We will continue to change how the public understands the role of invention in their daily lives and inspire people to expand their inherent capacity for creativity and inventive thinking.
25 Years
When the Lemelson Center was founded in 1995 through the generosity of Jerome and Dorothy Lemelson, The Washington Post proclaimed it the “motherlode of invention.” We will celebrate our history—and future—throughout 2020.
Picturing Women Inventors exhibition (opening May 2020)
Although the word “inventor” may bring to mind men like Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham Bell, women inventors have always been an essential part of the invention landscape. The stories in Picturing Women Inventors illustrate how the creativity of women inventors—throughout American history and across diverse backgrounds and interests—has changed our lives in myriad ways. The exhibition features 12 stories of historic and contemporary women inventors and their inventions in bold wall murals with large-scale photographs of the inventors and images from the museum’s extensive archives and artifact collections.
Game Changers exhibition and research project
Work continues on many fronts as Game Changers takes shape. An important objective of the exhibition is to transform visitors’ inventive identities as they are challenged to be inventive and create their own “game changing” sports technologies and techniques. To this end, we have identified three priority audiences for the exhibition: young women and girls, ages 10–17; African American young men and boys, ages 10—17; and people with disabilities. With these audiences in mind, the team will conduct formative audience evaluation testing to inform the exhibition design process during the next phase of development. We are actively seeking support to study the potential of informal education spaces like museum exhibitions to impact an individual’s personal understanding of their own inventive identity. The Game Changers team will also continue to meet with advisors; conduct research on sports technology, inventors, and athletes; hone exhibition content ideas and interactive strategies; and begin to develop plans for publication of a complementary book when the exhibition opens in fall 2022.
Innovative Lives with Sports Tech Inventors (first Wednesdays from February–May)
Innovative Lives in 2020 will feature sports technology inventors and innovators as part of the Lemelson Center’s research and exhibition development for Game Changers.
- Adaptive Skateboarding, WCMX, and Inventing Your Own Path with Aaron Fotheringham, Oscar Loreto Jr., and Dan Mancina, moderated by Jeff Brodie
- Jogbra inventors Lisa Lindahl, Hinda Miller, and Polly Palmer Smith, moderated by Monica Smith
- Quickie wheelchair inventor Marilyn Hamilton, moderated by NMAH curator Katherine Ott
- Paralympic skier Sarah Will with Paralympic snowboarder and prosthetics inventor Mike Schultz, moderated by NMAH curator Jane Rogers
New Book in the Lemelson Center Studies Series (March 17)
Beyond Bakelite: Leo Baekeland and the Business of Science and Invention by Joris Mercelis analyzes the career of Belgian-American chemical innovator Leo Baekeland. Mercelis casts new light on the connections and interdependencies between science and industry in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, focusing on the themes of intellectual property and scientific entrepreneurship.
National Council for History Education, “Invention and Innovation in American History” Colloquium for Teachers (April 17-19)
During this three-day educational forum, the Lemelson Center team will host 30 history educators for a colloquium focused on inventive thinking inside and outside the classroom.
Military Invention Day (May 9)
The 2020 festival will feature more than 30 displays of leading-edge military technology, talks by military leadership, and interactive demonstrations and hands-on activities led by scientists, engineers, and inventors from the armed forces and allied research organizations.
Intellectual Property Panel: Patents on Life— Diamond v. Chakrabarty at 40 (June 17)
On the anniversary of the Supreme Court decision that authorized patents on genetically modified organisms, an expert panel will discuss breakthroughs in agricultural biotechnology, explore the controversies surrounding patents on living organisms for farming, and evaluate the impact of such patents on the future of America’s innovation and patent systems.
EurekaFest (June 19)
Museum visitors will enjoy this opportunity, co-hosted with the Lemelson-MIT Program, to interact with high school and college inventors and more than 20 invention prototypes from across the United States.
Spark!Lab Dr. InBae and Mrs. Kyung Joo Yoon Invent It Challenge Celebration (August 6-8)
With generous sponsorship from the Yoon family, and in partnership with Cricket Media, the 2020 contest challenges young inventors to create a new invention that helps provide access to healthy food for everyone, everywhere, every day. The third annual celebratory weekend for the 2020 Invent It Challenge winners will bring together young inventors ages 5–18 to display their inventions and celebrate the inventive legacy of Dr. InBae Yoon.
Annual New Perspectives on Invention and Innovation Symposium (Fall 2020)
Our 2020 New Perspectives symposium will explore the latest scholarship on inventors from historically underrepresented groups, such as women inventors, African Americans inventors, and inventors with disabilities.