• 🎶Rubber Ducky, you're the one, you make bathtime lots of fun.🎶 Get your tubs ready because today, January 13, is National Rubber Ducky Day!🛁 The first rubber duck was patented by Landon Smart Lawrence of Yonkers, N.Y., on May 8, 1928. It was assigned to and filed by Paramount Rubber Cons, Inc. on 4/18/1925. Patent Number US1668785‘s design was weighted so that when it tipped it returned to an upright position. The sketch included with the patent was that of a duck. During World Wars I and II, rubber was a valuable commodity. Rationing became mandatory and by the 1940s with the advent of plastic, the rubber ducky began being produced in vinyl and plastic. Russian Sculptor Peter Ganine sculpted many animal figures. One, a duck, he later designed and patented into a floating toy which closely resembles the rubber ducky we have become familiar with today. It received design patent USD153514 on April 26, 1949. The rubber duck was inducted into the Toy Hall of Fame in 2013. #WhatWillYouInvent #patents #invention #rubberducky
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    🎶Rubber Ducky, you're the one, you make bathtime lots of fun.🎶 Get your tubs ready because today, January 13, is National Rubber Ducky Day!🛁 The first rubber duck was patented by Landon Smart Lawrence of Yonkers, N.Y., on May 8, 1928. It was assigned to and filed by Paramount Rubber Cons, Inc. on 4/18/1925. Patent Number US1668785‘s design was weighted so that when it tipped it returned to an upright position. The sketch included with the patent was that of a duck. During World Wars I and II, rubber was a valuable commodity. Rationing became mandatory and by the 1940s with the advent of plastic, the rubber ducky began being produced in vinyl and plastic. Russian Sculptor Peter Ganine sculpted many animal figures. One, a duck, he later designed and patented into a floating toy which closely resembles the rubber ducky we have become familiar with today. It received design patent USD153514 on April 26, 1949. The rubber duck was inducted into the Toy Hall of Fame in 2013. #WhatWillYouInvent #patents #invention #rubberducky
  • Have you ever had an idea for an invention that you believed could be successful if only you had more space, more time, more creativity, or more money? Environmental factors, individual abilities, resource limitations, and so much more contribute to each person's inventive process, but constraints often help rather than hinder creativity by fostering a culture of problem solving. ⠀ ⠀ This Wednesday, January 13, at 4 PM, join us for 25 Years of Innovative Lives. The special anniversary program features a live panel of modern inventors who will discuss how inventing within constrains can often be the best pathway to solutions. Register for free by visiting invention.si.edu/events. #WhatWillYouInvent #InnovativeLives
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    Have you ever had an idea for an invention that you believed could be successful if only you had more space, more time, more creativity, or more money? Environmental factors, individual abilities, resource limitations, and so much more contribute to each person's inventive process, but constraints often help rather than hinder creativity by fostering a culture of problem solving. ⠀ ⠀ This Wednesday, January 13, at 4 PM, join us for 25 Years of Innovative Lives. The special anniversary program features a live panel of modern inventors who will discuss how inventing within constrains can often be the best pathway to solutions. Register for free by visiting invention.si.edu/events. #WhatWillYouInvent #InnovativeLives
  • Posted @withregram • @tinkercad In this @Instructables guide by Smithsonian's SparkLab, (@SI_Invention) students are guided through the process of creating their own solar powered invention using Tinkercad. ⁠ 👉Link in bio👈⁠ ⁠ #edtech⁠ #makered⁠ #solar
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    Posted @withregram • @tinkercad In this @Instructables guide by Smithsonian's SparkLab, (@SI_Invention) students are guided through the process of creating their own solar powered invention using Tinkercad. ⁠ 👉Link in bio👈⁠ ⁠ #edtech⁠ #makered⁠ #solar
  • Happy Holidays from the Lemelson Center team! ☃️
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    Happy Holidays from the Lemelson Center team! ☃️
