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Welcome to Adventure #5!

In this adventure, you will learn:

  • How to test your invention prototype for feedback, and
  • How to find ways to improve your prototype based on feedback and other information sources.
Image of Mimi talking to the Curious Kids with Muff and Scruff in the background.

The Curious Kids have been hard at work building their prototypes and now have something that is ready for testing and feedback from other people!

Mimi says to the kids, “Now that we have your prototypes built, we can test them in the real-life environments of the creek. The invention process is all about building, testing, and improving again and again to create the best solution to make something better.”

Chen asks, “What kind of things should we even be looking for in testing? Anything and everything?”

Mimi replies, “Great question, Chen! We want to be looking for insights that people have that fall within 3 main categories: what’s working well, what isn’t working well that can be improved, and what are some new ideas that would make our invention even better? This helps you have a full picture of how successful your prototype is and where it can be improved.”

This is the left side of a cross page image of all the characters inside the clubhouse as Hector enters with two new characters.
This is the right side of the cross page image featuring Hector as he introduces Phoebe and Carter.
Image of Phoebe and Carter greeting the group

Phoebe says, “Hi Everyone! Hector told us about your inventions. I love to invent things, too! Maybe we could help you solve the fish’s burping problem.”

Carter says, “Me too! I want to help the fish, too.”

Phoebe asks the group, “Can you tell us about your inventions?”

Each group briefly explains and shows the prototypes they have built to Phoebe and Carter.

Image of Carter with excited look on his face

Image of Phoebe greetingPhoebe says, “We would love to help test your prototypes. It would be so much fun!”

Carter adds, “I can’t wait! Let’s get started!”

Image of Mimi in blue circle frame talkingMimi gathers the group and says,
“Okay kids! Let’s get ready for some testing sessions with Phoebe, Carter, and other community members in Curiosity Creek. Go out and find both kids and adults who are willing to test your prototypes. Then, we’ll all meet back here in the Clubhouse to share what was learned. Make sure you write down all of the feedback in your notebooks.”

Image of Timmy with binoculars observing from afar how people look at his sign. In the image, you can see one man who is picking up trash on the land and a woman who is picking trash out of the creek.

The Curious Kids began testing and gathering feedback from Phoebe, Carter, and lots of different people around their community.

Timmy observed what people did with their food wrappers after they read his sign. He could see that people were taking care to pick up trash after reading his sign. 

Image of Tanisha and Chen with Digger checking their trash bin after leaving it out overnight. In the image, there are animals peeking out from their hiding spots like a bear and a raccoon.

Tanisha, Chen, and Digger put their trash bin prototype outside after dinner and left it overnight to see how it worked.

Hector, Muff, and Scruff let Phoebe and Carter try to use their trash bin and share their feedback first. Then they tried it with others in the community.

This is the left side of a cross page image of the whole group including Phoebe and Carter as they get together back at the clubhouse. The all have notebooks with information about what they learned.
This is the right side of the cross page image described on the opposing page.

This is an image of a page from a notebook. On the top is written Challenge 1. The next line reads Fabulous Feedback. At the bottom of the notebook image are the following words. Are you ready for Challenge 1? Press the START button to begin.

Start game icon.

Image of Mac in the clubhouse with the Curious Kids

Now that the testing feedback has been categorized, the Curious Kids gather together at the Clubhouse again.  Mac has joined them.

Mac says, “Now that you’ve collected some super helpful feedback about your prototypes, will you share some ways you’ve decided to improve your prototypes, based on that feedback?”

Image of Timmy sharing feedback that he received

Timmy raises his hand and says, “Some important feedback I received was that my signs need to be more colorful so that people will be sure to see them. Also, I learned there was a dead tree limb hiding part of the sign."

Timmy also says that he had never even noticed it when he was placing the sign there. He wonders what he could do about that.

Mimi says, “Don’t worry, Timmy. I notified the park ranger about that broken tree limb and the limb will be taken down because it’s also a danger to anyone walking near it, if it fell down. The tree won’t be damaged and everyone should now be able to see the sign clearly.”

Image of Hector and Tanisha explaining their feedback

Hector jumps in next and says, “Our team decided to use the boating rope for the lid but it got chewed through by some of the animals. I guess just thickness and strength aren’t enough. We needed to use  materials that couldn’t be chewed through.”

Tanisha adds, “And our team chose to use the rocks as the weights for our bin. We glued them to the bottom but the glue didn't hold them very well and they tumbled around. Some rocks were sharp and poked holes in the garbage bag. The food seeped into the spaces between each rock. When we unlocked the lid of that bin --- boy, was it STINKY!” Tanisha holds her nose.

Image of Chen. Embedded text reads as follows: Chen pipes in, “Looks like both teams have things to fix. Maybe our two teams could work together making both bins, using bricks secured with stronger glue AND using wire rope for our lids.

Digger lets out an excited “YEP!”Mac with light bulb over his head

Mac says, “You all worked so hard to create your prototypes. Some of you may feel disappointed that they didn’t work perfectly. That is why making prototypes is so important; they let us find our mistakes so we can fix them.  Every inventor experiences failure. The important thing is that we learn from our mistakes and try again until we turn failure into success! Did you know that it took Thomas Edison over 2,700 unsuccessful attempts before he successfully invented the light bulb?"

This is a cross page spread with all the characters. Embedded text reads as follows.Chen’s eyes widen, “Wow, that’s a lot of failure. But he took what he learned from all those failures and kept trying until he succeeded. That’s really cool!”
This is the right side of the image described on opposing page. Embedded text continues as follows. Tanisha lets out a giggle, “Just think…we’d all be here talking in the dark if he hadn’t kept trying!” Mimi says, “That’s right, Tanisha. And now the two b
Image of Mac with Muff and Scruff chewing on opposite ends of boating rope

Mac continues, “And we also learned that the resources we use to help us know how to fix our mistakes must have information that is current, accurate and related to the problem. We collected information in different ways, such as observing, interviewing, and reading."

Doing good research and testing our prototypes in authentic ways with future users makes sure that we have correctly identified the problem, what caused it and, best of all, how to fix it. Mac also asked Muff and Scruff for their personal experiences, chewing on different kinds of rope.

Cross page image with embedded text. Text on left page reads: Timmy chimes in and says,
Continuation of cross page image. Embedded text reads as follows: The Curious Kids applaud in agreement. Mimi says, “Okay, let’s gather up our materials and create our new and improved versions of the trash bin and signs!

Challenge #2

Materials Mayhem

Image of the capture net that will be used in the game

Start game icon

Image of all characters across both pages smiling. Embedded text on left side page reads as follows: Mimi says, “Great job! We have successfully collected all the important items needed for creating your final inventions. Let’s start building them!”
Image of right side of cross page spread. Embedded text on right side reads as follows: As the Curious Kids continue to work together to finish their final inventions and prepare to present their inventions to the mayor and the rest of the Curiosity Creek

Rev Final Page for Adventure 5.png

Image of Badge 6: Prototype Tester-Fixer