Handout
Science Struck

Science Struck: What Did Albert Einstein Invent

For Students 6th - 8th
Read about some of the significant inventions of Albert Einstein.
Activity
Science Struck

Science Struck: Brain Stimulating Invention Ideas for 6th Graders

For Students 5th - 7th
Presents some ideas for inventions that 6th graders could try for a science project.
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.
Interactive
Museum of Science

Museum of Science (Boston): Leonardo's Mysterious Machines

For Students 3rd - 8th
A game that showcases the inventive genius of Leonardo da Vinci, who made drawings of helicopters, planes, and tanks long before these machines ever became modern-era realities. Have fun learning about Leonardo's many ideas while you...
Website
Smithsonian Institution

Smithsonian Libraries: Innovators Gallery

For Students 9th - 10th
Who invented the tennis racket, Crayola Crayons or Tupperware? Smithsonian site invites users to explore the achievements of a variety of American innovators and inventors.
Handout
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Harcourt: Biographies: Thomas Edison

For Students 9th - 10th
A good description of the inventions and life of this bright and ambitious man. As inventor of the light bulb, phonograph, movie camera and many others, Edison lived a very inspiring life. In Spanish.
Handout
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Mit: Inventor of the Week: Nikola Tesla: The Electro Magnetic Motor

For Students 3rd - 8th
Use this site to learn about the inventor of the electro-magnetic motor, Nikola Tesla. Find out why Tesla's experimentation with alternating current was so important to later inventions and use of electricity.
Handout
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Mit: Inventor of the Week: James T. Russell

For Students 3rd - 8th
This site provides a biography of James T. Russell, inventor of the compact disk, and the basic ideas behind the technology.
Website
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Mit: Inventor of the Week: Wallace Carothers

For Students 9th - 10th
This site from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology contains information on Wallace Hume Carothers and his invention of nylon.
Handout
National Inventors Hall of Fame

National Inventors Hall of Fame: George Eastman

For Students 9th - 10th
Read a biography of George Eastman and find out how his inventions and innovations revolutionized photography.
Handout
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Mit: Inventor of the Week: Jonas Salk

For Students 9th - 10th
Read about Jonas Salk and the development of the polio vaccine. This article from the MIT Invention Dimension includes several links to further information on the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis and the Salk Institute for...
Website
Curated OER

National Park Service: Thomas Edison National Historical Park: Thomas Edison

For Students 9th - 10th
This site includes information about Thomas Edison's inventions and his home and family life. Find a lengthy biography and several sounds from Edison's original phonograph.
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
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Mit: Inventor of the Week: Ruth Wakefield (Inventor of the Chocolate Chip Cookie)

For Students 3rd - 8th
Read a biography of Ruth Wakefield, the inventor of the chocolate chip cookie.
Website
Great Idea Finder

Great Idea Finder: Invention of the First Typewriter

For Students 9th - 10th
A review of the history of the typewriter and a description of the first practical one invented by Christopher Sholes, Carlos Glidden, and Samuel Soule.
Unit Plan
National High Magnetic Field Laboratory

Magnet Academy: Crookes Tube 1870

For Students 9th - 10th
English chemist Sir William Crookes (1832 - 1919) invented the Crookes tube to study gases, which fascinated him. His work also paved the way for the revolutionary discovery of the electron and the invention of X-ray machines.
Website
Library of Congress

Loc: Everyday Mysteries: Who Is Credited as Inventing the Telephone?

For Students 9th - 10th
Find out who is credited for the invention of the telephone in this brief history.
Unit Plan
TED Talks

Ted: Ted Ed: How the Bendy Straw Was Invented

For Students 9th - 10th
In the twelfth installment of our 'Moments of Vision' series, Jessica Oreck shares the origins of the bendy straw.
Activity
Read Works

Read Works: Famous Inventors Alexander Graham Bell: You Rang?

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
[Free Registration/Login Required] This passage shares brief biographical information about Alexander Graham Bell and his role in inventing the telephone. This passage is a stand-alone curricular piece that reinforces essential reading...
Handout
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Mit: Inventor of the Week: Eli Whitney

For Students 3rd - 8th
This site from the MIT Invention Dimension provides the history of Eli Whitney's cotton gin. Important part of the Industrial Revolution.
Handout
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Mit: Inventor of the Week: Henry Ford

For Students 3rd - 8th
This site from MIT Invention Dimension is a brief profile of Henry Ford focusing on the Assembly Line.
Handout
Great Idea Finder

The Great Idea Finder: Invention of the Microwave Oven

For Students 9th - 10th
Site includes fascinating facts about the invention of the microwave oven by Perry Spencer in 1945.
Handout
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Mit: Inventor of the Week: Gilbert Lewis

For Students 9th - 10th
At this site from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, you can read about the inventor of "Heavy Water," Gilbert Newton Lewis, who is "one of the most influential and admired scientists of the twentieth century."
Website
Great Idea Finder

The Great Idea Finder: Invention of the Telephone

For Students 9th - 10th
The Great Idea Finder provides information on the invention of the telephone by Alexander Graham Bell and its history throughout the years. Links to other sites with information are provided.

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