Will you Design for Now?

A vampire

A mermaid

An astronaut

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Choose One End User!

What does the end user’s daily life look like?

What problems would that end user have?

What materials does that end user have around them to build?

Think about where that end user lives.

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Usually an inventor interviews their end user to discover what they need.

What Will you Design?

You discover your end user wants you to choose one of their problems and solve it for them!

What can you design for your end user to solve one of their problems?

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Think about your design.

Draw out your idea.

Your Design

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Share your ideas with the group.

What materials would you use to build the invention for your end user?

Idea Share Out!

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Provide feedback to your peers. Help them improve upon their designs.

Think about the feedback you received.

Iterate your design – redraw your new and improved invention!

Iteration – Improving your Original Design!