Researchers discover
The instinct to ask why goes further when it produces something new. Invention is where research stops being a paper and starts being a claim — an original artifact that adds to what the world already knows.
Original Work · Real Invention
For students who want to create something worth protecting.
The home for students where students, families, and educators come together around one mission: helping young people move from imagination to invention—and from invention to intellectual property.
For StudentsLaunch a Club
For EducatorsTurn Your Classroom into an Invention Lab
The Convergence
Researchersdiscover.
Engineersbuild.
Entrepreneursship.
At the highest level, all three become inventors.
Proven Across Our Programs
940
Applications
20
Honorees
38
States
Stats from GT 20 Under 20, a sister program from the same founder. Inaugural 2026 cohort.
Why Invention01 02 03
Start inventing before college.
Born to Invent exists to help the next generation of researchers, engineers, and entrepreneurs begin now—by creating original work worth protecting.
Engineers build
Great engineers don't just implement — they invent the solution the spec didn't specify. Invention is the discipline of turning a working prototype into original work that could not have existed without you.
Entrepreneurs ship
Founders create value from nothing. Invention is where the idea earns its weight — a defensible, novel thing that a market can use, an investor can back, and a patent office can examine. Proven — and worth protecting.
The Path
One movement, four ways in.
Born to Invent gives students, educators, communities, and families a way into the invention movement.
- Step 01
Young Inventors of America
Found your school's Young Inventors of America chapter, lead it as president, and turn students peers into a real inventors. It's a leadership credential, a team of your own, and your first step towards the national Inventors Summit—proof you're someone who builds, not just studies.
For students - Step 02
The Invention Lab
Turn your classroom into a place where students invent. Get certified to teach The Invention Lab, a structured three-level program that helps educators guide students from their first idea to a real invention worth protecting—no engineering background required.
For educators & schools - Step 03
The Inventors Summit
The Inventors Summit is where the movement comes together. Students, educators, families, and leaders gather for Patent Defense, the Pitch Competition, and Publication Awards & Panels—three national arenas where standout young inventors present, defend, and showcase original work. By invitation.
For the community - Step 04
Protect what you made
Protecting an invention can feel out of reach. Patent Prep offers a guided pro se learning experience where students and families understand the patent process and prepare original work worth protecting, coached by former USPTO examiners and legal mentors. Pro se means families prepare and file on their own behalf, with expert education and coaching along the way.
For families
"Grades prove you can learn. Invention proves you can create."
Non-profit · For studentsThe School Club
Young Inventors of America
You don't join this club—start one. As president of your school's Young Inventors of America chapter, you lead the room. The Club Launch Kit hands you everything to start (e.g., meeting plans, approval scripts, a full brand pack) so the only thing you need to bring is the will to begin. No engineering background required.
Free for students to start · A registered non-profit program.
Inside the Club Launch Kit
- Chapter charter + approval scripts
- A full first-semester of meeting plans
- Brand pack (logo, chapter naming, posters, socials)
- Founder credential + a place on the national map
- A direct path toward the Inventors Summit
For educators, homeschool parents & schoolsEducator Certification
The Invention Lab
This is how you become the teacher who turns “I'm not creative” into “look what I made!” Get certified to guide your own students from first curiosity to a real invention—and join a national community of educators raising the next generation of inventors. No engineering background required.
Invention Lab
Da Vinci
Level 01imagination to ideation
You'll be certified to run sessions that turn any student's raw curiosity into a defined invention idea — even the "I'm not creative" ones. They leave with a concept worth building.
Free/ Level 1
Invention Lab
Tesla
Level 02ideation to invention
You'll be certified to take students from a rough idea to a documented invention — coaching them through the sketches, specs, and proof of concept. They leave with a real, buildable invention.
$195/ Levels 1–2
Invention Lab
Edison
Level 03invention to IP
You'll be certified to guide students from a finished invention into patent fundamentals—the bridge to protecting their work. Your students become eligible for Patent Prep scholarships.
$495/ all 3 levels
Next cohort begins August 15 · Applications reviewed on a rolling basisApply for the August Cohort
Fees are one-time educator training. Once certified, you teach the Invention Lab to your own students—classroom, school, or homeschool. Cumulative total to full Edison certification: $495 across all three levels. Need-based scholarships available at every level—we exist to remove barriers, not create them.
FOR THE COMMUNITYThe National StageI II III
The Inventors Summit
This is where the future of invention gathers in one room. The strongest young inventors take the stage to defend what they built—and the people who shape what comes next show up to witness it: universities scouting talent, industry leaders looking for what's next, educators and parents who believed first. Three arenas, one standard: original work that holds up under real scrutiny.
Patent Defense
Present and defend originality, novelty, and real-world claim to a panel. The researcher's test.
Pitch Competition
Make the case it matters. The entrepreneur's test—judged on impact, clarity, and conviction.
Publication Awards
The best work is published and recorded—a permanent, citable credential that outlives the event.
Open application. Selective invitation. Priority for Invention Lab participants and chapter qualifiers—never bought.
Apply for an invitationFor families & students with inventions worth protectingIn Partnership With · PatentPrep.org
Ownership made reachable
Protecting an invention can feel expensive, confusing, and out of reach for many families. Patent Prep offers a guided pro se learning experience where students and families learn how the patent process works while preparing original work for protection. Pro se means you prepare and file on your own behalf, with expert teaching and support at every step.
Start Here
Make something real.
Students launch a club. Educators get certified to teach invention. Need-based scholarships available across every level.