The Center for Creative Solutions, Inc.™ announced the annual celebration of World Creativity and Innovation Week in La Porte County and the region. This year’s theme is "Discovering New Horizons."
Keeping with the theme, the April 12 kick-off will focus on human flight: from Leonardo da Vinci to today’s space exploration. This free event will be at the Indiana Dunes Tourism Visitor Center, located at 1215 North State Road 49 (exit 26B, north of I-94), in Porter from 5 - 7 p.m. It is sponsored by the Center for Creative Solutions, Inc.™
The evening will feature cameo appearances of aviation greats: da Vinci who designed the helicopter, glider and parachute; Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier, the French balloonist who took the first manned flight in 1783; Octave Chanute who conducted important aviation experiments on the Indiana Dunes in the late 1800's; Hoosier Wilbur Wright who, along with his brother, is credited for building the first successful airplane; Amelia Earhart, a women aviation pioneer with Indiana ties; Quentin Smith, a Tuskegee Airman from Northwest Indiana; and local resident, Bruce Johnson, who was in NASA’s first "Teacher in Flight" program in the 1980's.
In addition, Simine Short will speak about aviation and her new book, "Locomotive to Aeromotive. Octave Chanute and the Transportation Revolution." Ms. Short is an aviation researcher and historian. She has written more than 100 articles on the history of motorless flight and is published in the United States and Europe.
The evening’s program will also include presentation of the colors by youth of the Civil Air Patrol out of La Porte. The Center for Creative Solutions, Inc.™ will honor outstanding students from the A. K. Smith Center with its Student Creativity and Innovation Awards.
Also being highlighted are creativity displays by the 99s (women pilots), the Civil Air Patrol, Experimental Aircraft Association and La Porte and Michigan City Airports. The award-winning Michigan City Robotics Team will give demonstrations using one of their latest projects. Culinary students from Ivy Tech Community College Northwest-Michigan City campus will provide refreshments.
Partnering with the Center for Creative Solutions, Inc.™ for World Creativity and Innovation Week are: Greater La Porte Ministerial Association, Tech Community College Northwest, Ivy Tech Gerald I. Lampkin Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center, Indiana Dunes Tourism, La Porte County Public Library, Society of Innovators of Northwest Indiana, and the Chesterton Chamber of Commerce.
Cynthia A. Hedge, CEO of the Center for Creative Solutions, Inc. ™ noted that the purpose of Creativity and Innovation Week is to celebrate and demonstrate the ability of all people to think creativity. Throughout World Creativity and Innovation Week, every person is encouraged to recognize and use their own creativity in their homes, schools, jobs, organizations and communities.
She stated that Creativity and Innovation Week is also designed to make citizens aware that our society, our nation, and our economic viability depend on America’s ability to tap individual and collective creativity. "Whether new ideas seem small or huge, they can have profound effects on our everyday lives. In this 21st Century, we live in the ‘Creative Economy’ where the most creative persons and organizations will be the most profitable and effective."
Anyone interested in more information about the week, creativity and innovation or the Center for Creative Solutions, Inc.™ may contact the Center at 219-861-0955.