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Other

Brockton Historical Society: Thomas Alva Edison

For Students 9th - 10th
Site devoted completely to the achievements of Thomas Edison. Includes a detailed biography, inventions, photo gallery, and quotes.
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Website
Smithsonian Institution

Nat'l Portrait Gallery: Ballyhoo! Poster as Portraiture: Edison's New Phonograph

For Students 9th - 10th
A poster extolling the virtues of Thomas Edison's new phonograph is accompanied by text that explains the purpose of the poster and how it was made.
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Website
Other

Edision Birthplace Museum: Birthplace of Edison

For Students 9th - 10th
Biographical look at Thomas Edison from the museum of his birthplace. Provides information on his life and his inventions. Also gives a tour of Edison's birthplace.
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Website
Other

History of Recording Technology: Edison's Invention of the Phonograph

For Students 9th - 10th
Click through the pages on this site to read about Edison's development of the phonograph as well as a discussion of Edison's rivals who were seeking to develop a similar product. Read about the changes in the ways to record sound as the...
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Website
Rutgers University

Blueprint for Change: The Life and Times of Lewis H. Latimer

For Students 9th - 10th
An extensive look at the inventor, Lewis Latimer, from the Thomas Edison Papers at Rutgers University. Read essays about his life and inventions, the culture in Boston which encouraged his work, and his life outside his inventions. A...
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Handout
Smithsonian Institution

Lemelson Center: Tracing the Roots of America's Motion Picture Industry

For Students 9th - 10th
In the late 1800's, Thomas Edison and his fellow inventors were key in the American film industry's boom.This web site provides a podcast and accompanying transcript tracing the roots of the film industry in America. Podcast [21:27]
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Handout
Other

Kidcyber: Thomas Alva Edison

For Students 3rd - 8th
A biographical overview of the life and many inventions of Thomas Alva Edison.
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Handout
Energy for Sustainable Development

Esd Bulgaria: Kids & Energy: Energy Pioneers: Thomas Alva Edison

For Students 3rd - 8th
A profile of Thomas Alva Edison, who lived from 1847 to 1931, an American who made many important inventions, such as the electric light bulb. A timeline of his inventions is provided here.
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Handout
National Inventors Hall of Fame

National Inventors Hall of Fame: Thomas Alva Edison

For Students 9th - 10th
This site honorsThomas Alva Edison as a historic inventor and focuses attention on his invention of the electric lamp.
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Handout
Library of Congress

Loc: America's Story: Thomas Alva Edison

For Students 3rd - 8th
A variety of images, photographs, and information on the life of Thomas Alva Edison (1847-1931) can be found in the site by the Library of Congress. Information can be found here regarding his invention and influence on American society....
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Handout
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Mit: Invention of the Week: Thomas Alva Edison

For Students 9th - 10th
As the inventor of the lightbulb, phonograph, and the printing telegraph, Thomas Alva Edison (1847-1931), improved the daily lives of everyday people.
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Website
Smithsonian Institution

National Museum of American History: Edison After Forty

For Students 9th - 10th
This online exhibition traces Edison's life, both personal and professional after he reached forty. Historic, primary materials are included.
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Handout
National High Magnetic Field Laboratory

Magnet Academy: Edison Battery 1903

For Students 9th - 10th
Although it never quite measured up to expectations, the Edison battery paved the way for the modern alkaline battery.
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Website
PBS

Pbs American Experience: Edison's Miracle of Light

For Students 9th - 10th
This site explores the various challenges Edison faced upon attempting to produce electric power. It contains a historical essay, a complete list of Edison's patents, information on the AC and DC currents, recordings produced by the...
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Website
The Franklin Institute

The Franklin Institute: Edison's Lightbulb: History of Science and Technology

For Students 3rd - 8th
The Franklin Institute features a biography of Thomas Edison and a complete description of the light bulb as well as an experiment.
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eBook
Other

Edison: His Life and Inventions: The Telephone, Motograph, and Microphone

For Students 9th - 10th
This site offers the text of a book by Frank Dyer and Thomas Martin published in 1929 on the inventions of Thomas Edison. This particular page discusses Alexander Graham Bell's development of the telephone and the controversy over Thomas...
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Website
Digital History

Digital History: The Wizard of Menlo Park

For Students 9th - 10th
This resource provides information about the famous American inventor, Thomas Edison. Find out about his childhood, some of his famous inventions, and even some of his mistakes.
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Lesson Plan
US National Archives

Nara: Teaching With Documents: Telephone and Light Patent Drawings

For Teachers 9th - 10th
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...
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Handout
National High Magnetic Field Laboratory

Magnet Academy: Timeline of Electricity and Magnetism: 1880 1889

For Students 9th - 10th
Nikola Tesla and Thomas Edison duke it out over the best way to transmit electricity and Heinrich Hertz is the first person (unbeknownst to him) to broadcast and receive radio waves.
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Handout
PBS

Pbs: Who Made America?: Innovators: Thomas Edison

For Students 9th - 10th
The "Wizard of Menlo Park" brought the world electric light, recorded music, and the movies, among other things, and turned innovation into a science by inventing the research laboratory.
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Interactive
Curated OER

National Park Service: Dison National Historical Site: The Invention Factory

For Students 6th - 9th
This terrific interactive site from the National Park Service describes the different buildings on Thomas Edison's West Orange, New Jersey's laboratory facility. After exploring the buildings, follow Edison's invention and application of...
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Website
Other

Earliest Voices: Gallery From the Vincent Voice Library

For Students 9th - 10th
This site addresses the advent of the voice recording. The introduction talks about the country at the time of this invention, the feelings of people on the topic, and early recording itself. Included are voice recordings of such...
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eBook
OpenStax

Open Stax: Industrialization and Big Business, 1870 1900: Inventors of the Age

For Students 11th - 12th
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.
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Unit Plan
George Eastman Museum

Eastmanhouse: Inventors in Imaging Technologies

For Students 9th - 10th
See how George Eastman, Thomas Edison, and Wilhelm Roentgen impacted American film history and had inventions that were interrelated.

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