Inventions and Inventors

Read about people who changed the world using their imaginations.

Resources in this category:

Ben Franklin: Glimpses of the Man
http://sln.fi.edu/franklin/

Did you know that Ben Franklin was a weatherman as well as an accomplished musician? Find out all about this famous American at this site. Teachers can find classroom resources as well.

Benjamin Franklin
http://www.archives.upenn.edu/histy/features/1700s/people/fr...

This page gives brief highlights of the life of Benjamin Franklin.

Clockworks: From Sundials to the Atomic Second
http://www.britannica.com/clockworks/main2.html

Clockworks is an exploration of time, with a history of timekeeping devices.

The Faces of Science: African Americans in the Sciences
https://webfiles.uci.edu/mcbrown/display/faces.html

Find out about African American scientists and engineers. You can read about biochemists, computer scientists, entomolgists, inventors, zoologists and many others.

The History of Toys and Games
http://www.history.com/minisites/toys/

The History Channel presents this history of toys and games. You can learn about famous inventors, such as the Parker Brothers and Milton Bradley.

Homework Help for Kids on Inventions and Inventors
http://inventors.about.com/library/blkids.htm

Get help with your homework on inventors and inventions. This site includes several timelines which list inventions by year. You can also search for a particular inventor or invention, or find a list of inventions created bya specific group of people (such as women, African-Americans, and Native Americans).

How Stuff Works
http://www.howstuffworks.com/

Have you ever wondered how a car engine works? This site answers questions about the way all kinds of things work-- from refrigerators to computers to the human body. You can even suggest a topic that you would like to see covered.

Imperial War Museum: Enigma and the Codebreakers
http://www.iwm.org.uk/upload/package/10/enigma/index.htm

This is an online exhibit provided by the Imperial War Museum. The exhibit covers the Enigma, a machine used by Germany during World War II to send encoded messages. The site provides information on the history, making and use of codes and code-making machines during wartime.

Kids Pages: United States Patent and Trademark Office
http://www.uspto.gov/go/kids/

Attention Inventors! This site is for you! Games and contests, stories, free posters, a calendar of patent, trademark & copyright history, and much more!

Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention & Innovation
http://invention.smithsonian.org/home/

"The Lemelson Center is dedicated to exploring invention in history and encouraging inventive creativity in young people." Read about inventors and inventions, sketch your own ideas using the Inventor's Sketchbook, solve puzzles, and play games.

Lemelson-MIT: Invention Dimension
http://web.mit.edu/invent/invent-main.html

Look up inventors by their name or look up inventions by subject area (Medicine & Healthcare, Consumer Products, Transportation, Energy & Environment, and Computing & Telecommunications). This site also has games and quizzes and an Inventor's Handbook.

Leonardo Home Page
http://www.mos.org/sln/Leonardo/LeoHomePage.html

Explore the scientific mind of Leonardo Da Vinci with this web page. Find examples of the simple machines that people used during the Renaissance, as well as information about Leonardo's art and inventions.

Museum of Ancient Inventions
http://www.smith.edu/hsc/museum/ancient_inventions/home.htm

Look at what people invented a very long time ago, such as eyeliner, the abacus, and the catapult. This site, presented by the Smith College Program in the History of the Sciences, includes detailed descriptions and high-quality photographs for every item.

The World of Benjamin Franklin
http://www.fi.edu/franklin/rotten.html

Check out this great website from the Franklin Institute with lots of fun facts and a Quick Time movie. Be sure to click on the Franklin FAQ! (Frequently Asked Questions)

Zoom Inventors and Inventions
http://www.ZoomSchool.com/inventors/

Learn all about inventors and inventions throughout history. A wide variety of topics are covered here, including clothing, communication, food, medicine, science and industry, transportation, and the underseas. There are also lists of women inventors, African-American inventors, and inventors and inventions from several different countries.