Amber Melton made this robot at CompSciConnect, a University of Maryland camp. When few girls signed up for the university’s computer science classes, Dr. Jan Plane realized that something in the high schools wasn’t working. So she created a camp for middle schoolers to excite them about compute

Most incandescent lamps were designed for general use in homes and businesses. However, some required special features for use in particular locations. Westinghouse engineers designed this so-called mill lamp for use in factories and other areas subject to high levels of vibration. An intricate i

New United Motor Manufacturing Incorporated (NUMMI) was an auto manufacturing plant in Fremont, California, operated jointly by Toyota and General Motors from 1984 until 2010. GM had operated the plant at Fremont from 1960 where the clashes between management and union workers resulted in the pla

Before 1954, so-called portable radio receivers used vacuum tubes to receive and amplify signals. The large batteries needed to power most tubes made radios large and heavy. Receivers built with subminiature tubes existed but were expensive. The invention of transistors in 1947 allowed engineers

The history of patenting higher-level organisms began in the mid-1980s with a little guy called OncoMouse. In this episode, host Tory Altman joins Mallory Warner of the Museum's Division of Medicine and Science to talk about the first animal patented in the United States, and some of the ethical

Between the years 1790 and 1880 the U.S. Patent Office required both documentation and a three-dimensional working model to demonstrate each new invention submitted for a patent. The models helped to explain proposed innovations and compare them against similar inventions. In this online exhibiti

In this post, readers join a New York architect in 1968 as he explores the usefulness of the Empire State Building and its potential for the future.  Including a portion of the architect’s testimony to the Y Supreme Court, this blog asks readers to consider the non-monetary value of a stru

Learn how architects use paper to represent plans for buildings. Make two- and three-dimensional representations of your home using close observation and measurements.  Part of an OurStory module entitled Building Beautiful Buildings, this activity includes step-by-step instructions

Architects design the buildings we use every day. Their designs solve problems, like how to make a sturdy building, and reflect their ideas about beauty and history. By using this OurStory module from the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History, children and adults can learn about archi

Use this guide to actively read Julia Morgan Built a Castle, a picture book about one of America’s first female architects. Part of an OurStory module entitled Building Beautiful Buildings, this activity includes discussion prompts, a glossary, and background information.