In this online exhibition, students will learn how fear of Soviet domination galvanized reform in science and math education during the 1950's and 60's. On October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, the first artificial satellite to orbit the earth. In order win the "Space Race", the Uni

Daguerreotype of Unitarian Congregational Church, New York City. On the Washington Square campus of the New York University, Samuel F.B. Morse and Dr. John W. Draper operated together one of the first American photographic studios for a short time, from 1839 to the early 1840s. Collaborating on t

Samuel F. B. Morse (1791-1872), an artist and inventor of the telegraph, was in Paris in 1839 sharing the scientific and celebrity stage with Daguerre. The two inventors shared notes on their inventions and Morse returned to the US with a camera, perhaps the first camera in the United States...

This circular slide rule describes the effects of a nuclear explosion on people. After World War II, scientists at the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory prepared a report on forms of damage associated with the explosion of atomic bombs. These included physical damage, fire and heat, and nuclear ra

AbioCor Total Artificial Heart is the first electro-hydraulic heart implanted in a human. Approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration for clinical trails, the AbioCor was implanted in Robert Tools by cardiac surgeons Laman Gray and Robert Dowling on July 2, 2001, at Jewish Hospital

The Soviet launch of the Sputnik satellite in late 1957 sparked interest in the United States in science education even among elementary school children. In 1958, King Seeley Thermos produced this imaginative box evoking space travel and landings on distant moons and planets. Children provided a

This website provides a timeline of the history of polio research, vaccinations and its effects on society. This timeline will help students understand the history of polio, including the major milestones in the scientific, medical and social issues created by the virus. The Hi

In the spring of 1803, Meriwether Lewis began to purchase scientific and mathematical instruments for a pending expedition into the northwestern region of North America. Among the items he purchased from Philadelphia instrument maker Thomas Whitney were three pocket compasses and this silver

This website uses images, artifacts, oral histories and interactive resources to tell the story of the polio epidemics in the United States and the struggle to find a vaccination to prevent them. The exhibition is divided into four parts covering the effects of polio on communities, families and