As COVID-19 deaths spiked in 2020, Suzanne Firstenberg’s public art installation "In America: How could this happen…"
Lessons & Activities
Grade Range:
K-12
Resource Type(s):
Lessons & Activities
Date Posted:
9/4/2012
This “getting to know you” activity asks kids to show who they are by composing a portrait made of their objects. It also introduces or reinforces an idea central to historical research—objects hold stories about the people who own them and when they lived. This activity suite is desig
Grade Range:
K-12
Resource Type(s):
Lessons & Activities
Date Posted:
2/15/2017
Working with a teacher, students will recreate some of the electrical experiments originally performed by Benjamin Franklin between 1746 and 1754. These hands-on experiments highlight Franklin’s innovative contributions to science and government. Visitors will experience static electricity and
Grade Range:
K-12
Resource Type(s):
Reference Materials, Lessons & Activities
Date Posted:
1/25/2010
This webiste, from the Lemelson Center’s Spark!Lab, uses fun activities to help kids and families learn about the history and process of invention. Students can play games, conduct science experiments, explore inventors’ notebooks, and even invent! Spark!Lab, the newest hands on space fo
Grade Range:
K-12
Resource Type(s):
Lessons & Activities
Date Posted:
2/22/2010
Prototype Online: Inventive Voices is a podcast series from the Smithsonian’s Lemelson Center that reveals the stories behind the invention—motivations, successes, and disappointments—and highlights the persevering spirit shared by all who call themselves “inventor.”
Grade Range:
K-12
Resource Type(s):
Reference Materials, Lessons & Activities
Date Posted:
2/3/2010
With the right resources, learners of any age can engage with the topics of nonviolence and civil rights. This webpage is a gateway to lesson plans, videos, family activities, and instructional media related to the nonviolent civil rights movement in the 1950s and 1960s. The content within these
Grade Range:
K-12
Resource Type(s):
Lessons & Activities
Date Posted:
8/2/2016
Grab Bag Inventing is an activity that allows participants to try playful inventing and helps them recognize their own creative abilities. Participants work together in small groups to design inventions using common materials.
Grade Range:
1-6
Resource Type(s):
Lessons & Activities
Duration:
10 minutes
Date Posted:
8/30/2012
People have been turning kitchens into bubble labs for hundreds of years. Benjamin Franklin and his mentor James Logan studied the optical properties of bubbles. These experiments later contributed to Franklin’s invention of bifocal glasses in 1784.
Discover your inner bubble inventor
Grade Range:
1-6
Resource Type(s):
Lessons & Activities
Duration:
15 minutes
Date Posted:
9/4/2012
A polymer is made up of tiny molecules in long, repeating chains, like paper clips hooked together. Polymers are all around us—even in our own bodies! Here's how you can make your own. This activity from Spark!Lab includes step-by-step directions, discussion questions, and ideas for extending y
Grade Range:
1-6
Resource Type(s):
Lessons & Activities
Duration:
10 minutes
Date Posted:
8/29/2012
The kite has played a role in many famous inventions...build your own! This activity from Spark!Lab includes step-by-step directions, discussion questions, and ideas for extending your learning. Spark!Lab activities encourage young learners to explore the invention process, from creative ideas al
Grade Range:
1-6
Resource Type(s):
Lessons & Activities
Duration:
15 minutes
Date Posted:
9/4/2012
Thomas Edison said, "To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk." With these words of wisdom in mind, we challenge you to create your own yo-yo using items found in your recycling bin.This activity from Spark!Lab includes suggested procedures and ideas for extending your learning.
