Every day, you use other people’s inventions. You probably know that Thomas Edison invented the light bulb and that Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone. Did you know that the Chinese were the first people to use sunglasses, which were made of stones called quartz? History is full of all kinds of amazing stories about creative people making something new out of what they already had. Creative and patient people can build good careers as inventors.

Creativity is very important for inventors. Often, the work involves finding new uses for familiar materials in order to solve a problem. For Thomas Edison, the problem was finding a better way to light people’s homes and buildings. The gas lamps and candles that people normally used gave only limited light and could cause fires. People needed something better, and Thomas Edison had an idea. He decided to invent something that could turn electricity into power.

Edison was not the only person working on the idea of light bulbs. However, he brought the idea to North America. He was also the first person to show a movie when he projected a moving picture in 1896. Thomas Edison’s many inventions are still useful for people today. What many people don’t know is how long the process of inventing can take, even for people like Thomas Edison. Some ideas can work out quickly, but most of them take a long time. Inventors need to have enough patience to try different things until they find something that works.

Becoming an inventor usually involves knowing about technology and how the world works. An education in science or engineering is a good background for becoming an inventor. Chemistry can help inventors know how to combine different liquids or solids to make something new. Biology helps people understand plants and animals, and principles of physics show how things move and work together. Engineering studies help to give an idea of how to apply scientific principles to everyday life. Together with creativity and patience, a good knowledge of science is useful for inventors.

Look for places or activities where a machine might help people or find a problem that needs a solution. Even something very small will help you to think like an inventor. In the future, you might be as famous as Thomas Edison.