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

 

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Screenshot of Douglas Engelbart presenting the mother of all demos on 9 December 1968. Engelbart wears a headset and his head and shoulders appear on the right side of the screen. Part of a shopping list, including grocery items bananas, carrots, lettuce, beans, and more, is on the left side.
Blog

The Mother of All Demos

In December 1968, Douglas Engelbart debuted many of the concepts of modern, interactive computing.

A projection of 3 views of a male customer’s reflection in mirrors, from the side, front, and back. He is wearing a tape measure harness that goes around his neck, arm (at the shoulder), chest, waist, and hips.
Blog

A Photo-Fitted Suit

A camera, some mirrors, a projector, a screen, and a calculator combined for made-to-measure clothing tailored “PhotoMetriCally.”

A grouping of different colored #D-printed plastic pieces that form a prosthetic hand with 2 articulated fingers. The fingers are green plastic with orange wishbone-shaped pieces connecting the joints. The hand is connected to an electronic control box.
Blog

Reinventing the Prosthetic Hand Activity

Using lessons learned to make pivotal tweaks.

A young girl and boy are sitting on the floor, testing their inventions of vehicles with wheels and sails. The little girl seems to be blowing into the paper sail of one vehicle.
Blog

What Does Literacy Look Like in Spark!Lab?

We craft various open-ended experiences in the invention lab, helping visitors show off a vast array of skills, knowledge, and abilities.

Black-and-white head-and-shoulders photo of Robert Cade, wearing a jacket and tie. He holds a large can up to the camera. The can is labeled, “Stokely Van Camp’s Finest Gatorade for Active People.”
Blog

Sporting Invention: Applying the IPOP Framework

The Sporting Invention exhibition team is using the IPOP framework to test which Ideas, People, Objects, and Physical experiences might resonate with visitors.

Figure 1 from John Lloyd Wright’s US Patent 1,351,086 for “Toy Cabin Construction,” dated August 31, 1920. The pen-and-ink figure shows a log cabin with a door and two windows.
Blog

Lincoln Logs Inventor John Lloyd Wright

Yes, this popular childhood toy was designed by none other than the son of architect Frank Lloyd Wright!

Color cover of Popular Neckanics Gagazine, Christmas 1947, with the tagline, “Written so you can’t understand it.” Shows 3 oval-shaped “electronic robot-steered cars,” each with a couple kissing (“necking”) in the passenger seats, traveling down a road.
Blog

Hugo Gernsback's Unconventional Inventions

Hugo Gernsback, the “Father of Science Fiction” was an editor, publisher, author, scientist—and inventor of fantastical necessities.

A sign reads CD STEM Fair Teacher Seminar, Grab Bag Inventing, Session 1: 8:30am, Session 2: 10:00am. Black letters on white background.
Blog

Grab Bag Inventing at the DC STEM Fair

This workshop offered Washington, DC-area teachers the opportunity to learn how to adapt a simple, inventive, skill-building activity for their students.

An engraving of the South Hall, Museum of Models, in the US Patent Office, 1887. Several well-dressed men and women and a young child admire the models in glass cases along the walls of a long room with high vaulted ceilings.
Blog

Patent Models and Prototypes on Display

To mark the issuance of the 10 millionth US Patent, we showcase ten nineteenth-century patent models and prototypes that are currently on display at the National Museum of American History.

Block print in black and white, showing stylized tree, river, house, sun, and clouds
Beyond Words

Inventing Green: Inventor Profiles

Contemporary inventors in diverse fields are committed to "inventing green." Here are a few of their stories . . .

Advertisement for a Linotype machine that shows a photo of the machine with 57 red lines coming out to the margins, noting individual features of the Linotype.
Blog

A Simple Operation

The Linotype was a marvel of the twentieth century, combining the casting, setting, and distributing of type in one machine, in one operation, by one operator.

A pink square on the left and a green square on the right with a black arrow connecting the boxes and pointing from left to right.
Blog

Then and Now

An outwardly seamless shift in Spark!Lab from one set of activities to another.

A black-and-white icon of a Mac Classic computer with a smiling face on the screen.
Blog

Susan Kare, Iconic Designer

Susan Kare designed the distinctive icons, typefaces, and other graphic elements that gave the Apple Macintosh its characteristic—and widely emulated—look and feel.

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.

The reverse side of the John Scott medal, inscribed, “THE SCOTT PREMIUM TO THE MOST DESERVING To John McMullin [sic] of Sinking Valley, Huntingdon County Penna. for a Knitting Machine 1835.”
Blog

Knitting Stockings by Machine

John McMullen and Joseph Hollen, Jr. patented a machine for knitting stockings in 1831 that promised a greater facility in shaping the work, the production of firmer and more even fabrics, and “the employment of children” to attend the operation.

To-Morrow's Scientists flyer for a meeting of the New York Electrical Society and the American Institute Science and Engineering Clubs on Wednesday 28 May 1941. Speakers: Patrick Carner, Roy Gluber, Baruch Blumberg, William Diefenbach.
Blog

Junior Is in the Lab!

The American Institute of the City of New York and its science and engineering clubs provided opportunities for “tomorrow’s junior scientists."

A boy about 11 years old manipulates a robotic hand that he built in SparkLab. He is grasping a bottle with the oversized hand.
Blog

What Does Success Look Like in Spark!Lab?

People do such impressive things in our exhibition every day—here are some anecdotes and impressions from a Facilitator.

9 figures from US Patent 50,359, awarded to John Wesley Hyatt, Jr., in 1865. Figures 1 through 7 and 9 are circular, detailing different parts of the composition of the ball. Figure 8 shows the plug that runs through the core of the ball.
Blog

Imitation Ivory and the Power of Play

How nineteenth-century Americans' love of billiards paved the way for synthetic plastics . . .

Advertising image showing inventor Garthen Leslie holding the Aros air conditioner that he invented. He stands against a backdrop of blueprint-type sketches for the air conditioner. A cut-out of a polar bear wearing a red scarf is at his feet.
Blog

A Cool Story About A/C Inventor Garthen Leslie

Working with Quirky and GE, Garthen Leslie invented the Aros smart air conditioner.

Cropped studio portrait photo of Lewis Howard Latimer, 1882.
Blog

Lost Histories of African American Inventors

In a book written especially for kids, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar shares fascinating stories you probably don't know about 16 historical and contemporary African American inventors.

See More Stories

VIEW 2303 Matching Results

Found 2303 Stories

  • Agriculture and horticulture (Relevance: 5.1237516283109%)
  • Air and space (Relevance: 7.251411202779%)
  • Chemistry (Relevance: 3.126356925749%)
  • Food and drink (Relevance: 2.9092488059053%)
  • Industry and manufacturing (Relevance: 7.4685193226227%)
  • Maritime (Relevance: 3.126356925749%)
  • Medicine, health, and life sciences (Relevance: 4.4290056448111%)
  • Military technology (Relevance: 3.5605731654364%)
  • Mining and drilling (Relevance: 3.9079461571863%)
  • Patents and trademarks (Relevance: 12.02778983934%)
  • Photography, film, television, and video (Relevance: 3.300043421624%)
  • Power generation, motors, and engines (Relevance: 3.6908380373426%)
  • Research and development (Relevance: 3.0395136778116%)
  • Telegraph, telephone, and telecommunications (Relevance: 3.4303082935302%)
  • Textiles and clothing (Relevance: 2.9092488059053%)
  • Transportation (Relevance: 6.2092922275293%)
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