TeachersFirst's Inventors and Inventions Resources
Other TeachersFirst Special Topics Collections

Invent and Innovate! This collection of reviewed resources from TeachersFirst is selected to help teachers, parents, and students learn about inventors and inventions. Use these resources for science or social studies lessons and activities about innovation and invention, in observance of National Inventors' Day (celebrated on February 11, Thomas Edison's birthday), or at any time during the school year. Whether you are simply learning about the history of invention or planning a schoolwide Invention Convention, these resources will provide inspiration and project possibilities.
Explore all of TeachersFirst's resources tagged inventors and inventions for more ideas.
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Smithsonian Learning Lab - The Smithsonian Center for Learning and Digital Access
Grades
4 to 12tag(s): animals (322), architecture (85), art history (78), aviation (35), black history (56), civil war (144), dinosaurs (55), explorers (65), images (277), inventors and inventions (92), scientists (69)
In the Classroom
The Smithsonian Learning Lab is a must-add to your list of classroom bookmarks! Search for collections and information throughout the year on all topics. Add a link to classroom computers for the entire site or specific collections. Be sure to take advantage of the many features of this site to create customized collections, then have students add additional resources. Have students create quizzes for review of topics. Challenge students to create a simple infographic sharing their findings using Easel.ly, reviewed here.You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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USPTO - United States Patent and Trademark Office - United States Patent and Trademark Office
Grades
3 to 12tag(s): crafts (39), digital citizenship (68), inventors and inventions (92), sound (105), sports (99), STEM (173), video (278)
In the Classroom
Whether an elementary, middle, or high school teacher you'll find ideas for building model rockets, a mechanical grasper, and more. Use an interactive whiteboard or projector and start by viewing the video on the home page titled Extraordinary Innovations. Or, flip your class and have students watch the video at home and use Magnoto, reviewed here, to take notes (blog style or sticky note style) to document what they learned from the video. Be sure to have a small or whole group discussion about what they learned from the video using their notes the next day! At the end of your lesson or unit on patents and trademarks, challenge students to create a timeline for the invention of the snowboard, or motorcycles, or another topic of interest. Why not make this an interactive timeline with music, photos, videos, and more using Capzles, reviewed here? For interested students to learn more about Bionic Limbs, Electronic Tattoos, Self Driving Cars, and several others, you may want to visit the NBC Learn's The Science of Innovation, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Highbrow - Artem Zavyalov & Jane Limanskaya
Grades
7 to 12tag(s): 20th century (50), architecture (85), authors (120), business (58), differentiation (53), endangered species (41), equations (151), financial literacy (87), greeks (33), human body (132), inventors and inventions (92), logic (248), medicine (70), mental math (30), numbers (198), photography (157), poetry (219), psychology (66), short stories (24), surrealism (2), weather (201), women (94)
In the Classroom
Highbrow is perfect for differentiated learning. Allow students to choose their own topic and sign up for a course. When complete, choose another topic and start a new course. Have students create commercials for finished courses using Powtoon, reviewed here, and share them using a tool such as TeacherTube, reviewed here. Challenge students to create a course after a unit of study as a final assessment. Be sure to include this site on your class webpage for students to access both in and outside of class for personal use.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Inventor's Workshop - The Museum of Science
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): artists (78), inventors and inventions (92), italy (15), leonardo davinci (4), renaissance (31)
In the Classroom
This site is perfect for use on your interactive whiteboard. Explore the different portions together during your studies of the Renaissance, inventors, or artists such as Leonardo da Vinci. Share a link to this site on your class webpage for students to explore at home, or add a link on classroom computers for use during computer centers. Have students use Fakebook, reviewed here, to create a "fake" page similar in style to Facebook about Leonardo da Vinci or other Renaissance artists.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Science of Innovation - NBC Learn
Grades
5 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): energy (207), human body (132), inventors and inventions (92)
In the Classroom
Although part of a larger pay for use site, this portion of the site is free. Use this site as an anticipatory set or "activator" to introduce a unit or lesson on a projector or interactive whiteboard. Use this site as the starting point for individual or group projects. Take advantage of the free lesson plan and incorporate suggestions into your current units. Have students brainstorm or collect ideas on other innovative ideas on a collaborative bulletin board like Scrumblr, reviewed here (quick start- no membership required!). As an extension to the lessons on Bionic Limbs, Electronic Tattoos, Self Driving Cars, and several others, you may want to visit the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) site, reviewed here, to learn how the inventors patented their creations.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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The Creators Project - Voice Media
Grades
5 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): creativity (118), engineering (129), inventors and inventions (92), STEM (173)
In the Classroom
Turn STEM into STEAM in your science, math, or art class. This project is perfect for convincing students that science is neither boring nor unimaginative! Lure your artistic students into science and your pragmatic scientists into creativity. This project fits well with any Maker Movement activities you may do in your school. Share a feature or two each week in your science class and ask students what science concepts the creator had to use to achieve that design. Ask what problems he/she might have faced in creating it. Ask why it appeals to people (function? visual design?) Challenge student groups to choose a design or invention on this site and analyze the physics behind it. How/why does it work? What simple machines do they see within it? Why did they use those materials? Have them share their findings (or hypotheses) in a multimedia presentation or wiki page, sort of an "invention unwrapped." Teachers of gifted or science club sponsors can find loads of project inspiration at this site. Share it during a career unit for students to investigate creative ways to use science and design in a future career. Have them research the people behind an invention or art piece they particularly enjoy.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Story of the Web - Jack Schofield
Grades
5 to 12tag(s): computers (102), internet safety (118), inventors and inventions (92)
