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Website
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Mit: Inventor of the Week: Hedy Lamarr

For Students 3rd - 8th
Use this site to learn about Hedy Lamarr (1913-2000 CE), the movie actress who "helped the Allies win World War II" through her involvement in inventing "a classified communication system."
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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.
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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...
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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...
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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 instructional...
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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...
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Handout
Enchanted Learning

Enchanted Learning: Inventors & Inventions 1801 1850

For Students 9th - 10th
This site from Enchanted Learning presents several brief overviews of major early nineteenth century inventors and their inventions. The information is accessible by clicking on the corresponding link.
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Website
PBS

Pbs Teachers: Inventions

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Investigate past and present inventions, and use the tape player as an example to explore issues inventors must deal with, including patents, theft and technological obsolescence. Use the scientific method to choose, design and develop...
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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.
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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.
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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."
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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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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.
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Website
Independence Hall Association

U.s. History: Inventors and Inventions

For Students 5th - 8th
The industrial revolution in America spawned the inventions of many inventors, who improved technology in many different areas. See how transportation, agriculture, and communications were transformed because of these inventions.
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Primary
University of Florida

Baldwin Library: A History of Wonderful Inventions by Henry G. Bohn

For Students 5th - 8th
This is an online photocopy of the original text of the children's book A History of Wonderful Inventions by Henry G. Bohn(1861), a history of inventors and inventions such as the compass, gunpowder, clocks, printing, and more.
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Unit Plan
Have Fun With History

Have Fun With History: Science and Invention

For Students 9th - 10th
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.
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Article
University of Houston

University of Houston: Engines of Our Ingenuity: No. 326: Colonial Women Inventors

For Students 9th - 10th
Provides information on two Colonial women inventors. This is a transcript of an accompanying radio broadcast.

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