Empowering the future, one adventure at a time.
Den of Inventions
Build it. Pitch it. Change the world.
Recommended for:
Brownies
Guides
Estimated Time:
60
Minutes
Materials:
Pens/Pencils
Scissors/Glue
Celebration:
International Day of Women and Girls in STEM
Activity Description
Den of Inventions is a hands-on STEM challenge where teams become inventors, engineers, and entrepreneurs. Using recycled and craft materials, teams must design, prototype, and pitch an original product that solves a real problem. Each team receives a design brief and target audience, develops their idea, then builds a working model before presenting it to the Dragons for investment.
Starter (optional)
While girls are arriving, invite them to complete the Women Inventors Warm-Up. Teams sort invention cards (on the left of the printables) into male inventors or female inventors to discover how many everyday items were invented by women.
How to Play
1. Introduce the challenge - Split into small teams and introduce the challenge: explain that today, the girls are becoming inventors.
2. Choose your challenge (optional) - Each team draws two cards: a problem card and a target audience. These define what they must design.
3. Idea Sprint - Firstly Teams have around 15mins to complete the Idea Sprint worksheet, defining the problem, features, materials, and sketching their design.
4. Prototype Build - Using Scrap Yard materials (recycling/craft supplies), teams have 15minutes to build a model of their invention following the build rules.
5. Pitch Prep - Teams prepare a short Dragons’ Den–style pitch (this could be a speech, advert, demo, or roleplay.)
6. The Den - Teams present their ideas to the Dragons (leaders), answer questions, and receive if successful earn investment tokens.
7. Celebrate Innovation - Award certificates to recognise standout ideas across multiple categories.
Looking for programme ideas?
-
Random Redesign (UMA 30)
-
Engineer your Future (UMA60)
-
Invent a Gadget (SB3C)
-
Fits like a Glove (SB6I)
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Plastic Fantastic (UMA60)
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I have an idea (SB2I)
Keeping the Adventure Alive
At Hummingbird HQ, the goal is to keep resources free, accessible and available to leaders nationwide after a challenging period for my own unit, when rising costs and uncertainty around meeting spaces made it clear how fragile access to guiding activities can be. That experience shaped a commitment to sharing resources openly so that more leaders can be supported without added cost or barriers. Every donation, big or small, helps keep Hummingbird HQ running and enables the creation and sharing of new, free resources with leaders everywhere.
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