Inventions


Inventions and Inventors

Inventions and Inventors--Definitions--Kids' Make-Believe Inventions--Popular Inventors--Popular Inventions--Play--Teachers

The research databases are always a good place to start:
EBSCO INFOTRAC:

	These sites give lists of inventors and inventions:
	? http://web.mit.edu/invent/i-archive.html This is the Inventor of the Week archive. This has lots of inventor biographies. You can search two ways. (1) by inventor. There is an A-Z navigation line so that you click on the letter of your inventor’s last name. (2) by invention. There are six categories (medicine and healthcare, consumer products, etc.). Click on the one you think would include your invention. The inventions are listed in alphabetical order with their inventor’s name as a hyperlink which takes you to the biography.
?http://www.enchantedlearning.com/inventors/ Here the alphabetical list includes inventors and inventions in one list. The list can also be accessed by country of the inventor/invention; time period; or type of industry. ? http://inventors.miningco.com/library/bl/bl12.htm This is a huge site! I have opened it to the page, Famous Inventions A to Z. However, if you look on the navigation bar to the left, you will see there is much more information here. There are lots of advertisements. Ignore those and have fun exploring. ? http://www.ideafinder.com/home.htm - This is another big site. I gave you the whole address because there’s interesting stuff here: such as links to new inventions people are trying to sell (Idea Showcase). If you are looking specifically for Inventors and/or Inventions, look at the navigation bar on the left, the “History Facts and Myths.” From there you see Inventions: Fact or Myth and Inventor Profile.


This site gives definitions:
http://web.mit.edu/afs/athena.mit.edu/org/i/invent/ - Includes an inventor’s handbook which in Chapter 1 gives explanations of trademark, patents, etc; an inventor of the week, and what I like: a section of Games and Trivia.

Kids' make-believe inventions:

http://inventors.about.com/library/weekly/aa060797.htm - This is a collection of make-believe inventions by kids. If your job is to come up with an invention, this will give you ideas.

These sites are about specific people, including Thomas Edison:

http://www.nps.gov/edis/home.htm - There’s lots of information about Thomas Edison on the Web. This is from the National Park Service – lots of pictures and even recorded sounds.

http://www.mos.org/sln/Leonardo/LeoHomePage.html - Leonardo da Vinci is the star here. An excellent site by the Boston Museum of Science, the letter to teachers explains it all. There are several interactive pages on the site. A fun and informative look at simple gadgets, perspective, Leonardo's inventions, the inventive process, etc.

http://www.mit.edu/afs/athena/org/i/invent/www/ima/index.html - This part of the site features five inventors focusing on the courage, insight, know-how, vision, and perseverance of each.

These sites are about specific inventions:

http://www.zingersicecream.com/history.htm - History of ice-cream and related products.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/telephone/ - History of the telephone

These sites feature play:

http://inventionatplay.org/# What a fun site this is! Many inventions come about while people are “playing”. This is the Smithsonian National Museum of American History site “that explores the playful side of invention and the inventive side of play.” Includes short biographies of current and historical inventors.

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/features/96/inventions/ A game from National Geographic. It runs somewhat slowly but it's fun and informative.

Teachers' sites:

http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/ac/ahrpa/opa/projxl/invthink/invthink.htm This one is for teachers, but it is soooo good I wanted to keep it. It is the Inventive Thinking Curriculum Project: an outreach program by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

http://www.noogenesis.com/inventing/pencil/pencil_page.html - This is a lesson a teacher uses to get his class thinking about inventions – Interesting activities on re-inventing the pencil.

http://www.shrewsbury-ma.gov/schools/central/curriculum/ELEMENTARY/SCIENCE/grade4_simple_machines/simple_machines.htmThis is a page of links - some of which are already above. However, there are other excellent ones. I particularly liked the first site and the first link there, Creature Comforts.