George Washington Carver invented more than 400 products made from peanuts, sweet potatoes and pecans. The most famous of his inventions is peanut butter. Your preschooler can make his own peanut butter with your help by pureeing peanuts in a food processor. Add honey, syrup or have the child come up with ideas on what might taste good in peanut butter. Discuss Carver's childhood as a slave and how he changed his life, obtained an education and became a famous inventor.
Lonnie G. Johnson worked on projects for NASA, but he is most famous for the invention of the high-pressurized water gun. Show your child one to pique her interest. Talk about Johnson's other inventions, his work on the space probes for Jupiter and Mars, and his other toy inventions. Ask your child to come up with an invention and have her draw it on paper. Discuss how Johnson supported young people to invent on their own.
Teach your child about traffic safety and the inventor Garrett Morgan. Morgan invented the three-part traffic signal that could be controlled by crank from the street. He also invented a safety hood used by firemen. Talk about his bravery in the face of disaster and how his hood helped save lives. Your child can come up with ways that his inventions helped people and how the modern forms of these inventions are beneficial.
Set up an "eye doctor's office" in the room for your child to play with while discussing Dr. Patricia Bath. Let the child give eye exams and discuss the sense of sight. Talk about Dr. Bath's work as an ophthalmologist and her invention of a new device to remove cataracts and how this device helps people to see. Discuss the obstacles she encountered and how her hard work and perseverance helped her to overcome those obstacles. Talk to the child about things that frustrate him and how he can follow Dr. Bath's example.