Skip to main content
  • Main menu
Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation
  • Home
  • Try
    • Explore
    • Study
    • About
    • Multimedia
  • Spark!Lab Network
    • DO Try This at Home!
    • Spark!Lab
    • Encouraging Innovative Thinking
  • Lemelson Center Joins the Spark!Lab National Network

Lemelson Center Joins the Spark!Lab National Network

August 27, 2015 by Michelle DelCarlo

Draper Spark!Lab is now open for business at the National Museum of American History!

Twitter Facebook Tumblr Email Print

On July 1, we re-opened the doors to Draper Spark!Lab, our home base here at the National Museum of American history. Like all Spark!Lab National Network site openings I’ve attended, there was a mixture of nerves, excitement, organized chaos, and pure fun. 

blog_delcarlo-michelle-2015-08-27_cChrisGauthier_nmah sparklab opening.jpg

Kids inventing during the opening of Draper Spark!Lab

And like all Network sites, the magic of Spark!Lab activities was immediately evident. In every activity I facilitated, parents were working with kids, kids were exploring their own ideas, and everyone was either inventing or using skills that inventors use. Collaboration, problem solving, and flexibility are always apparent, and they showed up right away in our Spark!Lab.

The most exciting part of the day, for me, was connecting our Network members to the re-opening experience. I used Google’s Hangouts on Air to broadcast Spark!Lab’s ribbon cutting ceremony, the space in action, and impromptu interviews with staff and volunteers to see how things were going. It felt great to be able to provide this Network-only window into our space. 

blog_delcarlo-michelle-2015-08-27_cChrisGauthier_hangout at sparklab.jpg

Michelle DelCarlo using Google Hangout to connect virtually with Network Members during Spark!Lab's opening

So now that we’re open again here in Washington, DC, I’m looking forward to connecting our Network members even more closely to our home site. Like them, we will continue to learn more about how to best operate our space. We’ll learn more about how to best serve our visitors. And I’m sure we’ll learn more about how to best participate in the Spark!Lab National Network, now that we’re back in action! 

Tags

  • Spark!Lab (Relevance: 34%)
  • Spark!Lab Network (Relevance: 11%)

Related Stories

An adult man is working with a young girl on an activity in SparkLab
Spark!Lab

About Spark!Lab

Draper Spark!Lab is where museum visitors become inventors.

A young girl works on the Invent a Skate Park activity
DO Try This at Home!

Spark!Lab Activities

You can explore the history and process of invention through Draper Spark!Lab activities at home, too!

School children make musical instruments out of craft supplies at Spark!Lab in Ukraine.
Spark!Lab Network

Spark!Lab National Network Established

The success of Spark!Lab led the Lemelson Center to establish the Spark!Lab National Network, an active community of museum professionals who foster inventive creativity in families in their own neighborhoods.

A view into Spark!Lab.
Spark!Lab

A Look Back at Spark!Lab

When we opened Spark!Lab nearly four years ago, I had no idea what we were in for.

VIEW 2735 Matching Results

Found 2735 Stories

  • Agriculture and horticulture (Relevance: 5.1919561243144%)
  • Air and space (Relevance: 6.764168190128%)
  • Archives@NMAH (Relevance: 8.4095063985375%)
  • Chemistry (Relevance: 3.0712979890311%)
  • Food and drink (Relevance: 3.290676416819%)
  • Industry and manufacturing (Relevance: 7.5319926873857%)
  • Medicine, health, and life sciences (Relevance: 4.5703839122486%)
  • Military technology (Relevance: 3.327239488117%)
  • Mining and drilling (Relevance: 3.400365630713%)
  • Patents and trademarks (Relevance: 11.334552102377%)
  • Photography, film, television, and video (Relevance: 3.8756855575868%)
  • Power generation, motors, and engines (Relevance: 3.436928702011%)
  • Spark!Lab (Relevance: 3.5831809872029%)
  • Textiles and clothing (Relevance: 3.363802559415%)
  • Transportation (Relevance: 5.9597806215722%)
  • Women inventors (Relevance: 3.400365630713%)
❯
Go to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History website

About Menu

▼
Open menu
▲
Close menu
  • Explore
    • Blog
    • Invention Stories
    • Places of Invention
    • Beyond Words
  • Study
    • Research Opportunities
    • Archives
    • Lemelson Center Books
    • Lemelson Center Research
    • Symposia & Conferences
  • Try
    • DO Try This at Home!
    • Spark!Lab
    • Spark!Lab Network
    • Encouraging Innovative Thinking
  • About
    • Events
    • Exhibitions
    • News
    • Who We Are
    • FAQ
    • Donate
  • Multimedia
  • Tags
  • Surprise Me
  • Search
  • Open Drawer
Copyright 2023, Smithsonian Institution, All Rights Reserved
  • DONATE
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
Twitter Facebook Tumblr Email Print