Looking for some Bulletin Board Ideas? Here are some ways to promote National Inventors Month.
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10 Creative Bulletin Board Ideas for National Inventors Month
August is National Inventors Month, making it the perfect time to inspire curiosity, creativity, and problem-solving in your library. From famous inventors to students’ own brilliant ideas, these bulletin boards encourage readers to ask questions, think outside the box, and imagine the next great invention.
Whether you’re decorating an elementary school library, a middle school media center, or a classroom, these displays will help students discover that every invention begins with a simple question: “What if?”
1. Invent Your Future
Title: “Today’s Readers… Tomorrow’s Inventors”
Cover your board with gears, light bulbs, blueprints, and famous inventions. Include photographs or illustrations of inventors such as Thomas Edison, the Wright brothers, George Washington Carver, Lonnie Johnson, Temple Grandin, and Stephanie Kwolek.
Interactive Idea: Students write or draw an invention they wish existed and add it to the board.
2. Bright Ideas Start Here
Title: “Every Great Invention Began with an Idea”
Feature books about inventors alongside pictures of famous inventions.
Add speech bubbles saying:
- What problem did this solve?
- How would you improve it?
- What would you invent?
3. If I Could Invent…
Title: “Imagine. Create. Invent.”
Provide paper light bulbs for students to write about an invention that would make life easier.
Hang the bulbs across the bulletin board to create a “Wall of Bright Ideas.”
4. Read. Think. Create.
Title: “Books Spark Brilliant Ideas!”
Display covers of books such as:
- Rosie Revere, Engineer
- Ada Twist, Scientist
- The Most Magnificent Thing
- Whoosh!
- What Do You Do With an Idea?
Add gears and arrows connecting the books to inventions they inspired students to imagine.
5. Great Minds Never Give Up
Title: “Mistakes Help Us Learn”
Display famous inventor quotes alongside stories of inventions that took many attempts.
Examples include:
- Thomas Edison
- James Dyson
- The Wright brothers
- Lonnie Johnson
Interactive Idea: Invite students to write about something they didn’t get right the first time but kept trying.
6. Can You Guess the Invention?
Title: “Mystery Invention Challenge”
Post close-up photos or silhouettes of inventions.
Examples:
- Paper clip
- Safety pin
- Telephone
- Zipper
- LEGO brick
- Light bulb
- Velcro
- Airplane propeller
Lift-the-flap cards reveal the answers.
7. Women Who Changed the World
Title: “Inventive Women”
Highlight inventors such as:
- Stephanie Kwolek (Kevlar)
- Josephine Cochrane (Dishwasher)
- Grace Hopper (Computer Programming)
- Marie Van Brittan Brown (Home Security System)
- Ann Tsukamoto (Stem Cell Isolation)
- Patricia Bath (Laser Cataract Surgery)
Include books and short biographies.
8. Kid Inventors
Title: “You’re Never Too Young to Invent!”
Feature inventions created by children, such as:
- Popsicles
- Earmuffs
- Braille improvements by young innovators
- Trampoline improvements
- Modern student inventions
Encourage students to think about problems they could solve.
9. How an Idea Becomes an Invention
Title: “Dream It. Design It. Build It.”
Create a simple flowchart:
Notice a Problem
↓
Imagine a Solution
↓
Draw a Plan
↓
Build It
↓
Test It
↓
Improve It
↓
Share It
Students can add sticky notes that show where they are in the process and include their own ideas.
10. What Will You Invent?
Title: “The Future Is Waiting…”
Create a giant question mark made from gears and light bulbs.
Surround it with empty invention sketches.
Invite students to complete them with their own drawings.
Leave plenty of blank space so the display grows throughout the month.
Bonus Display Ideas
- Hang oversized paper light bulbs from the ceiling.
- Add gears cut from silver or metallic cardstock.
- Include blueprint-style paper as a background.
- Display real everyday inventions (paper clips, zippers, Velcro®, rubber bands, clothespins) and challenge students to identify the inventor or explain why the invention was important.
- Create a QR code linking to a virtual collection of inventor biographies from your library catalog.
Library Activity Extensions
- Hold an Inventor Scavenger Hunt using biography books.
- Set up a simple makerspace challenge using recycled materials.
- Invite students to vote for the invention they think has changed the world the most.
- Host an “Invention Convention” where students sketch or build their own creations.
- Create a display of books about engineering, science, creativity, and famous inventors.
National Inventors Month is about much more than celebrating famous names—it’s about encouraging students to become curious thinkers, creative problem-solvers, and lifelong learners. A bulletin board that invites participation can inspire children to see themselves as the inventors of tomorrow. Sometimes the next world-changing idea begins with a single library book.
This post was created with the help of AI
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