Inventor's Lab: Research

The hardest part of being an inventor is coming up with a good IDEA. If good ideas were easy to come by, everybody would have one, everything we need would exist already, and we'd live in a happy la-la-land with robot butlers and hot-and-cold running chocolate. But we don't. Because ideas are hard. But we're here to help.

Every inventor begins with RESEARCH. Figuring out what people need. Understanding how people have invented things before. Thinking about what kind of stuff you could make. That kind of thing.

Finish all four of these activities, and you'll end up with a complete, certified RESEARCH section for your INVENTOR'S NOTEBOOK. More important, you'll have the raw material for your idea. When you're done with your RESEARCH, it'll be time to BRAINSTORM.