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Found 97 Stories

Blog

How the Invention of the Air Brush Transformed Commercial Art

Simple in construction and operation, the air brush offered new opportunities in art and photography.

Blog

The Invention of Instant Replay

Tony Verna revolutionized the way we watch and officiate sports when he invented instant replay in 1963.

Blog

A Photo-Fitted Suit

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

Blog

Hollywood Geek Fest—The Oscars Side Party

Two proudly geeky historians offer an appreciation of the winners of the Academy's Scientific and Technical Awards.

Lemelson Center Books

The Early American Daguerreotype

The Early American Daguerreotype maps the evolution of the daguerreotype, as medium and as profession. Published in the Lemelson Center Studies in Invention and Innovation book series with MIT Press.

Blog

"Joy's" Process of Inventing

Jennifer Lawrence's silver screen portrayal of inventor Joy Mangano makes the case for the invention process.

Invention Stories

Success Born of Failure: The Nintendo Power Glove

The Power Glove may have been a huge flop, but it was a failure that resulted in several successful inventions.

Encouraging Innovative Thinking

Teaching Science with a Wizard’s Touch

In the early 1950s, Don Herbert (1917-2007) created Watch Mr. Wizard (1951–1965), an educational children’s television program devoted to science and technology. We think he'd feel right at home in Spark!Lab.

Places of Invention

A Little Story about the Big Screen

The "Places of Invention" interactive map offers a great opportunity to share stories both epic and personal.

Places of Invention

Invention Hot Spot: Technicolor Sets the Scene

The Ruby Slippers worn by 16-year-old Judy Garland during the filming of "The Wizard of Oz" are among the most popular and treasured artifacts at the Museum. How did they get that rich ruby color?

Invention Stories

Playing Games on the Job

Playing vintage video games must fit under the “other duties as assigned” part of my job description.

Invention Stories

How to Hover

Inventions to tackle the fascination with floating a few inches off the ground.

Invention Stories

Ralph Baer: The Inventor I Knew

Director Art Molella reflects on his friendship with "the father of video games," the late Ralph Baer.

Invention Stories

Innovating New Traditions

A look at the tech behind some popular Thanksgiving traditions.

Invention Stories

Extraordinary Attractions! Be Amazed! Must See!

Founded in 1916, the dynamic and creative duo of George H. Messmore and Joseph Damon designed and constructed window display, parade floats, and more, often featuring animated mechanical devices.

Invention Stories

Where Art and Tech Meet

Over the years, photographer Peter Badge has never gone digital.This prompted me to reflect on the tools of photographers, human creativity, and machine “intelligence.”

Invention Stories

Don’t Make Me Get the Flying Monkeys

A donation of Elphaba's costume from "Wicked" to the collections of the National Museum of American History prompts a look into the inventions and innovations that help make "Wicked" such an amazing spectacle.

Places of Invention

Lowell through the Lens

The "Places of Invention" Affiliates Project is empowering communities across the US to document local invention and innovation. Here's a story from Lowell, MA.

Invention Stories

Sivowitch Law of Firsts

"Whenever you prove who was first, the harder you look you will find someone else who was more first. And if you persist in your efforts you find that the person whom you thought was first was third."

Invention Stories

The Inventive Spirit, Alive and Well?

We are seeing American ingenuity and "can-do" attitude brought to us front and center in a host of reality TV shows, on not one, but several cable and public television networks.