Inventors Science

How did forgetting to wash a jar make cars safer? A scientist named Édouard Bénédictus accidentally dropped a plastic-coated flask that did not break. This invention was tested and engineered to help today's windshields protect drivers better.

Edwin Grosvenor writes of Bell's other extraordinary inventions: the first transmission of sound over light waves, metal detector, first practical phonograph, and early airplanes, including the first to fly in Canada. He also examines Bell's humanitarian efforts, including support for women's suffrage, civil rights, and speeches about what he warned would be a "greenhouse effect" of pollution causing global warming.

Have you ever gotten bored when the weather is too bad to go outside for recess? Bored students and bad weather inspired James Naismith to invent the game of basketball in the late 19th century. Using a soccer ball and peach baskets, Professor Naismith worked out the rules of the new sport at the local YMCA.

Patents don’t have to be a dry and boring subject, and inventors, investors, and business people may (and should) enjoy using them to their advantage. However, to empower the general public to use the patent system to its fullest extent, the need remains for a book that introduces important patent concepts in a humanly understandable fashion, with down-to-earth, practical advice and, more importantly, which is not boring, as many patent books unavoidably are to listeners who are not patent practitioners.

Do you know how the lightbulb was invented? In the 1800s, the first incandescent lightbulb was invented by Thomas Edison. Learn how Edison experimented with different materials, direct current, and by trial and error to design the first lightbulb. Which power company was created that funded the first electric lighting system to distribute light? The company still operates today, lighting and powering our world!

Help tell the story of Benjamin Franklin's discovery of electricity! Together with your friend, act out this play to learn how Benjamin Franklin used a wire, attached to the top of a kite, to attract lightning from the sky. Lightning is a form of electricity! It travelled down the kite string to the key that created electric sparks! How did Franklin come up with the idea for his famous experiment?

Did you know anyone can become an inventor? Being an inventor is all about solving problems in your everyday life. Inventing means you come up with lots of ideas using your creativity. Follow along in this activity to learn the steps to solve a problem and to improve the world around you!

Discover the brilliant life of Hedy Lamarr. This talented film actress became an influential scientist with her invention of a secret radio system in the early 1940s, a building block of today’s wireless communications.

Madam C. J. Walker invented a line of African American hair products and cosmetics that led her to become the first self-made female millionaire.

Create amazing inventions and help the environment at the same time. In Repurpose It, you’ll invent a solar still, a bug robot, a textbook safe, and many other resourceful contraptions. When it comes to inventing, your imagination has no limits!

Learn about George Eastman and the invention of the Kodak camera.

Listen to the story of how Wilbur and Orville Wright developed, tested, and successfully flew the first powered airplane.

Frank Zamboni created the ice-resurfacing machine, and ice-based sports would never be the same!

Frank Einstein loves figuring out how the world works by creating household contraptions that are part science, part imagination, and definitely unusual. After an uneventful experiment in his garage-lab, a lightning storm and flash of electricity bring Frank's inventions - the robots Klink and Klank - to life! Not exactly the ideal lab partners, the wisecracking Klink and the overly expressive Klank nonetheless help Frank attempt to perfect his Antimatter Motor...until Frank's archnemesis, T. Edison, steals Klink and Klank.

Frank Einstein (kid-genius scientist and inventor) and his best friend Watson, along with Klink (a self-assembled artificial intelligence entity), create the BrainTurbo to power-boost the human body and help their baseball-pitching pal Janegoodall make the team. But when Klank (a mostly self-assembled and artificial almost intelligence entity) goes missing, they must first rescue their robot pal and stop T. Edison - Frank’s classmate and archrival - from stealing their latest invention and using it against them!

Writing is very important to all of us! But did you know that people in the past did not have the same kind of writing instrument that we use today? Instead of using plastic or metals to create pens, people in the past used feathers to create pens! This story gives a brief history of what people used to write with and how they eventually developed the feather pen! Not only will you have a history of writing, but you will also learn how to create your very own feather pen!

Are self-driving cars the way of the future? How do they work? Are they safe? Will we see them in our lifetime?

Have you ever looked at a skyscraper and wondered how it was built? Do you ever look up at a tall building and wonder how it does not fall down? This story helps you explore the changes that have led to the creation of skyscrapers! You will get to see the different materials that have been developed to allow for better stability. You will get to understand how things like iron, steel, and concrete have revolutionized the way buildings are built and designed. By the end of this story, you will have a new appreciation for the skyscrapers that are all over the world!

What is a car, and how did they change the world? From the first steam-powered machines to race cars, flying cars, and even a car in space, this book takes kids on an exciting journey through the history, evolution, and future of automobiles! In The Big Questions: What Is a Car?, young readers will explore: The very first cars – How inventors created early automobiles and changed transportation forever. Fast and furious race cars – From Formula 1 to rocket-powered speed machines. The weirdest cars ever made – Bubble cars, amphibious vehicles, and even flying cars!

You know the Super Soaker. It's one of the top 20 toys of all time. And it was an accidental discovery that brought it into being. Trying to create a new cooling system for refrigerators and air conditioners, inventor Lonnie Johnson instead created the mechanics for the iconic toy. A love of rockets, robots, and inventions and a mind for creativity were present in Lonnie Johnson's early life.