Chief Educator and author
From its inception in 2016 to its heyday in 2020, I was at the heart of developing Little Inventors into a thriving, internationally recognised creative-education organisation.
What began as a playful idea grew into:
✨ global invention challenges
✨ high-profile partnerships
✨ exhibitions, events and media coverage
✨ a bestselling book series with HarperCollins
✨ over 3 million children engaged worldwide
This was one of the most exciting, ambitious and impactful projects I’ve ever worked on — part pedagogy, part creative direction, part strategy, part joyful chaos — and I loved every second.
Inspiring children to invent freely
Little Inventors was built on a simple belief:
children’s imaginations are wildly powerful — and wildly underestimated.
We created invention challenges, school resources, creative workshops and events for partners around the world, encouraging children to dream up the silliest, smartest, most delightfully unbounded ideas they could imagine.
No limits. No wrong answers. Pure creative thinking.
Developing their ideas with makers
One of the magic ingredients of Little Inventors was bringing children’s drawings to life.
We matched young inventors with skilled makers, engineers, artists and technologists who transformed their ideas — from the practical to the utterly fantastical — into real, physical or digital builds.
This gave children a rare insight into the creative process:
how an idea becomes an object, and how imagination pushes the limits of design and engineering.
Showcasing them to the world
We made sure children’s ideas weren’t just celebrated — they were seen.
I helped lead the creation of online exhibitions, physical gallery shows, public installations and storytelling microsites, all designed to validate children’s creativity and inspire the makers, scientists and problem-solvers of tomorrow.
Beautifully crafted, highly shareable, and rooted in respect for children’s voices.
Here is Canadian David Saint-Jacques showcasing children’s winning inventions from the International Space Station. Over 30 Canadian inventions are part of permanent exhibits in Canadian museums.
Five made inventions have also been acquired by the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
Books with HarperCollins — taking invention to the world
Impressed by the quality of our resources, HarperCollins commissioned a book to introduce imaginative invention to a wider audience.
That book — The Little Inventors Handbook — became a steady bestseller, published internationally, with Chinese rights breaking HarperCollins’ record that year.
They went on to commission three more titles, all written and creatively directed by me, each expanding the creative universe of Little Inventors.
The Little Inventors Handbook
A step-by-step guide to dreaming up fantastical, funny or perfectly practical inventions.
Packed with activities, invention prompts, and delightful facts about art, science, design and the inventive spirit.
Written and conceived by me — the origin point of the whole book series.
Little Inventors Go Green!
A joyful dive into inventing for a greener planet, inspired by nature’s wildest ideas — from banana-eating T-Rexes to canvas-spinning spiders.
This book invites children to design planet-friendly inventions with curiosity and humour.
Little Inventors in Space!
My final Little Inventors title, launching children straight into the cosmos.
They designed inventions for orbit, Mars, new habitats, star-catching gadgets and more — guided by a mix of science, storytelling and unabashed cosmic wonder.
Global Impact
+3 million children engaged
Worldwide exhibitions
High-profile partnerships
International media coverage
Bespoke microsites and digital storytelling
Extensive educational resources used by schools globally
Little Inventors grew into a movement — one that celebrated children’s imagination as a serious tool for the future.
Little Inventors in Space — Canada
In 2018, we partnered with NSERC and the Canadian Space Agency to launch a nationwide challenge.
The results were extraordinary:
- over 3,000 invention submissions
- 80,000+ children engaged
- 30 inventions built and showcased at the Montreal Science Centre
- a live space weblink with astronaut David Saint-Jacques from the International Space Station
A once-in-a-lifetime moment for the young inventors — and for us.
Why this project matters to me
Little Inventors was more than a job — it was the perfect intersection of everything I care about:
playful learning, creative thinking, children’s voices, inclusive pedagogy, storytelling, design, and joyful problem-solving.
It showed the world what I’ve always believed:
children’s imagination is not a warm-up exercise — it’s a force.
Given the right platform, they can challenge industries, inspire innovation, and reshape how we think about the future.
Watching Little Inventors grow into an international movement — and knowing I had a central role in shaping its voice, tools, books and impact — remains one of the most meaningful parts of my career.
Katherine Mengardon 