"Inventions" is a fun exercise-teams are challenged to create a working invention from scratch--with what initially may look like an impossible assignment and an unpromising collection of raw material. The module begins with the group being presented with a pile of junk (nails, spools, small gadgets, batteries, baby toys, balloons), and being told that they are to build an invention with it. Each member of each team selects items they believe will be useful; once the teams have picked their items (for example, 30 items per team) they are given their assignments.

In this module, each team is given the task of inventing, building and demonstrating a working device that performs some unusual task, using cast-aside junk and hardware and simple hand tools as resources. The assigned tasks sound impossible when first presented, yet each assignment has been successfully completed by seventh-graders. By the time they're done, participants often exceed their expectations of their own capabilities. They also learn about team dynamics by taking an idea full cycle, from conception to "marketed" product in the short span of a few hours.