Dear ARCS Pittsburgh Chapter members,

We thought you might be interested in the experiences of the ARCS Pittsburgh chapter members who attended the tour of Inventionland last week.  Thanks to chapter member Judith Evans Thomas for her write-up!

JOURNEY TO INVENTIONLAND

On February 25th members who had signed up for a tour of Inventionland were indeed taken to a new land.

Behind a set of glass doors, in a non-descript industrial building at RIDC Park, George Davison has created a new world where creativity, imagination, engineering, and hi-tech design have melded into an inventor's dream environment.

From the moment we entered Mr. Davison's office, strewn (methodically) with hundreds of inventions that have come out of the business, we were transported to a workplace reminiscent of Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory/Mr. Roger's Neighborhood/OZ and Disneyland.

Leading the tour, Senior Vice President of Davison Entertainment Group Sam Sandora and Senior Producer Tony Allen, regaled us with stories of inventions that had begun as simple sketches made by average citizens that turned into QVC best-selling products thanks to the dedicated work of the Inventionland engineers, designers, and marketing experts.

Crossing a stone bridge, we were led into the “offices” of those designers.  First, a larger than life Pirate Ship, floating in a moat complete with shark, housed high-tech equipment used to create games and products.  Next along the path, a robot spaceship guarded by two bejeweled “E.T.’s” contained everything electronic and the designers who knew how to create custom circuitry and microcontrollers.

We continued touring through the 16 themed sets/offices which included a faux cave, Old Mother Hubbard’s shoe, a giant treehouse, a cupcake kitchen, and a castle – complete with turrets and drawbridge.  The tour concluded as we walked “the red carpet” leading to a state-of-the-art audio/video/animation studio used to film commercials and infomercials.

Wandering back to the bridge through a forest of giant faux trees, grass and flowers helped complete the sense we were in a magical land.  The only thing missing was the “Wizard” behind the green curtain.  Mr. Davison was not available that day.

For more information or to take a virtual tour of Inventionland, you can visit the website at www.inventionland.com