This Sony "Walkman" portable tape player dates from the early 1980s. Originally introduced in 1979 as the “Soundabout,” two people could listen simultaneously while a small microphone permitted them to converse without removing their headsets. Powered by a 9-volt battery, the recorder sold we

Research in Motion (RIM) produced this Blackberry model 957 Internet Edition in 2000. The first Blackberry was introduced in 1999 as a two-way pager before pivoting to become a device featuring an always-connected e-mail with personal digital assistant functionality. The Blackberry 957 came with

National Public Radio reporter Andy Carvin used this iPhone 3GS to monitor stories on Twitter during the Arab Spring movement in the winter of 2011. Twitter and social media became a large source of news during the movement as users on the ground in the Middle East relayed news and real-time even

The portability of cellular telephones provides users with the ability to make calls from almost anywhere and Motorola was built on portability. The company made car radios in the 1930s and portable radios called walkie-talkies for the U.S. military during World War Two, and played a major role i

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

Motorola produced the DynaTAC cell phone in 1984 after more than a decade of work in cellular research and technology. The Motorola DynaTAC (an abbreviation of Dynamic Adaptive Total Area Coverage) was the first commercially available portable handheld cell phone. The phone was a 9-inches tall, w

One of two telephones used by Alexander Graham Bell in a demonstration that took place between Boston and Salem, Massachusetts on November 26, 1876. Critical features are the iron diaphragm (seen as a black circular disc mounted on the vertical wooden support), two electromagnets (seen in white,

Although we might think of fax machines as a relatively recent (if somewhat dated) technology, this episode uncovers the surprising history of the wireless fax machine. Host Tory Altman speaks with Hal Wallace, associate curator of the museum's electricity collection, about this 1930s device that

Joseph Henry was one of America's preeminent 19th-century scientists, a pioneer in the investigation of electromagnetism and other fields of study, and the first Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. This video shows how Henry's research found practical application in

Create a cardboard gramophone and think about its connection to recorded sounds. 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 creativ