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A nurse tending to a bedridden patient
Exploring invention and innovation through stories, activities, and research.
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Walter Reed Hospital flu ward during the Spanish flu epidemic, Washington, DC, around 1918. Harris & Ewing, photographers, LC-H25- 2719. Courtesy of Library of Congress

Explore

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

 

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Blog

Nurse Innovations Crucial to Pandemic Response

During times of crisis, nurses turn to their innate innovative behaviors to derive new solutions for the needs of their patients.

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Blog

One-Way Supermarket Aisles

The return of an invention from the 1910s.

A young woman playing Pandemic
Blog

Disaster Board Games

Board game inventions can help us cope with crises.

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.

Montage of book covers published in the Lemelson Center Studies series
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.

Detail of Handprints on Hubble book cover, showing astronaut Kathy Sullivan looking out the window of the space shuttle.
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.

Logo for the Modern Inventors Documentation database, showing a stylized head with words like creativity and innovation written on different parts of the brain
Archives

Thomas F. Peterson, Jr. Telegraphy Collection

Inventor Name Materials on the history of telegraphy Repository Case Western Reserve UniversityKelvin Smith Library Special Collections10900 Euclid AvenueCleveland, OH 44106-7151216-368-0189kslspecialcollections@case.edu

Try

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

Sparky logo
DO Try This at Home!

Calling Young Inventors!

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

An array of craft materials
DO Try This at Home!

At-Home Inventors

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

Now What? game graphic
DO Try This at Home!

Spark!Lab's Now What? Invention Game

Unexpected problems often call for inventive solutions.

Surprise me!

Events

In the news

  • Apr 13, 2020

    Kara Swanson Named 2020 Arthur Molella Distinguished Fellow

  • Feb 05, 2020

    Smithsonian’s Lemelson Center Is Head Over Wheels

  • Jan 27, 2020

    Smithsonian Institution Career Opportunity: Spark!Lab Facilitator (PART-TIME)

  • Sep 03, 2019

    Smithsonian Institution Career Opportunity: Spark!Lab Facilitator (PART-TIME), Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation

On view

Visit the Lemelson Hall of Invention and Innovation

All Smithsonian museums in Washington, D.C., including the National Zoo, and in New York City continue to be closed to support the effort to contain the spread of COVID-19. We are not announcing a re-opening date at this time and will provide updates on a regular and as needed basis.

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:

The Lemelson Center and the Lemelson Hall of Invention and Innovation 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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Tweets by @SI_Invention

VIEW 2410 Matching Results

Found 2410 Stories

  • Agriculture and horticulture (Relevance: 5.3112033195021%)
  • Air and space (Relevance: 6.597510373444%)
  • Chemistry (Relevance: 2.8215767634855%)
  • Food and drink (Relevance: 2.9460580912863%)
  • Industry and manufacturing (Relevance: 7.3029045643154%)
  • Maritime (Relevance: 2.8630705394191%)
  • Medicine, health, and life sciences (Relevance: 4.4813278008299%)
  • Military technology (Relevance: 3.3195020746888%)
  • Mining and drilling (Relevance: 3.5684647302905%)
  • Patents and trademarks (Relevance: 12.033195020747%)
  • Photography, film, television, and video (Relevance: 3.5269709543568%)
  • Power generation, motors, and engines (Relevance: 3.8174273858921%)
  • Research and development (Relevance: 3.0290456431535%)
  • Telegraph, telephone, and telecommunications (Relevance: 3.1535269709544%)
  • Textiles and clothing (Relevance: 3.2780082987552%)
  • Transportation (Relevance: 6.0995850622407%)
❯
Go to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History website

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