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Invention Stories

Explore the stories of inventors, both famous and little-known.

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A detail from the logo banner for Military Invention Day 2018, showing stylized drawings of an armored vehicle, a parachute, a hypodermic syringe, a scuba diver, an integrated circuit, and a drafting compass, set among a mosaic of squares in shades of green, brown, and blue.
Invention Stories

Military Invention Day 2019

Come to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History on Saturday, May 18, to see leading-edge technologies from armed forces research, meet scientists and engineers, and try your hand at family-friendly invention challenges.

Masthead illustration for The Woman Inventor, 1890, depicting women at work in drafting, agriculture, and industry
Invention Stories

Inventive Minds: Women Inventors

The word “inventor” may conjure images of men like Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham Bell, but the history of women inventors is as long as that of their male counterparts.

Military Invention Day logo: a pixelated head in profile surrounded by icons representing inventions
Invention Stories

Military Invention Day 2018

Come to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History on Saturday, May 19, to see leading-edge technologies from armed forces research, meet scientists and engineers, and try your hand at family-friendly invention challenges.

Military Invention Day logo: a pixelated head in profile surrounded by icons representing inventions
Invention Stories

Military Invention Day 2017

Inventions for the Armed Forces, Innovations for Society

Workers installing solar panels on a home in Englewood, Colorado, in 2012
Invention Stories

Solar on the Line

"So long as the sun shines, man will be able to develop power in abundance . . ." —Thomas Edison, 1896

U-Sketch pick your color green orange blue lavender purple black

Story Tags

  • African American inventors (Relevance: 47.619047619048%)
  • Air and space (Relevance: 33.333333333333%)
  • Archives@NMAH (Relevance: 28.571428571429%)
  • Art (Relevance: 33.333333333333%)
  • Assistive technology (Relevance: 33.333333333333%)
  • Behind-the-scenes (Relevance: 80.952380952381%)
  • Environment (Relevance: 33.333333333333%)
  • Food and drink (Relevance: 71.428571428571%)
  • Innovative Lives program (Relevance: 85.714285714286%)
  • Invention process (Relevance: 28.571428571429%)
  • Kid-friendly (Relevance: 52.380952380952%)
  • Medicine, health, and life sciences (Relevance: 33.333333333333%)
  • Military technology (Relevance: 42.857142857143%)
  • Music (Relevance: 28.571428571429%)
  • Patents and trademarks (Relevance: 28.571428571429%)
  • Photography, film, television, and video (Relevance: 57.142857142857%)
  • Robotics (Relevance: 28.571428571429%)
  • Sports (Relevance: 76.190476190476%)
  • Textiles and clothing (Relevance: 52.380952380952%)
  • Toys and games (Relevance: 57.142857142857%)
  • Women inventors (Relevance: 100%)
Invention Stories

Inventive Minds: Inventing Green

Inventive Minds: Inventing Green features the stories of historic and contemporary inventors whose work on socially-responsible technologies creates profound change for the common good.

Sketch of regulator for jacket driving pump by William A. Bicknell, October 24, 1894. Worthington Pump and Machinery Corporation Records (AC0916-0000003)
Invention Stories

Pumped Up

A collection survey led me to the discovery of previously unknown drafting notebooks (1892-1898). Learn more about these notebooks, what they contain, and their owner.

Patent tag for Paper box by Charles E. Bolchini, 1879.
Invention Stories

Boxed Up

Attributed to a factory mistake, the folding carton came on the scene in 1879 courtesy of the Robert Gair Company of Brooklyn, New York. Read more about the history of the folded carton, an item we encounter almost everyday.

Invention Stories

Voting for All

Dr. Juan Gilbert is an inventor working to making voting accessible to all.

Invention Stories

What Now?: Inventing in a Changing Climate

In a guest post from Science City's Chris Steinauer, learn about how Spark!Lab in Kansas City is challenging visitors to invent solutions to environmental issues.

Invention Stories

Roll Aboard!

As I finish packing for my vacation, I’ve been thinking a lot about the large and small ways in which travel has changed, including the increasing number of gadgets and other conveniences taken for granted today.

Hedy Lamarr
Invention Stories

A Movie Star, Some Player Pianos, and Torpedoes

Hedy Lamarr was dubbed the most beautiful woman in Hollywood, but she was more interested in inventing than in idle compliments.

Smart Water Sensor packaging
Invention Stories

Is the Internet of Things Making the Internet Run Dry?

Egg cartons, streetlights, LED light-bulbs, and trash dumpsters all connect to the Internet.

Invention Stories

What to Wear Today? Invention and Innovation in Dressing

Did you ever think that when you get dressed in the morning, you're expressing inventive creativity? Dr. Linda Przybyszewski says this has been true throughout history.

Invention Stories

King of the Roads

The Good Roads Movement advocated for better roads and would have an enduring impact on the mobility of citizens. Inventor David Ward King contributed a simple, cheap device to make good roads possible.

Issac Singer's Sewing Machine Patent Model, 1851.
Invention Stories

Patents and Public Goods

This weekend's Innovation Festival, held in partnership with the USPTO, will showcase inventors and the patent process. Director Arthur Daemmrich takes a deeper look into the role of patents.

Fish toys invented by Jerome Lemelson
Invention Stories

Jerome Lemelson: Toying with Invention

One of the most interesting things about Jerome Lemelson’s toy patents is the way in which they parallel interests that he was pursuing in other fields.

Nintendo Power Glove
Invention Stories

Success Born of Failure: The Nintendo Power Glove

The Power Glove may have been a huge flop, but it was a failure that resulted in several successful inventions.

Invention Stories

Broadcasting the Story of Invention

In 1950 a young immigrant inventor and entrepreneur is celebrated on a new radio program. Find out why Joe Gerber was called the “young man in a hurry!”

Invention sketch of accessible snowboard
Invention Stories

Inventive Minds: Everyone Is Inventive

Throughout American history, inventors and innovators have used their imaginations to create, improve, and promote inventions and innovations that shape our everyday lives. Explore their stories in the Inventive Minds gallery.

See More Stories

VIEW 2383 Matching Results

Found 2383 Stories

  • Agriculture and horticulture (Relevance: 5.3713806126731%)
  • Air and space (Relevance: 6.6302979437684%)
  • Chemistry (Relevance: 2.8955098615191%)
  • Food and drink (Relevance: 2.8955098615191%)
  • Industry and manufacturing (Relevance: 7.427612253462%)
  • Maritime (Relevance: 2.8955098615191%)
  • Medicine, health, and life sciences (Relevance: 4.4062106588334%)
  • Military technology (Relevance: 3.3571128829207%)
  • Mining and drilling (Relevance: 3.6088963491397%)
  • Patents and trademarks (Relevance: 12.127570289551%)
  • Photography, film, television, and video (Relevance: 3.5669324381032%)
  • Power generation, motors, and engines (Relevance: 3.8606798153588%)
  • Research and development (Relevance: 3.0633655056651%)
  • Telegraph, telephone, and telecommunications (Relevance: 3.1892572387747%)
  • Textiles and clothing (Relevance: 3.2731850608477%)
  • Transportation (Relevance: 6.1267310113303%)
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