Motorola produced this BPR 2000 model pager around 1982. Prior to the widespread availability of inexpensive cell phones many people carried telephone pagers to stay in contact with work or home. A miniature radio receiver, a pager alerted the user that someone needed to talk to them and provided

John H. Irwin received patent number 35,158 on May 6, 1862, of this design of a coil oil lamp. Irwin’s lamp was designed for coal oils and other similar hydrocarbons (such as kerosene) which volatilized at low temperatures and required an excess of oxygen to support illumination. The excess of

The Museum’s Textile Collection contains over four thousand patent models. The collection includes many examples of carding machines, spinning machines, knitting machines, rope making machines, looms, baskets, carpets, fabrics, and sewing machines. Even the simple clothespin is well represented

People have long sought better ways to illustrate and understand the structure and functions of the human body. Paper dolls and wax, papier-mache, and plaster anatomical models have all been used as tools to teach human anatomy. In the wake of the launch of the Sputnik satellite, designer Marcel

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 activity, students will enlist and experience the life of a young sailor aboard USS CONSTITUTION during the War of 1812. Students will scrub the deck, haul on lines, steer the ship, work the guns, tell tall tales, and perhaps sneak a gam

In this thematic unit, students will use USS CONSTITUTION as a vehicle to explore a wide range of disciplines including language arts, reading, math, science, art, and social studies. The content scope of the curriculum is wide and var

In 1794, Eli Whitney patented a new kind of cotton gin. His invention, using rotating brushes and teeth to remove the seeds from cotton, was quickly pirated by others. Southern plantation owners depended on slaves for labor-intensive crops such as rice, sugar, tobacco, and especially cotto

Meet Steven Turner, curator at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History, as he discusses the Smithsonian's scientific instrument collection. This video focuses on the plate developed by the 18th century scientist Chladni whose instruments create visual representations of wave pattern

Meet Steven Turner, curator at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History, as he discusses the Smithsonian's scientific instrument collection. This video focuses on the history of acoustics during the 18th and 19th centuries, including demonstrations of wave models, tuning forks, siren