Slingshot

Have you ever heard of inventor Dean Kamen? If you have not, I highly recommend the movie Slingshot. Slingshot is a movie about Kamen's work to solve the world's water crisis. Kamen has previous inventions. His most noted is the Segway. A technological flop that was going to revolutionize walking.  What you soon learn about Kamen is that he is much more than the Segway. His inventions help people in need and his goal is to lessen suffering. He wants to live in a world that our passion for inventing surpasses the culture of learning that exists in our nation. He wants our children to live in a world that celebrates learning as much as it celebrates sports.

Kamen inspired making learning fun by bringing a sports like environment to Science and Technology. If your child has been a part of a local Legos competition, you will soon learn who inspired the FLL league.

Ultimately,  Slingshot is a study and a look at Kamen's vapor compression distiller from its earliest development through recent trials in rural Ghana and beyond. As I watched the movie, I wondered what is holding back his technological advance for clean water. It would save hundreds of thousands of lives. The technology would also have a dramatic impact on health and wellness around the world.

Children should strongly be encouraged to watch this movie. The movie espouses many characteristics of learning that benefit the world they live in. It opens up the mind to possibilities that children need to ponder, including empathy for the world they live in today. Slingshot is a great movie for families to watch together and can inspire the young inventor that lives inside all of us.