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A Better Pointe Shoe Is Sorely Needed

Ballet is an art form steeped in tradition, but pointe shoes need not be out of step with the times.

Spark!Lab

Saying Goodbye to Columbia House

Columbia House introduced me to some of my favorite bands. Now, the music distribution innovator is no more.

Places of Invention

Go-Go, the Funky, Percussive Music Invented in Washington, D.C.

Go-go music--known for its syncopated beats and pioneered by Chuck Brown--was born in D.C. in the 1970s. Here's its story.

Invention Stories

Send Me a Kiss by Wireless

In exchanging emoji's with my daughter, I'm part of a long history of communicating by wireless.

Invention Stories

The Electric Guitar’s Long, Strange Trip

From its gentle 16th-century acoustic origins to the souped-up "Frankenstein"

Invention Stories

The Invention of the Electric Guitar

The electric guitar may be the most important and popular instrument of the last half-century in American music. Certainly its introduction brought a major change to American musical technology and has shaped the sound and direction of modern musical styles.

Invention Stories

Bob Casey: Beyond the Podcast

I recently interviewed inventor Bob Casey for the Lemelson Center’s podcast series. As with many people I’ve interviewed, Bob had many interesting stories to share—far more than can be contained in a 20-minute podcast.

Research Opportunities

Perks of the Job: Up Close and Personal with the Jazz Collections

April is Jazz Appreciation Month (JAM), and we do it in style here at the National Museum of American History, with a full schedule of donation ceremonies by jazz legends, talks on jazz history, and several live performances.

Places of Invention

Innovating Jazz: The Pittsburgh Sound

Our Affiliate partner in Pittsburgh is investigating how the city's geography, community, and networks shaped their distinctive jazz sound for the "Places of Invention" project.

Invention Stories

Michael Jackson, Patented Inventor?

While the moonwalk is not actually a patented dance move, musician Michael Jackson does indeed hold a patent.

Places of Invention

Revolutionary Invention: Hip-Hop and the PC

What do hip-hop music and personal computers have in common? They were both children of the turbulent 1970s, born to innovative people who, building on inventive skills and technologies, nurtured them through creativity, collaboration, risk taking, problem solving, flexibility, and hard work.

Places of Invention

My Trip Behind the Scenes of NMAH's Hip-Hop Collection

It’s always exciting going into the vaults of a museum’s collection. Ok, so actually they’re rarely “vaults,” but it’s still exciting to open collection cabinets and discover what objects may lie inside.

Places of Invention

Invention Hot Spot: Birth of Hip-Hop in the Bronx, New York, in the 1970s

Hip-hop artists and their fans pursued joy and self-expression despite the dire realities of their surroundings.

Invention Stories

Hip-Hop and African American Innovation

The creation of heroes has been important for American society. Heroes help define what it means to be an American, produce narratives about our collective historical past, stabilize our cultural surroundings, and represent the best of what we want our culture to be.

Lemelson Center Books