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January 17, 2017 |

Smithsonian and Cricket Media Launch the 6th Annual Spark! Lab Invent It Challenge for Kids Worldwide

It’s that time of year again for all kid-inventors to put on their innovative thinking caps! The official launch of the 6th annual Global Spark!Lab Invent It Challenge is January 17th-- just in time to celebrate Kid Inventors’ Day, which celebrates the important role children play in sparking innovation worldwide.

November 14, 2016 |

Changes in Spark!Lab Hours

As we prepare for the holidays and the presidential inaugural events, Spark!Lab hours will be adjusted as follows:

November:

Closed Thursday, November 24, for Thanksgiving Day

December:

Closed Sunday, December 25, for Christmas Day (The National Museum of American History is also closed.)

October 31, 2016 |

Join the Spark!Lab Team!

Job Announcement—Spark!Lab Facilitator (PART-TIME)
Opens October 31, 2016; applications must be received by 5:00 p.m. EST on November 13, 2016. Expected start date is January 2017.

August 24, 2016 | Creativity for Kids, Faber-Castell

Creativity for Kids® Partners with Spark!Lab™ Smithsonian, Launches New Category of Products

Creativity for Kids®, from the Faber-Castell® Company, and Spark!Lab™ Smithsonian teamed up to prepare and empower the next generation of thinkers through a new category of hands-on creative invention products.

June 12, 2016 | Kate Wiley

Smithsonian’s Lemelson Center Announces Video Game Pioneers Archive Initiative

Project To Identify and Document Emergence and Evolution of Video Game Industry

May 12, 2016 | Kate Wiley

Rayvon Fouché Named Inaugural Arthur Molella Distinguished Fellow

The Smithsonian’s Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation is pleased to announce Rayvon Fouché, Ph.D., as the inaugural Arthur Molella Distinguished Fellow.

April 15, 2016 | Kate Wiley

2016-2017 Lemelson Fellowship Class Announced

The Lemelson Center Fellowship Program supports projects that present creative approaches to the study of invention and innovation in American society.

April 15, 2016 | Kate Wiley

Places of Invention Wins 2016 Society for the History of Technology’s Dibner Award for Excellence in Museum Exhibits

The Lemelson Center is proud to announce that the Places of Invention exhibition has want the Society for the History of Technology's Dibner Award for Excellence in Museum Exhibits. Established in 1985 through the generosity of Bern Dibner, the Dibner Award recog

March 31, 2016 | Michigan Science Center

Michigan Science Center Opens Spark!Lab; Teaching Curious Minds of All Ages How to Become Innovators and Inventors

Children and adults alike are used to solving problems in a virtual space, but real-world opportunities are also fundamental to the creative process. In an effort to power innovation, the Michigan Science Center (MiSci) is opening Spark!Lab, an educational and interactive space designed to support the creative process, collaborative thinking, and problem solving.

January 15, 2016 | Cricket Media

Smithsonian and Cricket Media Launch the 5th Annual Spark! Lab Invent It Challenge for Kids Worldwide

Check out the 2016 Winners

November 10, 2015 | Lemelson Center

Job Announcement—Spark!Lab Facilitator (PART-TIME)

Opens November 10, 2015; applications must be received by 5:00 p.m. EDT on November 23, 2015. Expected start date is January 2016.

September 23, 2015 |

Lemelson Center Website Wins Award

The new Lemelson Center website has received a 2015 WebAward for Outstanding Achievement in Web Development for Best Education Website from the Web Marketing Association.

August 6, 2015 | Kate Wiley

Arthur Daemmrich Named Director of the Smithsonian’s Lemelson Center

Arthur Daemmrich, a leading scholar in science and technology studies, has been appointed director of the Smithsonian’s Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation at the National Museum of American History.

June 29, 2015 | The Lemelson Foundation

The Lemelson Foundation Honors Dr. Arthur Molella with Fellowship to Advance Invention and Innovation Scholarship

Endowment will support top thinkers’ collaboration with the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History

June 18, 2015 | Kate Wiley

Lemelson Hall of Invention and Innovation Opens at the Smithsonian July 1

Lemelson Center Celebrates 20 Years with New Exhibits and the Return of Spark!Lab

June 18, 2015 | Kate Wiley

“Places of Invention” Explores Invention Hotspots Throughout American History

“Places of Invention,” the latest exhibition from the Smithsonian’s Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation, opens at the National Museum of American History July 1. It examines six American invention hotspots across the country and throughout history, asking “Why here? Why now?”

June 18, 2015 | Kate Wiley

New Draper Spark!Lab Offers Hands-on Inventive Fun for Kids

Draper Spark!Lab, the popular hands-on invention experience from the Smithsonian’s Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation, reopens July 1 at the National Museum of American History in a new, open and flexible 2,000-square-foot space with the look and feel of an inventor’s workspace.

May 27, 2015 | Kate Wiley

Innoskate at X Games Austin

Skateboarding and the Smithsonian? It’s a unique and successful concept grounded in the belief that invention and innovation happen every day in places often overlooked. In 2011, the National Museum of American History and the Smithsonian’s Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation launched a broad collecting initiative focused on skateboarding and skate culture.

March 2, 2015 | Lemelson Center

Job Announcement—Spark!Lab Lead Facilitator

Opens February 24, 2015; applications must be received by 5:00 p.m. EDT on March 13, 2015. Expected start date is May 14, 2015.

March 2, 2015 | Lemelson Center

Job Announcement—Spark!Lab Floor Manager

Opens February 24, 2015; applications must be received by 5:00 p.m. EDT on March 13, 2015. Expected start date is May 14, 2015.