Beyond Words
Does play serve a purpose or is the point of play to have no purpose?
Beyond Words
See a reenactment of Thomas Edison's first recording of sound, from the Lemelson Center's celebration of Edison's 150th birthday.
Beyond Words
Patti McGee and Di Dootson Rose talk about their lives as women skateboarders and offer some insight on skateboarding's place in American culture.
Beyond Words
Jacob Rosenberg explores the skate world through his films.
Invention Stories
Today marks the 30th anniversary of Apple’s famous “1984” television ad that aired on January 22, 1984 during the third quarter of the Super Bowl XVIII between the Los Angeles Raiders and Washington Redskins. Historian Eric Hintz describes how the “1984” ad and the introduction of the Apple Macintosh were key milestones both in the history of computing and the history of advertising.
Beyond Words
The author of a new biography on Nikola Tesla offers insights into the legendary inventor's processes.
Beyond Words
W. Bernard Carlson, author of "Tesla: Inventor of the Electrical Age," talks about Nikola Tesla's life and work.
Beyond Words
W. Bernard Carlson, author of "Tesla: Inventor of the Electrical Age," talks about Nikola Tesla's life and work during a program presented by the Lemelson Center at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.
Beyond Words
Artist-designer-inventor Adam Harvey explores the aesthetics of privacy.
Beyond Words
Robin Logan and Cindy Whitehead talk about their lives as two of the first professional women skateboarders and offer some insight on skateboarding’s place in American culture.
Beyond Words
DJ Bob Casey talks about introducing the dual turntable into the music scene in 1958.
Research Opportunities
As a former skateboarder, Innoskate intertwined my interests for history and skateboarding, creating new perspectives that I had never before considered!
Beyond Words
Trek Bicycle senior composites manufacturing engineer Jim Colegrove describes the evolution of carbon fiber frames at Trek.
Beyond Words
Adam Mossoff, professor of law at George Mason University, explores the sewing machine patent war of the 1850s and its parallels with contemporary patent wars.
Beyond Words
Jesse Heitz, King's College, London, describes the Confederacy’s use of ironclad ship technology and National Air and Space Museum curator Tom Crouch talks about prototypes for flying machines during the Civil War.
Beyond Words
John Miller, Georgia Institute of Technology, discusses the differences between the Union and the Confederacy in their approaches to telegraph technology and Joan Boudreau, curator of Graphic Arts at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, highlights the role of tabletop portable printing presses.
Beyond Words
Skateboarding legend Rodney Mullen talks about the intersection of skateboarding and invention.
