Tumble Science Podcast for Kids · Tumble Media

How To Be An Inventor

March 14, 2025·25 min·2 clips

Josh Mealy's first tactile map was garbage, but a simple fix created a revolutionary tool.

This episode of Tumble Science Podcast for Kids features hosts Lindsay and Marshall learning about the invention process from Josh Mealy, a blind scientist and inventor. Josh specializes in creating technology to improve accessibility for blind people and others. He explains that his disability naturally led him to become a problem-solver and inventor from a young age. Josh outlines a five-step process for successful invention, beginning with identifying a specific problem you want to solve. His example problem was the lack of accessible, detailed street maps for blind people to navigate their neighborhoods. Existing maps for blind people only covered large areas like countries, not local streets. The second step involves deeply understanding the problem by consulting the people who will use the invention. Josh learned this after an idea for Braille gloves failed because people did not want to wear gloves. For his map project, he confirmed other blind people shared his need and desire for tactile street maps. The third step is to explore creative solutions, and Josh decided to develop tactile maps using raised lines and Braille-like dots. He planned to create these maps using a Braille embosser, a special printer that creates raised dots. The fourth step is experimentation and building a prototype, which for Josh meant writing a computer program to translate street data into a tactile map design. His first prototype failed the "smoke test," producing a garbled map due to a programming error, but he corrected the code and successfully printed a map of downtown Berkeley. A key insight is that necessity drives invention, as people with disabilities often innovate daily solutions to navigate an inaccessible world. Josh emphasizes that inventors must ensure their technology fits into users' entire lives, not just solves a technical problem. He reveals that many scientists previously believed blind people could not use maps, an assumption his work disproves. The successful tactile maps provided a powerful emotional experience for users, with some people crying when they could finally feel familiar streets. Josh's work demonstrates that information access is not solely visual and that tactile exploration is a powerful learning tool. The fifth and final step is ensuring people can actually access and use the invention, which for the tactile maps involved distribution through libraries and schools with Braille embossers. The tone is educational and conversational, with the hosts using humor and personal anecdotes to engage a young audience. The style is narrative, following Josh's specific invention journey to illustrate broader principles. Young listeners interested in how things are made, solving problems, or STEM topics would love this episode. Anyone curious about accessibility, adaptive technology, or the lived experience of disability would find it compelling. Listeners seeking a highly technical or debate-focused discussion might skip it.

As heard by us

A playful, step-by-step look at how an idea becomes a workable invention.

Tumble turns invention into a clear, step-by-step process. Lindsay and Marshall set up the problem, then bring in scientist-inventor Josh Mealy to trace how invention begins with noticing a need, understanding it well, testing options, and taking ideas back to the people closest…

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