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Found 47 Stories
Computer-generated drawing of a swimmer in a LZR suit in the water, legs and arms extended.
Blog

The Impact of Invention on Sport

A look at the Speedo LZR Racer, an invention that made too big of a splash.

A graffiti artist is bent over, holding a spray paint can, finishing his colorful artwork that looks like a green slime monster with sharp teeth and bloodshot, bugged-out eyes, with its tongue flapping in the wind. The monster holds a skateboard reading, “Gums and Tongue.”
Blog

Innoskate London

The Smithsonian and skateboarding? In England? Sick.

High jumper Dick Fosbury goes over the bar head first with his back to the bar.
Blog

Testing Exhibition Ideas about Sport and Invention

Innovation can take different forms when applied to the topic of sports, so we asked visitors what was most important to them.

Black-and-white head-and-shoulders photo of Robert Cade, wearing a jacket and tie. He holds a large can up to the camera. The can is labeled, “Stokely Van Camp’s Finest Gatorade for Active People.”
Blog

Sporting Invention: Applying the IPOP Framework

The Sporting Invention exhibition team is using the IPOP framework to test which Ideas, People, Objects, and Physical experiences might resonate with visitors.

9 figures from US Patent 50,359, awarded to John Wesley Hyatt, Jr., in 1865. Figures 1 through 7 and 9 are circular, detailing different parts of the composition of the ball. Figure 8 shows the plug that runs through the core of the ball.
Blog

Imitation Ivory and the Power of Play

How nineteenth-century Americans' love of billiards paved the way for synthetic plastics . . .

USA gymnastics leotard worn by Dominque Dawes in 1996 Olympics
Blog

The Summer Olympics Starring Scientists and Engineers

The unsung heroes behind the 2016 Summer Olympics are the scientists and engineers whose inventions and innovations help these athletes strive toward the Olympic motto of “Faster, Higher, Stronger.”

Tennis racket used by Althea Gibson
Blog

Exploring Sports and Innovation at the Lemelson Center

“It’s not whether you win or lose, it’s how you play the game.” This often paraphrased quote inspired me to think about the “how” in terms of sports and innovation.

NASCAR racers take a turn around the track.
Invention Stories

SAFER Barriers at NASCAR

After the tragic death of racing legend Dale Earnhardt in 2001, NASCAR and industry partners have been inventing their way to safer tracks.

Invention Stories

Spring Training: The Fun, The Safe and The Effective

Now that spring training 2015 is finally underway, I thought it might be fun to take a closer look into some the equipment the boys of summer might be using to perfect their pitching, and sharpen their swing and fielding fundamentals.

Photo of Matt Capozzi and Nathan Connelly with a prototype accessible snowboard
Invention Stories

Matt Capozzi and Nathan Connolly: Accessible Snowboard Inventors

While in college, these inventors designed a snowboard that works for people who can't use their legs.

Rear view of a cyclist traveling downhill on Augspurger’s handcycle
Invention Stories

Mike Augspurger: Handcycle Inventor

Mike Augspurger—a mountain biker and bicycle builder—created an innovative all-terrain handcycle for wheelchair athletes.

Patti McGee and Di Dootson Rose at Innoskate 2013
Beyond Words

Podcast: Patti McGee and Di Dootson Rose, Pioneering Skateboarders

Patti McGee and Di Dootson Rose talk about their lives as women skateboarders and offer some insight on skateboarding's place in American culture.

US stamp commemorating the 1932 Winter Olympic Games.
Invention Stories

Faster, Higher, Stronger: Science and Engineering Behind the Olympic Winter Games

You tune into the Olympics to watch feats of athleticism, strength, grace, and endurance. But don't forget about the feats of technology!

Jacob Rosenberg
Beyond Words

Podcast: Jacob Rosenberg Turns the Camera on Skateboarders

Jacob Rosenberg explores the skate world through his films.

Invention Stories

Who Invented the Super Bowl Trophy?

As I begin to anticipate the 2014 Super Bowl, I wondered: Who invented the Super Bowl Trophy?

Cindy Whitehead speaks at Innoskate 2013
Beyond Words

Podcast: Robin Logan and Cindy Whitehead, Pioneering Skateboarders

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.

Invention Stories

Tailgating: Grilling, Drinking, and Inventing

As anyone who has been to a sporting event knows, tailgating is where it’s at. So what tailgating inventions are out there?

Invention Stories

Joining the Boys Club: Cindy Whitehead and Skateboarding

Cindy Whitehead is one of the only women ever to be featured riding vert in the centerfold of a skateboarding magazine.

Invention Stories

Set Em’ Up! Knock Em’ Down! Bowling’s Automated Pin Technology

Automatic pin setting technology was the first of many advances that would transform the game of bowling.

Research Opportunities

Interning at Innoskate

As a former skateboarder, Innoskate intertwined my interests for history and skateboarding, creating new perspectives that I had never before considered!

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