Why Teaching Innovation to Kids is Important

With Our Senior Industrial Designer, Magnus Sköld

At MAKO Design + Invent, we put a lot of time into educating our clients on the world of product design and development so they comprehensively understand each stage their invention idea will go through while collaborating with us. However, this represents only a segment of the efforts we expend on teaching about innovation, product design, and technology.

One of our core values is educating other design enthusiasts, creative communities and, most importantly, students and children! Within the design and innovation world, educating and teaching innovation, design, and technology is always encouraged. Ultimately, it is new and fresh, innovative minds that help make creative and innovative fields grow.

How MAKO Supports Teaching Innovation, Design and Technology

MAKO Design + Invent shows its support for educating youth on design and technology in multiple ways, such as our MAKO Ryerson Student Innovation Award and being a part of the popular invention show Make48, which enlists teams made up of youths across the United States to participate in invention a product and presenting it to a jury of judges.

Needless to say, education is direly important to MAKO Design, and we believe that educating and keeping younger generations passionate about what makes the world around them work will help the future of product design, development, and growth.

See and learn about MAKO Design + Invent on the newest season of Make48 here!

Why Leading by Example is Important for Teaching Innovation, Design and Tech

One of the ways that MAKO believes that design, tech, and innovation can be best taught is to lead by example. This means that by performing our best and demonstrating our most high-quality skills and expertise in the design field, we hope to inspire those around us.

For example, one of the ways that we lead and teach by example is by taking part in having our designers and engineers give back by meeting and educating the creative community.

For example, our Austin office took part in Austin Design Week to meet members of the creative community interested in the design and product development field! As such, our designers and engineers were able to share their knowledge, expertise, and passion for design with others and share their experiences in product design with others.

This was not only an enjoyable experience for the MAKO team in Austin but also a great opportunity to share our designer’s years of expertise within the design field with others and help encourage the passion for design and tech within the creative community.

Want to learn more about MAKO Design + Invent at Austin Design Week? Check out our recap blog here!

The Future of Design and Tech

A large reason why educating and sharing the passion for product design and tech is especially important for MAKO Design + Invent is because we understand the value that the younger generations bring to the field of design. No segment of an industry can grow and thrive in innovation without fresh, creative minds to help drive the development of newer inventions, ideas, and designs.

The field of tech and design is widely known for being an extremely fast-paced and ever-growing field that thrives on progressiveness. For this reason, we need newer minds to help push forward what was once known as the “old” within the design and tech field to bring us bigger and more innovative inventions and ideas in the design realm.

Our Senior Industrial Designer Teaching Elementary School Students

As we are super passionate about sharing our love for design and tech with different communities and others, we are always looking for opportunities to help educate the youth about everything design and tech-related. Recently, our Senior Industrial Designer, Magnus Sköld, visited a local elementary school in Austin, Texas, to teach a fifth-grade class about 3D printers and 3D printed technology!

As 3D printers are a new technology that is just becoming more readily available to the public, it is more likely to be seen and used as a university center and design hubs like MAKO Design + Invent! With how expensive it is to own 3D printers, it is rare to see one within grade-level school. Not a lot of people are familiar with how to use 3D printers!

That is why Magnus decided to bring over a 3D printer to help the show and teach the fifth graders all about the technology and steps that go into making a 3D printed product and how it’s done.

Magnus had a great time presenting to the class and was happy to see that the kids had a lot of questions and were excited to see and learn how 3D printing worked. As a prize for the kids, Magnus printed out some small and cute baby Yoda’s to hand out to the class and to whoever asked as many ambitious questions as possible about 3D printing!

If you have a great invention idea and you’d like to learn more about this process, get in touch with MAKO today, and we can set you up on a call with our product strategist!

About: MAKO Design + Invent is the original firm providing world-class consumer product development services tailored to startups, small manufacturers, and inventors. Simply put, we are the leading one-stop-shop for developing your physical product from idea to store shelves, all in a high-quality, cost-effective, and timely manner. We operate as one powerhouse 30-person product design team spread across 4 offices to serve you (Austin, Miami, San Francisco, & Toronto). We have full-stack in-house industrial design, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, patent referral, prototyping, and manufacturing services. To assist our startup and inventor clients, in addition to above, we help with business strategy, product strategy, marketing, and sales/distribution for all consumer product categories. Also, our founder Kevin Mako hosts The Product Startup Podcast, the industry's leading hardware podcast. Check it out for tips, interviews, and best practices for hardware startups, inventors, and product developers. Click HERE to learn more about MAKO Design + Invent!