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Famous Scientists

Famous Scientists: Frank Hornby

For Students 9th - 10th
Learn how Frank Hornby managed to excel in toy invention based on engineering principles.
Activity
Smithsonian Institution

Lemelson Center: Spark!lab: Invent Your Own Gelatin Dessert

For Students 3rd - 5th
Students learn about the history of Jello and create their own dessert. They analyze the success of their dessert afterwards and make suggestions on how to improve it. They are also invited to take a photo of their creation and email it...
Website
Smithsonian Institution

Smithsonian Libraries:industrial Drawings at the Smithsonian: Doodles & Drafts

For Students 9th - 10th
Drawing is a key element in an inventor's skill set. When it comes to the working out of new ideas, inventors turn to pencil and paper. Mixing art and science, this exhibition site showcases a collection of industrial drawings that...
Handout
PBS

Outline of the History of the Transistor: Lee De Forest

For Students 9th - 10th
Part of a larger site about the history of the transistor, this brief biography of Lee de Forest, the inventor of the audion, includes a QuickTime movie that shows how it worked.
Interactive
PBS

Pbs: Technology at Home

For Students 3rd - 8th
Travel back in time to find out when everyday items such as a computer, radio, or telephone first appeared in homes. You can also connect to links about the people who invented these items.
Handout
PBS

Who Made America? Alexander Graham Bell

For Students 9th - 10th
From a PBS series, They Made America, comes this biography of Alexander Graham Bell and his invention of the telephone. Read about his development of the telephone and research into the sound.
Handout
American Chemical Society

American Chemical Society: The Bakelizer [Pdf]

For Students 9th - 10th
Find out all you want to know about the revolutionary development of Bakelite, the first plastic created entirely from chemicals. Included is a biography of the inventor of Bakelite, Leo Baekeland.
Unit Plan
National Humanities Center

National Humanities Center: Toolbox Library: Progress: The Meaning of the Machine: Thomas Edison

For Students 9th - 10th
A photograph of Edison and an interview of Edison by Theodore Dreiser that displays the inventor's convictions about progress in America.
Handout
The Franklin Institute

The Franklin Institute: A Century of Development

For Students 9th - 10th
The Franklin Institute looks at the invention of the Brownie camera, which helped put photography into the hands of amateurs and allowed the middle class to take their own snapshots as well in the early 20th century.
Lesson Plan
ReadWriteThink

Read Write Think: History Comes Alive: Developing Fluency and Comprehension

For Teachers 2nd - 5th Standards
Let the power of imagination and inference serve as a "time machine" to bring Benjamin Franklin into the classroom! History and science come to life in a dialogue with Franklin the inventor, developed through lesson activities that...
Handout
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Mit: Inventor of the Week: Willard Libby Carbon Dating

For Students 6th - 8th
Use this site to learn about radiocarbon dating and the scientist who discovered it, Willard Libby (1908-1980 CE).
Handout
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Mit: Inventor of the Week: George Westinghouse

For Students 3rd - 8th
This brief article on the life and contributions of George Westinghouse (1846-1914) includes a picture. Read about his air brake as well as his development of the alternating current system.
Handout
Ohio History Central

Ohio History Central: James Ritty

For Students 9th - 10th
Biography of James Ritty, the inventor of the cash register.
Handout
National Inventors Hall of Fame

National Inventors Hall of Fame: Roy J. Plunkett

For Students 9th - 10th
This website provides biographical information about Roy J. Plunkett and his discovery of Teflon.
Handout
National Inventors Hall of Fame

National Inventors Hall of Fame: George Westinghouse

For Students 9th - 10th
Find information about George Westinghouse's contributions to both railroad safety and the adoption of alternating current for motors and the transmission of electricity.
Handout
National Inventors Hall of Fame

National Inventors Hall of Fame: Elizabeth Lee Hazen

For Students 9th - 10th
Site gives a brief professional biography of Elizabeth Lee Hazen who developed the antibiotic nystatin with Rachel Fuller Brown.
Handout
National Inventors Hall of Fame

National Inventors Hall of Fame: Helen Free: Indicator for Detecting Glucose

For Students 9th - 10th
This site provides information on the collaboration of Alfred and Helen Free and thier medical discoveries.
Handout
National Inventors Hall of Fame

National Inventors Hall of Fame: Gertrude Belle Elion

For Students 3rd - 8th
A synopsis of Gertrude Belle Elion's (1918-1999 CE) life. Read about her amazing discovery of a drug that could fight leukemia and also aided in the advancement of kidney transplants.
Handout
National Inventors Hall of Fame

National Inventors Hall of Fame: Louis Pasteur

For Students 9th - 10th
This site provides general information on Louis Pasteur (1822-1895 CE) and his patent number 135,245. The site also describes how he created pasteurization.
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...
Handout
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Mit: Inventor of the Week: Orville & Wilbur Wright

For Students 9th - 10th
This article briefly summarizes the Wright Brothers' scientific curiosity and ambitions which fueled their desire to create the first flying machine.
Handout
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Mit: Inventor of the Week: J. Robert Oppenheimer

For Students 9th - 10th
Credited with the creation of the atomic bomb, Robert Oppenheimer opposed the development of the hydrogen bomb. Read about Oppenheimer's education and involvement in the atomic explosions, which "changed the world forever."
Website
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Mit: Inventor of the Week: Steve Jobs & Steve Wozniak

For Students 3rd - 8th
A brief biography of two entrepreneurs who founded Apple Computers, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, whose combine talents made Apple Computers a success.
Website
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Mit: Inventor of the Week: Robert H. Goddard

For Students 3rd - 8th
This brief article overviews the contributions Robert H. Goddard made to the development of liquid-fueled rockets.

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