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Found 67 Stories
Exterior of Houston Astrodome stadium
Blog

Inventing and Reinventing Stadiums

Over the past 120 years, new inventions have kept fans coming to stadiums.

Men working inside the tunnel
Blog

Battling Under the River

Looking back at the tunneling boom of the early 1900s—and the "sandhogs" who made it happen.

Figure 1 from John Lloyd Wright’s US Patent 1,351,086 for “Toy Cabin Construction,” dated August 31, 1920. The pen-and-ink figure shows a log cabin with a door and two windows.
Blog

Lincoln Logs Inventor John Lloyd Wright

Yes, this popular childhood toy was designed by none other than the son of architect Frank Lloyd Wright!

Screen shot of CNC software
Blog

Designing with a New Tool

Spark!Lab's "Thinking Spot" inspired me to put our new CNC router to a creative yet practical test.

Photo of Charles Pratt in his office around 1900
Blog

Going Up? Going Down?

A not-so-equal history about an elevator equalizer, two patents, a patent interference, and its resolution.

Invention Stories

How to Hover

Inventions to tackle the fascination with floating a few inches off the ground.

Founding director Frank Taylor stands on the Museum's 5th floor terrace, surveying construction.
Places of Invention

50 Years Ago Today: Opening a “Palace of Progress”

The Museum of History and Technology (the previous name of the National Museum of American History) was dedicated 50 years ago, opening to the public on the following day, January 23, 1964. Director Art Molella reflects on the fascination with the future and sense of modernism that shaped the Museum’s outlook and even our building.

Lemelson Lightbulb Graphic Identity
Invention Stories

Eco-City Update: From Idea to Reality

In India and China, eco-cities are offering solutions to a range of challenges, from natural-disaster recovery to the revitalization of established neighborhoods within existing cities.

Invention Stories

Building Bridges, Building Collections

Bridges are engineering marvels and each bridge tells a story—its successes and failures. Many of those stories can be found in our Archives Center.

Invention Stories

Eco-Cities: Can They Work?

Along with Westminster University (UK) and the Johns Hopkins University, the Lemelson Center is co-sponsor of the International Eco-City Initiative. Among the products of the collaboration is a new study of eco-city standards, which attempt to put these new cities to the test.

A stylized drawing of a compact fluorescent light bulb surrounded by a solid orange circle with a green border
Places of Invention

Caofeidian—China's City of the Future or Urban Laboratory?

China declared the eco-city as the country's new urban/industrial strategy.

Lemelson Lightbulb Graphic Identity
Invention Stories

The Way the Ball Bounces

Asian people have been inventors and innovators for many centuries.

Chuck Hobeman expanding a sphere
Beyond Words

Podcast: Chuck Hoberman Inspires the Next Generation, Part 2 (of 2)

Middle school students interview Chuck Hoberman about his innovative unfolding structures.

Chuck Hobeman expanding a sphere
Beyond Words

Podcast: Chuck Hoberman's Unfolding World, Part 1 (of 2)

Chuck Hoberman, artist and engineer, discusses his innovative unfolding structures.

A stylized drawing of a compact fluorescent light bulb surrounded by a solid orange circle with a green border
Invention Stories

SmartLevel: The Soul of a New Hand Tool

Hand levels are one of the standard tools in the kits of house builders, plumbers, and many other tradespeople. Until 1990, all levels were bubble-type spirit levels.

Logo for the Modern Inventors Documentation database, showing a stylized head with words like creativity and innovation written on different parts of the brain
Archives

Bobcat Company Records, 1940s-2009

Inventor Name Keller, Louis and Cyril

Logo for the Modern Inventors Documentation database, showing a stylized head with words like creativity and innovation written on different parts of the brain
Archives

O'Neil Ford Collection, 1864-1993

Inventor Name Ford, O'Neil

Logo for the Modern Inventors Documentation database, showing a stylized head with words like creativity and innovation written on different parts of the brain
Archives

Archibald Johnston Papers, 1894-1923

Inventor Name Unknown

Logo for the Modern Inventors Documentation database, showing a stylized head with words like creativity and innovation written on different parts of the brain
Archives

Philip Newell Youtz Papers, 1920-1972

Inventor Name Youtz, Philip Newell Repository Bentley Historical Library1150 Beal Ave.University of MichiganAnn Arbor, MI 48109-2113734-764-3482http://bentley.umich.edu/

Logo for the Modern Inventors Documentation database, showing a stylized head with words like creativity and innovation written on different parts of the brain
Archives

Hermann Herrey Papers, ca. 1939-1971

Inventor Name Herrey, Herman Repository Cornell UniversityDivision of Rare and Manuscript Collections2B Carl A. Kroch LibraryIthaca, NY 14853607-255-3530http://rmc.library.cornell.edu/

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