Inventions and Inventors Teacher Resources
Find Inventions and Inventors lesson plans and worksheets
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Selected Essays on Barbed Wire: Brief History of Barbed Wire
Provides information on the development and use of barbed wire. Includes biographies on Joseph F. Glidden, Jacob Haish, and Isaac L. Ellwood, who were instrumental in its invention and marketing. For more information on barbed wire,...
Energy for Sustainable Development
Esd Bulgaria: Kids & Energy: Energy Pioneers: Michael Faraday (1791 1867)
A profile of Michael Faraday, a British scientist who discovered electromagnetic induction, which made it possible to develop the technology for generating electricity. He produced many other inventions, some of which are described here.
Digital History
Digital History: Resistance to Technological Innovation
Hinderances to technological advances included poor education and hostility to innovation and experimentation. See how this opposition was overcome by the many smalltime tinkerers and inventors who ignited people's interest in technology.
PBS
Pbs: Who Made America?: Innovators: Thomas Edison
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.
National High Magnetic Field Laboratory
Magnet Academy: James Watt
The Scottish instrument maker and inventor James Watt had a tremendous impact on the shape of modern society. His improvements to the steam engine were a significant factor in the Industrial Revolution, and when the Watt engine was...
Famous Scientists
Famous Scientists: Stephanie Kwolek
Learn about the life and work of Stephanie Kwolekbest, known for inventing the first of a family of synthetic fibers of exceptional strength and stiffness.
Ohio History Central
Ohio History Central: Granville T. Woods
A biography of Granville T. Woods, who used his knowledge of machinery to establish his own company and invent many different improvements for the railroad.
Read Works
Read Works: Child's Play
[Free Registration/Login Required] An informational text and interview with a girl named Kylie Copenhagen who invented a board game. A question sheet is available to help students build skills in reading comprehension.
PBS
Pbs: Who Made America?: Innovators: Cyrus Mc Cormick
A Virginia farmer invented a mechanical reaper, then harvested profits in the Midwest's exploding grain belt, innovating credit, service, and sales practices that became essential parts of American big business.
Black Past
Black Past: Jan E. Matzeliger (1852 1887)
A brief encyclopedia entry about the life of inventory, Jan Matzeliger, whose invention revolutionized the shoe-making industry.
Famous Scientists
Famous Scientists: Frank Hornby
Learn how Frank Hornby managed to excel in toy invention based on engineering principles.
Smithsonian Institution
Lemelson Center: Spark!lab: Invent Your Own Gelatin Dessert
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...
PBS
American Experience: Technology Timeline: 1752 1990
Short descriptions of important technological innovations produced in America and the date of their introduction.
PBS
Pbs: A Science Odyssey
Website for the PBS series "A Science Odyssey." Numerous opportunities to explore the people and discoveries of science.
Other
How Products Are Made: Air Bag
Discover the science behind this common fixture in cars. Learn what it is and how how scientists came up with the idea.
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.
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.
The Franklin Institute
The Franklin Institute: A Century of Development
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.
ReadWriteThink
Read Write Think: History Comes Alive: Developing Fluency and Comprehension
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...
Other
The Daguerreian Society: l.j.m. Daguerre
Originally printed in the The Illustrated London News (July 1851), this article pays tribute to Louis Lacques Mande Daguerre and his discovery, the Daguerrotype. Learn about the styles and techniques employed in some of his famous...
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Mit: Inventor of the Week: Willard Libby Carbon Dating
Use this site to learn about radiocarbon dating and the scientist who discovered it, Willard Libby (1908-1980 CE).
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Mit: Inventor of the Week: George Westinghouse
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.
Ohio History Central
Ohio History Central: James Ritty
Biography of James Ritty, the inventor of the cash register.