Invention Kits

The models in the Invention Kit Repository were developed through collaboration with the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. These kits and instructional materials enable students to reconstruct transformational inventions in the collections of the Smithsonian Institution.

Invention Kit Repository

The kits are centered around the three themes of Sight, Sound, and Motion. Each theme is anchored by a kit that supports reconstruction of a transformational invention that changed the world.

Sight.

A mechanical movie machine inspired by a praxinoscope developed by Muybridge anchors the first theme. This invention was first used to present moving pictures to a paying audience at the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893 and led to development of Edison’s kinetoscope, giving rise to the modern entertainment industry.

Sound.

A loudspeaker inspired by the electromagnetic speaker invented by Kellogg and Rice in 1925 anchors the second theme. This invention made reproduction of sound in theaters possible. Combined with an amplifier, it also enabled families to listen to the radio together.

Motion.

An electric motor inspired by the Charles Page “Electromagnetic Engine” patented in 1854 anchors the third theme. The electric motor combined with development of the electric power grid beginning in the 1890s transformed American life. The transition to electric motors in factories in the early twentieth century led resulted in a remarkable increase in productivity. At the beginning of the nineteenth century, America was a rural agricultural country. By the early twentieth century, the U.S. led the world in manufacturing productivity. Electric motors played an important role in this transition.

Subsequent Invention Kits in each of the three themes enable students to create their own inventions using computer-controlled lights, speakers, and motors.