This is one of three main components of Imagination Place! in KAHooTZ. Here children investigate the design of both familiar objects and furturistic technology through online puzzles, games, and activities. The focus is on helping children expand their imaginations as they view everyday objects in new ways, think about how things work -- and why design matters.

Wacky World has four areas of its own. Each area and its contents are identifed below.

Wacky Puzzles
Puzzle 1 -- Shirtmaker
Puzzle 2 -- Design Professions
Puzzle 3 -- A Fitting Part

KIds' Puzzles: are puzzles created by young designers in Imagination Place! design clubs.
Kids' Puzzle 1
Kids' Puzzle 2
Kids' Puzzle 3

Artifacts: encourage children to create machines and devices based on particular criteria that meet an identified need.
Artifact 1 -- Ocean Artifact
Artifact 2

Quests & Queries: are designed to give children a sense of the number and variety of resources available to them for creating devices of their own imaginations.
Quest 1 -- Liquids

Using KAHooTZ's innovative chat environment and mail, children discuss their designs with peers

There are three distinct areas in this second main component of the Imagination Place! in KAHooTZ environment. Each area and its contents are identifed below.

Chat Invitations help young designers to create messages that invite others to look at and talk about inventions they are working on.

Buzz offers children an opportunity to create interesting stories of invention and discovery of their own and to find out about others'.
Buzz 1 -- A strange ?? appeared
Buzz 2 -- The most important invention

Design Journal offers opportunities for young designers to look at the world in ways that designers might.
Journal Idea 1 -- "I Have an Idea"
Journal Idea 2 -- I need a machine

Children "Xpress" their design ideas with the aid of powerful KAHooTZ animation, sound and graphic tools. They create and market new products, such as the "talking watch" that promises you'll never be late again.

The four areas that comprise this main Imagination Place! component and their contents are identified below.

Market It helps young designers to describe their inventions to the world.

In the Patent Office young designers present the details of their inventions and mark them as unique in their class.

Design Specs encourage children to think about the design of specific machines and devices and helps get them started on an invention that fills a particular need of their own.
Design Spec 1 -- A Machine the World Forgot to Make
Design Spec 2 -- Under water home

Invention Convention is a gallery of inventions created by young designers in Imagination Place! in KAHooTZ.

An opportunity to look "under the hood" of the KAHooTZ suite of tools. Through examples, children discover how to use draw and animation tools to create Xpressions, how to name the stuff made so that others can find it, and other strategies for working in the KAHooTZ environment.

Introductions and previews for each of the core areas of Imagination Place! help set the tone and give an idea of the kinds of activities to expect in the Wacky World of Whatchamacallits, Word Wave, and Design Xchange.

Find out about new events and/or new information related to Imagination Place!