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. 

Follow simple directions to make a musical instrument, then try out some "call and response" jazz rhythms. Part of an OurStory module entitled Duke Ellington and Jazz, this activity includes links to instructions to make a drum or “sound-sandwich,” discussion prompts, and bac

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.”

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

This manual, included in the online exhibition Invention at Play, from the Lemelson Center, will provide an array of activities, resources, and approaches that will underscore the role of play in the inventive spirit in all of us. Through play we develop certain "habits of

This booklet, connected to the Invention at Play online exhibition from the Lemelson Center, highlights inventors who started out as great players and who recall a strong link between their play and inventing. It encourages adults to create an enriching play/inventing environme

In this post, students will learn about the concept of eco-cities (cities designed to be in balance with nature) and their impact on the sustainability movement. Written by Art Molella, Jerome and Dorothy Lemelson Director of the Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation, thi