  • On May 24, 1844, Samuel F. B. Morse transmitted the famous telegraph message—"What hath God wrought?"—over an experimental 40-mile telegraph line running from Washington, D.C. to Baltimore. The message marked the arrival of instant long-distance communication in the United States. This telegraph key is believed to be from the Baltimore-Washington telegraph line, used a few months after the May demonstration. Although Samuel Morse is credited as the inventor of the telegraph, his breakthrough depended on the research and support of others, including Joseph Henry—later first secretary of the @smithsonian—as well as Morse's partner, Alfred Vail. A talented machinist (a builder and operator of machines) Vail refined Morse's prototype design in order to build this telegraph key. He also helped Morse develop a practical system for sending and receiving coded electrical signals over a wire—Morse code. On May 24, 1844, Vail was the operator in Baltimore who received Morse's inaugural transmission. Unfamiliar with telegraph tech? Telegraph keys like the one above are electrical on-off switches used to send messages in Morse code. The message travels as a series of electrical pulses through a wire. The operator pushes the key’s lever down briefly to make a short signal—a dot—or holds the lever down for a moment to make a slightly longer signal—a dash. The sequence of dots and dashes represent letters and numbers. Starting today, you can explore this object from @amhistorymuseum collections from your home in a whole new way. The Morse-Vail telegraph key is one of ten open access objects from across the Smithsonian that have been transformed into #3D AR objects you can embed and explore right here on Instagram. Check out the @smithsonian IG story today to learn how to try it out! #SmithsonianOpenAccess #Smithsonian3D #OpenAccess #ARtifactsAnywhere #SparkAR #AmericanHistory #History #TechnologyHistory #TechHistory #Telegraph
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    On May 24, 1844, Samuel F. B. Morse transmitted the famous telegraph message—"What hath God wrought?"—over an experimental 40-mile telegraph line running from Washington, D.C. to Baltimore. The message marked the arrival of instant long-distance communication in the United States. This telegraph key is believed to be from the Baltimore-Washington telegraph line, used a few months after the May demonstration. Although Samuel Morse is credited as the inventor of the telegraph, his breakthrough depended on the research and support of others, including Joseph Henry—later first secretary of the @smithsonian—as well as Morse's partner, Alfred Vail. A talented machinist (a builder and operator of machines) Vail refined Morse's prototype design in order to build this telegraph key. He also helped Morse develop a practical system for sending and receiving coded electrical signals over a wire—Morse code. On May 24, 1844, Vail was the operator in Baltimore who received Morse's inaugural transmission. Unfamiliar with telegraph tech? Telegraph keys like the one above are electrical on-off switches used to send messages in Morse code. The message travels as a series of electrical pulses through a wire. The operator pushes the key’s lever down briefly to make a short signal—a dot—or holds the lever down for a moment to make a slightly longer signal—a dash. The sequence of dots and dashes represent letters and numbers. Starting today, you can explore this object from @amhistorymuseum collections from your home in a whole new way. The Morse-Vail telegraph key is one of ten open access objects from across the Smithsonian that have been transformed into #3D AR objects you can embed and explore right here on Instagram. Check out the @smithsonian IG story today to learn how to try it out! #SmithsonianOpenAccess #Smithsonian3D #OpenAccess #ARtifactsAnywhere #SparkAR #AmericanHistory #History #TechnologyHistory #TechHistory #Telegraph
  • Q: Were there people in your life who fostered your inventive creativity?⁣ ⁣ A: At every level of education, Tahira Reid Smith and Tyrone Grandison, our speakers during today’s Black Inventors & Innovators: New Perspectives virtual program, said that it was a teacher who stepped into a mentorship role who fostered their creativity. A teacher or professor who saw their potential, took an interest, and encouraged them to develop and share their ideas. For Black students pursuing careers in STEM, self-confidence inspired by a teacher’s encouragement is vital to succeeding in breaking past systematic inequalities as they exist today.⁣ ⁣ Black Inventors & Innovators continues this week at 1pm ET daily. Register for free by visiting Invention.si.edu in your preferred browser.⁣ ⁣ 📷: Tahira Reid Smith, Tyrone Grandison, and program moderator Monica M Smith.⁣ ⁣ #WhatWillYouInvent #STEM #stemeducation #blackstudents
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    Q: Were there people in your life who fostered your inventive creativity?⁣ ⁣ A: At every level of education, Tahira Reid Smith and Tyrone Grandison, our speakers during today’s Black Inventors & Innovators: New Perspectives virtual program, said that it was a teacher who stepped into a mentorship role who fostered their creativity. A teacher or professor who saw their potential, took an interest, and encouraged them to develop and share their ideas. For Black students pursuing careers in STEM, self-confidence inspired by a teacher’s encouragement is vital to succeeding in breaking past systematic inequalities as they exist today.⁣ ⁣ Black Inventors & Innovators continues this week at 1pm ET daily. Register for free by visiting Invention.si.edu in your preferred browser.⁣ ⁣ 📷: Tahira Reid Smith, Tyrone Grandison, and program moderator Monica M Smith.⁣ ⁣ #WhatWillYouInvent #STEM #stemeducation #blackstudents
