Skip to main content
  • Main menu
Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation
  • Home
  • Tags
  • Places of Invention

Places of Invention

Filter By
  • All
  • Video & Interactive
  • Text
  • Audio
Found 77 Stories
Line drawing of inner workings of a lamp with a perpetual wick.
Blog

Ingenious Devices

Fountains, perpetual oil lamps, and other inventions from the Islamic “Golden Age”

Screenshot of Douglas Engelbart presenting the mother of all demos on 9 December 1968. Engelbart wears a headset and his head and shoulders appear on the right side of the screen. Part of a shopping list, including grocery items bananas, carrots, lettuce, beans, and more, is on the left side.
Blog

The Mother of All Demos

In December 1968, Douglas Engelbart debuted many of the concepts of modern, interactive computing.

A black-and-white icon of a Mac Classic computer with a smiling face on the screen.
Blog

Susan Kare, Iconic Designer

Susan Kare designed the distinctive icons, typefaces, and other graphic elements that gave the Apple Macintosh its characteristic—and widely emulated—look and feel.

A LCVP (Landing Craft, Vehicle, Personnel) created by Higgins Industries
Blog

New Orleans, Louisiana: Higgins Boats

During World War II, Higgins Industries grew to over 20,000 workers to meet demand.

The three Smithsonian staffers who creatively rescued a lost cell phone.
Blog

Creative Problem Solving at Work

A visitor's "lost" cell phone leads to inventive problem solving at the Lemelson Center.

2015 Lemelson Fellow Stephen B. Adams
Beyond Words

Video Lecture: Before the Garage: Beginnings of Silicon Valley, 1909–1960

Stephen Adams, Lemelson Center Fellow and Professor at Salisbury University examines the origins of the Silicon Valley as we know it today.

2015 Lemelson Fellow Gerardo Con Diaz
Beyond Words

Video Lecture: Intellectual Property and Hobby Software in the 1970s

Gerardo Con Diaz, Lemelson Center Fellow and PhD. candidate at Yale University, discusses his dissertation, "Intellectual Property and Hobby Software in the 1970s."

A case in the 1996 electric guitar exhibition
Places of Invention

Twenty Years of Exhibitions at the Lemelson Center

Having worked on Lemelson Center exhibitions for 20 years, I've learned a few things. What topic should we tackle next?

An illustration of the interior of the Colt Armory
Places of Invention

Touring the Precision Valley

Having studied the Springfield Armory and Colt Armory in my research, it was thrilling to literally follow in the footsteps of the machinists I’d seen in historic renderings and photographs, some more than 100 years old, while on a tour of New England's Precision Valley.

Higgins Industries shop floor. Courtesy of The National WWII Museum
Places of Invention

Birth of a Slogan: the Higgins Worker

Over 20,000 individuals contributed to WWII through their work at Higgins Industries.

10,000th Boat Ceremony, July 23, 1944. Courtesy of The National WWII Museum
Places of Invention

D-Day in New Orleans: July 1944

On July 22, 1944, Higgins Industries staged a reenactment of the landings on the beaches of Normandy that took place not even two months earlier.

Students during The National WWII Museum’s STEM Field Trip. Courtesy of The National WWII Museum
Places of Invention

A Stable of Geniuses: Ideas Win the War

The special STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) field trip for middle and high school students at The National WWII Museum focuses on science and technology of WWII.

New Belgium Brewery's Kim Jordan
Places of Invention

Invention Hot Spot: Campus and City Combine Their Energies for a Greener Planet in Fort Collins, Colorado

Inventors in Fort Collins are tackling environmental problems by creating clean, sustainable alternatives to existing energy sources. Their solutions promise to improve the quality of life for all of us.

Prototype of the first computer mouse
Places of Invention

What Do the Bronx, Silicon Valley, and a Colorado College Town Have in Common?

"Places of Invention" opens in just a few weeks! Get a preview of the six case studies--and find out a way that you can add your own story.

Natalie Kalmus behind the camera
Places of Invention

A Little Story about the Big Screen

The "Places of Invention" interactive map offers a great opportunity to share stories both epic and personal.

Places of Invention book cover
Lemelson Center Books

Places of Invention Comes to a Bookshelf Near You

The "Places of Invention" companion book, edited by Arthur P. Molella and Anna Karvellas.

Example of Eastman Kodak's two-color Kodachrome process of the 1910s and 20s
Places of Invention

Invention Hot Spot: Technicolor Sets the Scene

The Ruby Slippers worn by 16-year-old Judy Garland during the filming of "The Wizard of Oz" are among the most popular and treasured artifacts at the Museum. How did they get that rich ruby color?

Screenshot of pins on Places of Invention interactive map
Places of Invention

Tell Us Your Places of Invention Stories!

Know about a place of invention where you live? Add it to the Places of Invention interactive map! Or explore places that other people have shared. The world is an inventive place!

Troops approaching Omaha Beach in an LCVP on June 6, 1944. National Archives Image.
Places of Invention

Brought to You from New Orleans: Jazz, Mardi Gras, and Amphibious Invasions

Jazz, Bourbon Street, and Mardi Gras are all well-known, recognizable symbols of the melting pot that is New Orleans. The National WWII Museum showcases another product of New Orleans—“Higgins boats.”

Photograph of morel mushrooms
Invention Stories

Fungi in Focus

Do recent innovations using mushrooms have the promise to save the world?

See More Stories

VIEW 2725 Matching Results

Found 2725 Stories

  • Agriculture and horticulture (Relevance: 5.2110091743119%)
  • Air and space (Relevance: 6.7522935779817%)
  • Archives@NMAH (Relevance: 8.4036697247706%)
  • Chemistry (Relevance: 3.0825688073394%)
  • Food and drink (Relevance: 3.302752293578%)
  • Industry and manufacturing (Relevance: 7.5229357798165%)
  • Medicine, health, and life sciences (Relevance: 4.5871559633028%)
  • Military technology (Relevance: 3.3394495412844%)
  • Mining and drilling (Relevance: 3.4128440366972%)
  • Patents and trademarks (Relevance: 11.376146788991%)
  • Photography, film, television, and video (Relevance: 3.8532110091743%)
  • Power generation, motors, and engines (Relevance: 3.4495412844037%)
  • Spark!Lab (Relevance: 3.5229357798165%)
  • Textiles and clothing (Relevance: 3.3761467889908%)
  • Transportation (Relevance: 5.9816513761468%)
  • Women inventors (Relevance: 3.2660550458716%)
❯
Go to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History website

About Menu

▼
Open menu
▲
Close menu
  • Explore
    • Blog
    • Invention Stories
    • Places of Invention
    • Beyond Words
  • Study
    • Research Opportunities
    • Archives
    • Lemelson Center Books
    • Lemelson Center Research
    • Symposia & Conferences
  • Try
    • DO Try This at Home!
    • Spark!Lab
    • Spark!Lab Network
    • Encouraging Innovative Thinking
  • About
    • Events
    • Exhibitions
    • News
    • Who We Are
    • FAQ
    • Donate
  • Multimedia
  • Tags
  • Surprise Me
  • Search
  • Open Drawer
Copyright 2022, Smithsonian Institution, All Rights Reserved
  • DONATE
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
Twitter Facebook Tumblr Email Print