Website
The Henry Ford

The Henry Ford: Thomas A. Edison and the Menlo Park Laboratory

For Students 9th - 10th
This site, presented by the Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village, offers a peek into the life and inventions of Thomas Edison. Content is focused mainly on Edison's Menlo Park Laboratory and his invention of the first practical...
Handout
Smithsonian Institution

Lemelson Center: Innovative Lives: Stephanie Kwolek and Kevlar, the Wonder Fiber

For Students 9th - 10th
Smithsonian site features Stephanie Kwolek, the inventor of kevlar. Learn about her famous discovery and the road she took to get there. Contains links to read more about women inventors.
Website
Curated OER

Cbc Kids: 10 of the Latest Inventions to Make Life a Little Easier

For Students 3rd - 5th
Learn about some of the nifty inventions that add more functionality to common objects. With the Smart toothbrush, your teeth will be clean in no time. The Albert Clock forces you to answer a Math question before it tells you the time....
Website
Smithsonian Institution

Lemelson Center: Invention Process

For Students 9th - 10th
Through a number of articles, stories and research we learn about the invention process, including communicating your ideas, staying resilient when things go wrong.
Lesson Plan
Council for Economic Education

Econ Ed Link: Economic Spotter: Inventors and Entrepreneurs in the Industrial Age

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
The Industrial Age has also been called the Age of Edison. Edison patented more than 1000 inventions and gave rise to three industries: electric utilities, phonograph and record companies, and the film industry. This lesson will help...
Article
New York Times

New York Times: 32 Innovations That Will Change Your Tomorrow

For Students 1st - 9th
If you don't know that the incandescent light was a failure before it was a success, it's easy to write off some modern energy innovations like solar panels because they haven't hit the big time fast enough. Worse, the fairy-tale view of...
Article
PBS

Pbs: Creativity and Play: Fostering Creativity

For Teachers Pre-K - 1st
One of the most important types of creative activity for young children is creative play. This article discusses the benefits of creative play and other ways to foster creativity in your classroom.
Unit Plan
Have Fun With History

Have Fun With History: Retro Future

For Students 9th - 10th
Have fun with history videos from the past which explored technologies and innovations of the future that is now, some relevant and others not, teaches students about the dreams of the past.
Handout
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Mit: Invention of the Week: George Eastman

For Students 9th - 10th
A biography of George Eastman, who revolutionized photography with his innovations in film and photograph development. From the MIT School of Engineering.
Handout
Project Britain

Primary Homework Help: The Victorians: Inventions

For Students 4th - 7th
Find out about several major developments that made travel, communications, and trade easier for many people during the Victorian period.
Interactive
South Carolina Educational Television

Etv: Nasa Online: Invention Process: Brain Teasers

For Students 3rd - 8th
Interactive brain games that challenge thinking and creativity skills.
Handout
Alberta Online Encyclopedia

Alberta Online Encyclopedia: Alberta Inventors and Inventions: Charles Sherwood Noble

For Students 9th - 10th
One of Alberta's greater known inventors, Charles Noble, is explored through his biography and his impact on soil erosion, the invention of the "Noble Blade" and the history of Nobleford, a community in southern Alberta named for him.
Lesson Plan
Council for Economic Education

Econ Ed Link: Peanuts, Pecans, and Peas, Please

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
George Washington Carver, a great scientist, changed the economy of the South with his agricultural knowledge. This lesson will investigate how the lowly peanut kept the cotton farmers from losing everything.
Website
Other

Little Inventors: Ingenious Ideas!

For Students 1st - 6th
Here you will find examples of inventions created by children. They submit their ideas along with drawings and plans. Many of these are made into real objects and posted for the inventors to see what they would look like in real life....
Article
Other

Bright Horizons: Nurturing Creativity & Imagination for Child Development

For Teachers Pre-K - K
Imagination is critical in child development. Find tips to help nurture and encourage creativity in your kids!
Lesson Plan
Other

Milwaukee Art Museum: In the Year 2121

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Students research the advances of an invention's industrial design over decades or centuries. They then project future improvements and innovations with drawings and descriptive prose.
Professional Doc
Edutopia

Edutopia: How to Use Play for Learning

For Teachers Pre-K - 1st
Play is a primary and integral mode through which children make sense of the world, and that it is essential to their development and well-being. This article offers ideas on how to balance play and academic expectations in your classroom.
Lesson Plan
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Time for Design

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students are introduced to the engineering design process, focusing on the concept of brainstorming design alternatives. They learn that engineering is about designing creative ways to improve existing artifacts, technologies or...
Handout
PBS

Pbs: Who Made America?: Innovators: Cyrus Mc Cormick

For Students 9th - 10th
A Virginia farmer invented a mechanical reaper, then harvested profits in the Midwest's exploding grain belt, innovating credit, service, and sales practices that became essential parts of American big business.
Handout
PBS

Pbs: Who Made America?: Innovators: Georges Doriot

For Students 9th - 10th
A Frenchman with a cool eye formed a publicly traded company to assess thousands of business proposals -- and funded the best ones, inventing the modern practice of venture capitalism.
Activity
Other

Teach Preschool: Invest Time in Pretend Play

For Teachers Pre-K - K
Pretend play inspires imagination...that's where the real learning begins! This lesson centers around the book "Pumpkin Soup" by Helen Cooper. Each character has a special role in creating the soup, so centers can be set up for the...
Lesson Plan
Council for Economic Education

Econ Ed Link: Transportation: They Say We Had a Revolution (Part 1)

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Advancements in transportation have played a key role in the growth of our nation. U.S.government policies have also had a considerable impact on the development of transport as we know it today. In this series of three lessons, the...
Lesson Plan
Council for Economic Education

Econ Ed Link: Transportation: They Say We Had a Revolution (Part 3)

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Advancements in transportation have played a key role in the growth of our nation. U.S. government policies have also had a considerable impact on the development of transport as we know it today. In this series of three lessons, the...
Lesson Plan
Discovery Education

Discovery Education: Technology at Work

For Teachers 1st - 5th
In this classroom activity, students research the importance of technologies which contributed to societal advancements throughout history.