Smithsonian Institution
Lemelson Center: Invention Stories
Six categories of inventions highlight the inventors in those categories and describe their sometimes world-changing inventions. Other inventions are not so critical, but nonetheless fascinating.
Read Works
Read Works: Helping Drivers See Safely
[Free Registration/Login Required] An informational text about the invention of windshield wipers. A question sheet is available to help students build skills in reading comprehension.
Other
Business Insider: 20 Everyday Things We Have Because of Nasa
A list of space technologies that have been integrated into common items from invisible braces to memory foam. NASA produces a list like this every year to illustrate the benefits to the program's existence. Click on each item listed to...
Other
Edision Birthplace Museum: Birthplace of Edison
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.
Science Struck
Science Struck: 32 Easy Isaac Newton Facts for Kids
Provides information about Isaac Newton, his accomplishments, his views on religion, and some interesting facts about him.
Science Struck
Science Struck: A List of Famous Inventors
A long list of famous inventors with some biographical information and descriptions of their inventions.
National Inventors Hall of Fame
National Inventors Hall of Fame: George Eastman
Read a biography of George Eastman and find out how his inventions and innovations revolutionized photography.
Other
Lemelson Center's Invention at Play: Sketch From Bell's Notebook
View a sketch from Bell's notebook from 1876. From a collection Bell's papers at the Library of Congress.
CommonLit
Common Lit: Teenage Inventor Alexis Lewis Thinks That Kids Have the Solutions
A learning module that begins with "Teenage Inventor Alexis Lewis Thinks That Kids Have the Solutions" by Megan Gambino, accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. The text can be printed as...
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Mit: Inventor of the Week: Nikola Tesla: The Electro Magnetic Motor
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.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Mit: Invention of the Week: George Eastman
A biography of George Eastman, who revolutionized photography with his innovations in film and photograph development. From the MIT School of Engineering.
CommonLit
Common Lit: Themes: America: What Makes America Unique?
This is a collection of Grade-Leveled texts (3-12) to address the question. "What makes America unique?" Select a grade level and a collection of on grade-level reading passages on the topic comes up. [Free account registration required...
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Mit: Inventor of the Week: James T. Russell
This site provides a biography of James T. Russell, inventor of the compact disk, and the basic ideas behind the technology.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Mit: Inventor of the Week: Jonas Salk
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...
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Mit: Invention of the Week: Alexander Graham Bell
This site provides a biographical sketch of Alexander Graham Bell and his inventions. Find out about Bell's patents in addition to the telephone.
Other
Ncr: James Ritty, Inventor of the Cash Register, 1879
An interesting biography of James Ritty and an account of how he invented the cash register. Included are pictures of his designs and the prototypes.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Mit: Invention of the Week: James Ritty
The interesting biography of James Ritty and his design of the first mechanical cash register. His subsequent sale of the invention to John H. Patterson blossomed into the company, National Cash Register Company.
Other
Positive.news: Children's Inventions to Make the World a Better Place
Children's imaginations are infinite - so could they help draw up the ambitious projects that we need to fight the world's challenges? A group was asked to design inventions to make society a better place. Here's how they responded.
New York Times
New York Times: 32 Innovations That Will Change Your Tomorrow
If you don't know that the incandescent light was a failure before it was a success, it's easy to write off some modern energy innovations like solar panels because they haven't hit the big time fast enough. Worse, the fairy-tale view of...
Alabama Learning Exchange
Alex: You, Too, Can Be an Inventor!
How have inventions changed the world? This unit focuses on the importance, the process and the creativity involved in inventing. Through the study of inventions and inventors, young scholars learn how inventions are created and the...
Ohio State University
Osu History Teaching Institute: Alexander Graham Bell Primary Source Activity
Eighth graders will critically examine primary sources to gain a better understanding of Alexander Graham Bell and the impact of his inventions.
Ohio State University
Osu History Teaching Institute: The Automobile
This lesson plan will help students understand the different ways in which the automobile changed American society. Students will learn about Henry Ford, whose innovations transformed manufacturing and made automobiles affordable for...
A&E Television
History.com: 11 Innovations That Changed History
From pioneering inventions to bold scientific and medical advancements, find out more about 11 innovations that changed the course of human history.
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Harcourt: Biographies: Robert Fulton
Learn how the steamboat got its start at the hand of a curious and energetic inventor-Robert Fulton. (In Spanish)