In the late 1700s, an English man needed an engineer for a large project. As he interviewed one man, he kept noticing the man’s strange hat. Finally, his curiosity got the best of him. He asked the man what the hat was made of. The man answered: wood. A wooden hat? How on earth had he made it? The man replied that he had built a special lathe just to manufacture this one hat. His inventiveness got him hired on the spot.

It makes one wonder. Why build a wooden hat? He didn’t need it. But he most likely needed to see if he could do it.

As we help kids celebrate National Inventors Month, we are helping them celebrate the exploration of the unknown. Sometimes, that exploring is in answer to a problem. More often than not, however, inventors are wonderers. Or as sociologist Jared Diamond has noted, “In fact, many or most inventions were developed by people driven by curiosity or by a love of tinkering.”

Few children become inventors. But all children benefit from a healthy curiosity. Our celebration today will once again encourage them to use their imaginations.

Here are some ways to celebrate National Inventors Month:

• Read about inventors. There are many kid-friendly biographies of great inventors, as well as fun books about how common things were invented. Try Mistakes That Worked by Charlotte Foltz Jones.

• See some wacky inventions. I’ve posted just a few of the strange ideas that have actually received patents.

• Try my family activity. The Chewing Gum Locket activity will encourage your family to dream up your own solutions to household problems.

So, hats off to inventors!

And thinking caps on.

Inventors have a unique way of viewing possibilities