From the start of the Industrial Revolution, it only took 147 years for someone to invent plastic. This may seem like a long time, but in the history of inventing or discovering new materials, this is incredibly fast. An informative and...

It's a delicate balance—using technology to improve our lives while still protecting the environment, and ourselves, from the hazards of technology use. Class members examine statistics about the increase in media use, complete a survey...

An organized timeline featuring many important inventions and discoveries made in Britain during the Victorian period.

A biography of English experimentalist, William Crookes, who invented the radiometer.

This illustrated feature from the American Experience Web site highlights the frequently forgotten inventors of several useful, innovative technologies.

Find out about some important inventions from the Industrialized Victorian Era.

Find out about several major developments that made travel, communications, and trade easier for many people during the Victorian period.

Try to identify the inventions form the Victorian era, and then learn more about each discovery.

Find information about the life and work of Willis Carrier, the inventor of the air conditioner, at this PBS site devoted to the role of technology in society. Site visitors can locate Carrier on a timeline, along with other...

Biographical survey of people who had an impact on 20th century technology and science, including Wallace Carothers, Rachel Carson, Lee de Forest, Henry Ford, Jay Forrester, Grace Murray Hopper, Guglielmo Marconi, William Shockley,...

Short descriptions of important technological innovations produced in America and the date of their introduction.

An article in which Jamie McKenzie states his belief that each district should create a Questioning Toolkit which contains several dozen kinds of questions and questioning tools. Portions of the Questioning Toolkit should be introduced...

Although not as celebrated as many other scientific inventions, the smoothing iron has its own rich history of development stretching all the way from 400 B.C. to the present.

Learn about one of the scientists responsible for inventing insulin for use by diabetics. Read a brief biography on James Collip, and follow links to inventors who worked with Collip, Charles Best and Frederick Banting.

Read about Alois A. Langer, a member of "the medical team that invented the first automatic implantable cardioverter defibrillator." Also, learn how this invention impacts the medical world.

Read a brief bio on Willem J. Kolff, inventor of the artificial kidney dialysis machine, and learn the extent to which this invention is being used in the U.S.

Learn about Thomas Fogarty, inventor of the embolectomy catheter, a "device [that] allows a thin balloon to be inserted into a patient's artery and guided through an occlusion." Read about the invention's impact and the inventor's career.

This site provides a very brief bio on Dr. John Gibbon, inventor of the heart-lung machine that he used to "complete the first open-heart operation." Learn about the invention's impact on the medical world.

Here is information on Dean Kamen and his invention, the ambulatory infusion pump, or the AutoSyringe, that "free[s] patients from round-the-clock injections."

Read about the inventor of the CAT Scan, Robert S. Ledley. This site includes a brief bio and information on the invention's impact on the medical world and patients.

Read about James J. Wynne, co-inventor of the laser technique used in LASIK eye surgery. This page includes a bio, an overview of the invention's impact on the medical world, and a portrait of Wynne.

Collection of digital resources gathered from public libraries, archives, and museums about early aviation. Learn more about key innovators and technologies from early flight experimentation and the invention of the hot air balloon to...

Read about Frederick Banting and the work he did to help diabetics maintain their insulin levels. This site includes biographical informatin and links to pages on inventors Charles Best and James Collip.

Read about Samuel Blum, inventor of the laser technique used in LASIK eye surgery. This page includes a bio and a brief explanation of how Blum discovered that lasers could be used in surgery.