Other
Little Inventors: Ingenious Ideas!
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....
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: What Edison Teaches Us About Success
In this interactive activity, students examine Thomas Edison's character traits and how they contributed to his becoming one of the greatest inventors in history. In this interactive activity, students watch videos to gather evidence...
Curated OER
Cbc Kids: 10 of the Latest Inventions to Make Life a Little Easier
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....
National Women’s History Museum
National Women's History Museum: Inventive Women Part 1
Students will learn about female inventors and their contributions to American technology.
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.
Ohio State University
Osu History Teaching Institute: The Industrial Revolution
Explores the development of the textile industry in Great Britain, focusing on the invention of various machines. Also,discusses the social effects of the Industrial Revolution and the connections between the Industrial Revolution and...
![American Chemical Society: The Bakelizer [Pdf] Handout](http://content.lessonplanet.com/resources/thumbnails/456091/large/bwluav9tywdpy2symdizmdeyny0xmte3mdk4lwcwy3uxni5qcgc.jpg?1674856933 "American Chemical Society: The Bakelizer [Pdf] Handout")
American Chemical Society
American Chemical Society: The Bakelizer [Pdf]
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.
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...
National Humanities Center
National Humanities Center: Toolbox Library: Progress: The Meaning of the Machine: Thomas Edison
A photograph of Edison and an interview of Edison by Theodore Dreiser that displays the inventor's convictions about progress in America.
Library of Congress
Loc: Teachers: America at the Centennial
A lesson plan requiring student to analyze primary documents from the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition of 1876. Students interpret what these historical artifacts say "about the lives and values of Americans in 1876" among other things.
Library of Congress
Loc: What in the World Is That?
Can you match the picture to the correct invention? Read about these inventions and the importance of them. Also included are related sites to find further information about each invention.
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Harcourt: Biographies: Otis Boykin 1920 1982
Otis Boykin was a successful African American inventor whose inventions include resistors for electrical equipment and missiles, a controller for pacemakers, and a burglar-proof cash register.
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Harcourt: Biographies: Thomas Edison
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.
University of Groningen
American History: Outlines: The Era of Expansion and Reform
Information about the period in United States history between the Civil War and World War I. The United States was transformed from a rural republic to an urban state.
Scholastic
Scholastic History Mystery: Twentieth Century Inventions: Plastic
Students try to guess the mystery subject Carlotta Facts, the History Mystery Museum's professor, is studying. They read the clues, do some online and offline research, and then attempt to identify the game's mystery subject, the...
Great Idea Finder
Great Idea Finder: Lewis Howard Latimer
An extensive biography of the life of African-American inventor, Lewis Latimer. Find out about his primary claim to fame in the development of an incandescent light bulb, but be sure to read about his many patents, and his importance to...
Great Idea Finder
The Great Idea Finder: Thomas Alva Edison
This site from The Great Idea Finder presents a lengthy biography of Thomas Edison, followed by a wealth of suggested resources including books, movies, and the Internet.
Great Idea Finder
Great Idea Finder: Invention of the First Typewriter
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.
Great Idea Finder
The Great Idea Finder: Refrigerator
This site provides a brief overview of the invention of the refrigerator.
Great Idea Finder
The Great Idea Finder: Invention of the Sewing Machine
The history of the sewing machine is found at this site.
Vassar College
1896: Inventions
A brief recounting of the influx of inventions in the late 19th century that flooded the market. Of particular interest is the description of the use of hot air balloons.
PBS
Pbs: Technology at Home
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.
Scholastic
Scholastic News: Transformers Come to Life
This article describes Kuratas, a 13 foot tall Japanese robot that can be operated by a human pilot or remotely via a 3G touch phone.
US National Archives
Nara: Teaching With Documents: Telephone and Light Patent Drawings
A lesson plan about Alexander Graham Bell's patent for the telephone and Thomas Edison's patent for the electric lamp. Contains good background information and historically pertinent documents. It also discusses the role corporations...