  • The events of 2020 have drawn renewed attention to longstanding inequalities in the invention ecosystem and Black American’s complex relationship with the technology sector. Join us starting today, Nov. 16, for Black Inventors & Innovators: New Perspectives, a week-long, no-cost webinar series presented on Zoom. Visit invention.si.edu in your preferred browser for program details, session speakers, and to register. #WhatWillYouInvent #NewPerspectives #BlackInventors #BlackInnovators #stem #stemeducation
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    The events of 2020 have drawn renewed attention to longstanding inequalities in the invention ecosystem and Black American’s complex relationship with the technology sector. Join us starting today, Nov. 16, for Black Inventors & Innovators: New Perspectives, a week-long, no-cost webinar series presented on Zoom. Visit invention.si.edu in your preferred browser for program details, session speakers, and to register. #WhatWillYouInvent #NewPerspectives #BlackInventors #BlackInnovators #stem #stemeducation
  • 🎾Howard Head first tried playing tennis recreationally in 1971. 💡“‘I found the racket twisted in my hand on an off-center hit,’ he explained. ‘And since I couldn't improve my own athletic skills, I set out to design a racket that would be more stable to an off-center hit.’” ✏️Head’s experimentation to create an easier to use tennis racket led to the development of the Prince Classic tennis racket, which was made lighter and more flexible using aluminum, but was also initially derided by sports purists as a “snowshoe” for its oversized racket head. That said, recreational tennis players loved it because of its light weight, huge sweet spot, and resulting increased power. African American tennis pioneer Arthur Ashe adopted a Prince tennis racket around 1975. 💻Learn more about Howard Head’s invention story in our latest blog post! Visit invention.si.edu in your web browser. #WhatWillYouInvent #Invention #Innovation #stemeducation #sports #tennis #skiing #howardhead 📷: Arthur Ashe playing tennis with a Prince racket, 1969, AC0589-0000048. Howard Head Papers, 1926–1991, Box 12, Folder 14, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
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    🎾Howard Head first tried playing tennis recreationally in 1971. 💡“‘I found the racket twisted in my hand on an off-center hit,’ he explained. ‘And since I couldn't improve my own athletic skills, I set out to design a racket that would be more stable to an off-center hit.’” ✏️Head’s experimentation to create an easier to use tennis racket led to the development of the Prince Classic tennis racket, which was made lighter and more flexible using aluminum, but was also initially derided by sports purists as a “snowshoe” for its oversized racket head. That said, recreational tennis players loved it because of its light weight, huge sweet spot, and resulting increased power. African American tennis pioneer Arthur Ashe adopted a Prince tennis racket around 1975. 💻Learn more about Howard Head’s invention story in our latest blog post! Visit invention.si.edu in your web browser. #WhatWillYouInvent #Invention #Innovation #stemeducation #sports #tennis #skiing #howardhead 📷: Arthur Ashe playing tennis with a Prince racket, 1969, AC0589-0000048. Howard Head Papers, 1926–1991, Box 12, Folder 14, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
  • 🦩We’ve decided to decorate our yard (well, Instagram grid) with pink flamingos, what do you think??🦩⁣ ⁣ 💡But in all seriousness, though the classic pink flamingo lawn ornament may seem out of place on our grid, the story of its invention offers a fun approach to learning about the history of plastic manufacturing in America. Read the full story on our blog by visiting Invention.si.edu in your internet browsers. ⁣ ⁣ 📷Dynamic duo: the original flamingos designed by Donald Featherstone. Courtesy of Union Products Division of Cado Co., Fitchburg, Massachusetts
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    🦩We’ve decided to decorate our yard (well, Instagram grid) with pink flamingos, what do you think??🦩⁣ ⁣ 💡But in all seriousness, though the classic pink flamingo lawn ornament may seem out of place on our grid, the story of its invention offers a fun approach to learning about the history of plastic manufacturing in America. Read the full story on our blog by visiting Invention.si.edu in your internet browsers. ⁣ ⁣ 📷Dynamic duo: the original flamingos designed by Donald Featherstone. Courtesy of Union Products Division of Cado Co., Fitchburg, Massachusetts