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Exploring invention and innovation through stories, activities, and research.
Learn more!

A taped cardboard geometric model of a decagon by A. Harry Wheeler or a student, ID no. 1979.3002.013. © Smithsonian Institution; photo AHB2017q013961 by Harold Dorwin

Explore

Behind every invention, there is a story. Discover those stories here.

 

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Blog

From Innovators to Curators, Making Do is Nothing New

A teleworking curator looks at the ways in which those who created and used objects took advantage of what they found available.

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Blog

Game Changers Team Presents Its Research at SHOT

The Game Changers curatorial team presents their research at the annual meeting of the Society for the History of Technology, 8–11 October 2020.

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Blog

Sports Innovator Howard Head

The engineer behind Head skis and Prince tennis rackets revolutionized both sports.

Study

Scholars and students, join us in studying our passion: invention! Apply for a fellowship, travel grant, or internship. Explore our collections. Consult our research reports and best practices for documenting and collecting inventors’ materials. And check out our Lemelson Center/MIT Press book series.

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Lemelson Center Books

Lemelson Center Studies in Invention and Innovation

Books in the interdisciplinary Lemelson Center Studies in Invention and Innovation series explore the history of invention and innovation and the work of inventors and the technologies they create.

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Lemelson Center Books

Handprints on Hubble: An Astronaut's Story of Invention

In the newest book in the Lemelson Center series with MIT Press, the first American woman to walk in space recounts her experiences as part of the team that launched, rescued, repaired, and maintained the Hubble Space Telescope.

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Research Opportunities

Lemelson Center Travel to Collections Awards

The Lemelson Center offers support in the form of short-term travel awards for researchers to come to the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History and use the Archives Center's 20,000 feet of archival materials.

Try

Get hands-on with the history and the process of invention! Try all sorts of ways to get creative!

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Spark!Lab

About Spark!Lab

Draper Spark!Lab is where museum visitors become inventors.

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DO Try This at Home!

Calling Young Inventors!

Spark!Lab’s 2020 Dr. InBae and Mrs. Kyung Joo Yoon Invent It Challenge needs you!

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DO Try This at Home!

At-Home Inventors

Lots of inventors worked from home – what will you invent?

Surprise me!

Events

  • Nov 16, 2020

    Black Inventors and Innovators: New Perspectives

  • Nov 17, 2020

    Black Inventors and Innovators: New Perspectives

  • Nov 18, 2020

    Black Inventors and Innovators: New Perspectives

  • Nov 19, 2020

    Black Inventors and Innovators: New Perspectives

In the news

  • Oct 14, 2020

    Lemelson Center Director Emeritus Awarded Leonardo Da Vinci Medal

  • Oct 01, 2020

    Smithsonian’s Lemelson Center Receives Grant from National Science Foundation: $1.8 Million to Fund “Game Changers” Exhibition Project

  • Apr 13, 2020

    Kara Swanson Named 2020 Arthur Molella Distinguished Fellow

  • Feb 05, 2020

    Smithsonian’s Lemelson Center Is Head Over Wheels

On view

Visit the Lemelson Hall of Invention and Innovation

The National Museum of American History will be open Fridays through Tuesdays 11:00 a.m.–4 p.m. beginning September 25. Reserve your free timed-entry pass and review our latest visitor safety guidelines. Draper Spark!Lab remains temporarily closed.

The Lemelson Hall of Invention and Innovation features:

Places of Invention, an exhibition that explores what can happen when the right mix of inventive people, untapped resources, and inspiring surroundings come together.

Draper Spark!Lab, our hands-on invention workshop for children and families. Want to invent at home while Spark!Lab is closed? Check out the DO Try This at Home section of our website!

Inventive Minds, a changing gallery that highlights the Lemelson Center’s work on documenting inventors.

Location and Hours:

Draper Spark!Lab remains temporarily closed. The Lemelson Center, the Lemelson Hall of Invention and Innovation, and Spark!Lab are located at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History.

  • Draper Spark!Lab is open daily (except Tuesdays and Dec. 24 and 25) from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
  • Places of Invention and Inventive Minds are open daily (except Dec. 25) from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Click for visiting information. Hours are subject to change for holidays, inclement weather, and urgent maintenance issues. Please check the museum calendar for updates.

Learn more about our exhibitions

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Found 2417 Stories

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