Smithsonian Institution
Lemelson Center: Invention Stories
Six categories of inventions highlight the inventors in those categories and describe their sometimes world-changing inventions. Other inventions are not so critical, but nonetheless fascinating.
Science Struck
Science Struck: A List of Famous Inventors
A long list of famous inventors with some biographical information and descriptions of their inventions.
Other
Positive.news: Children's Inventions to Make the World a Better Place
Children's imaginations are infinite - so could they help draw up the ambitious projects that we need to fight the world's challenges? A group was asked to design inventions to make society a better place. Here's how they responded.
Library of Congress
Loc: Everyday Mysteries: Who "Invented" the Tv Dinner?
Ever wonder who "invented" the TV dinner? This article provides a discussion of the people and companies involved in the creation of complete frozen meals starting in the 1940s and ending in 1954 when Swanson's frozen meals appeared and...
Alabama Learning Exchange
Alex: You, Too, Can Be an Inventor!
How have inventions changed the world? This unit focuses on the importance, the process and the creativity involved in inventing. Through the study of inventions and inventors, young scholars learn how inventions are created and the...
PBS
Pbs: American Experience: Special Feature: Forgotten Inventors
This fascinating site from PBS features seven inventions from the 19th and 20th centuries, along with information about the men and women who created them. Click on one of the small photos to learn more, or scroll down through the...
Other
Smith College: Museum of Ancient Inventions
Look at these ancient inventions. Compare these inventions with ones we use today to see if you can find any similarities. Take a tour of the museum or click each invention to find out more info.
Science Museum of Minnesota
Science Museum of Minnesota: Students as Designers
This site provides eight projects to use in an elementary classroom to encourage students to become inventors/designers. Invention, prototyping, materials exploration, creative writing, problem-solving, and group presentations are...
Have Fun With History
Have Fun With History: Science and Invention
Module with links to resources and videos on science, inventions and technology of the 19th and 20th Centuries that changed the course of American history.
Smithsonian Institution
Lemelson Center: True Colors Dyeing Yarn
An interesting history and exploration of the technology and invention of dyes and dyeing from earliest times to present and the effects of new colors in yarns on the economy. This is a complete unit of lessons with activities and...
OpenStax
Open Stax: Industrialization and Big Business, 1870 1900: Inventors of the Age
In the Industrial Revolution, new products and inventions spurred the growth of big business. Learn about some of these inventions and the people who created them, for example, Alexander Graham Bell and Thomas Edison.
Other
Edison:life and Inventions/motion Pictures
This page is part of an online text of a book published in 1929 by Dyer and Martin on the life and work of inventor Thomas Edison. Discusses Edison's role in the development of motion pictures, but be sure to view the rest of the book...
Other
Edison Birthplace Museum: Patents Granted to Thomas Edison
Thomas Edison is one of the world's greatest inventors and has been responsible for more inventions than any other inventor. Here is a chronological listing of the over 1,000 patents he was granted during his lifetime.
A&E Television
History.com: 9 Groundbreaking Inventions by Women
Women inventors are behind a wide range of key innovations, from Kevlar to dishwashers to better life rafts. Female inventors have played a large role in U.S. history, but haven't always received credit for their work. Women --...
A&E Television
History.com: 7 Groundbreaking Inventions by Latino Innovators
From entertainment devices to lifesaving medical technologies, Latino inventors have advanced humankind through their contributions. Latino inventors have created revolutionary devices that have transformed our everyday world - and often...
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Mit: Inventor of the Week: Robert Moog
Robert Moog fused his love music and electronics when he invented the synthesizer. This website includes background information on the creation of the synthesizer and provides several links.
Science Struck
Science Struck: 41 Smart Inventions of the 1920s
Provides descriptions of many well-known innovations that were invented in the 1920s.
Science Struck
Science Struck: 8 Albert Einstein Inventions That Impacted the World
Describes the refrigerator invented by Einstein and many of his discoveries in physics.
Science Struck
Science Struck: Famous Scientists and Their Inventions
A long list of scientists and their world-changing inventions.
Smithsonian Institution
Lemelson Center: Innovative Lives: Stephanie Kwolek and Kevlar, the Wonder Fiber
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.
PBS
Pbs: They Made America
Companion site to the four-part series on looking at America through inventors. Focuses on inventors from the early days of the country to modern day. From Robert Fulton and Samuel Colt, to Ted Turner and Russell Simmons, this site...
Discovery Education
Discovery Education: 3 M Young Scientist Lab: Innovation Exploration
Advance your way through everyday life by exploring the science all around you. Click on an innovation within each scene and answer each question to proceed to the next.
Smithsonian Institution
Lemelson Center: Invention Features: Lewis Latimer
Smithsonian site features the life and many accomplishments of Lewis Latimer, the famous African-American inventor.