In the Classroom
Story of the Web is perfect for use on your interactive whiteboard or projector in a unit on technology and invention or in a computer literacy class. Share this site with students who have grown up on the Internet to provide an understanding of how quickly technology has developed. Compare it to the development of a human being over 25 years! Have students create a simple infographic sharing their findings using Easel.ly, reviewed here or Venngage reviewed here. Use an online tool such as Interactive Two Circle Venn Diagram (reviewed here) comparing communication 25 years ago to the present.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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The Wright Experience - The Wright Experience
Grades
5 to 12tag(s): flight (31), inventors and inventions (92), wright brothers (20)
In the Classroom
Bring the spirit of invention alive in your classroom. Follow the process, from the earlier designs through each later design, each building upon its predecessor. Discover the many types of testing done to determine limits for each problem. The videos of flight will bring your class on board with Wilbur or Orville! Share the videos on your projector (or interactive whiteboard). Discover the steps to the scientific method or design process to apply in other projects. Include this project in a study of leadership or as a lesson in the perseverance of innovation! Use it as an introduction to your Discovery Fair or Science Night.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Fantastic Contraption - KONGREGATE
Grades
1 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): creativity (118), energy (207), gifted (88), inventors and inventions (92), logic (248), machines (27), motion (69), problem solving (294), STEM (173)
In the Classroom
In the classroom, develop logic, perseverance, and creativity for your gifted and high achieving students. These activities could be used with all learning levels. Use this activity as part of a unit on inventions or as a lead in to a Maker's Faire. Introduce this activity on your interactive whiteboard or projector and you will have all students hooked! Your ESL/ELL students and weaker readers will be on equal footing with their peers since this site requires very little reading after the introduction. Capture the attention of your students by gamifying science and logic. Continue with class discussions of movement, energy, logic, and strategy. Use as a stepping stone to begin a unit on geometry, energy, or motion. In elementary science classes, include this activity for students who have mastered required curriculum to go beyond the basics of simple machines and motion. Have students add a written explanation of the contraption to take sequencing to a new level. (A screenshot would help them illustrate their writing.) After drawing a scaled model, create the contraption using real objects. Discover the types of energy and movement that are in the model. Organize a contraption competition. Share this link on your class website for students (and their parents) to "tinker" with at home.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Community Science Workshop Network - Community Initiatives
Grades
K to 12tag(s): engineering (129), gravity (46), inventors and inventions (92), musical instruments (51), plants (174), sound (105), STEM (173)
In the Classroom
Use these activities to create contraptions for students to manipulate in class. As students use a manipulative, collect their questions about what they observe or wonder about the contraption's motion and characteristics. Students can research the science behind the object or motion. Use class discussion to create understanding about basic scientific principles. Be sure to include a link to this site on your classroom computer or website. Students can use these activities to teach concepts to other students in their class. Many of these activities make great demonstrations as an introduction to a science concept and for uncovering student misconceptions. Expand what you ask students to do by using creative writing, reading, creating Infographics, or learning correct ways to research and report findings about the subject matter.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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GE Focus Forward - GE & Cinelan.com
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): environment (325), inventors and inventions (92), medicine (70), mental health (26), nutrition (159), oceans (165), robotics (29), solar energy (39), STEM (173), trees (28), video (278)
In the Classroom
Use this site as an anticipatory set or "activator" to introduce a unit or lesson on a projector or interactive whiteboard. Have students explore this site independently or in small groups. There is one film about sanitation that refers to "poop," so you may want to avoid classroom giggles from less mature students by setting the tone for scientific viewing. Use as any part of a career unit, as a look at explorers and innovators, or when discussing character education. Be sure to include this site on your class web page for students to access both in and outside of class for further practice. Challenge students to choose a topic to further explore and create a multimedia presentation using one of the many TeachersFirst Edge tools reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Great Inventions, Great Inventors - edinformatics.com
Grades
4 to 12tag(s): inventors and inventions (92)
In the Classroom
Find information for science and technology reports on this site. Allow students to view the dates of many of the inventions to determine what scientific principle was just known to push technological thinking. Create a timeline of inventions to determine the impact of science, economy, and society on inventions. Use a site such as TimeRime reviewed here. Choose an invention and research other forms of that model, alternatives before and after, and what we are using today. Discuss environmental impacts, how the invention changed society, and other impacts.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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The Wilbur and Orville Wright Papers - Library of Congress
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): aviation (35), flight (31), inventors and inventions (92), wright brothers (20)
In the Classroom
Students doing research on the Wright brothers will find this site invaluable. Have students work in cooperative learning groups and research a specific topic found at this site. Challenge students to create a multimedia presentation. Have students use a tool such as Zeemaps, reviewed here. Zeemaps allows students to create audio recordings AND choose a location (on a map) where the story takes place.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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The 50 Worst Inventions - Time Magazine
Grades
4 to 12tag(s): inventors and inventions (92)
In the Classroom
Challenge students to create a list of useless inventions or to invent one of their own. Display the slide show on your interactive whiteboard or projector and discuss if students agree with a product's placement on the list. Generate a list of characteristics that would keep an invention OFF this list! Have students create commercials advertising their new product (or the one they researched). Challenge students to create a video commercial and share using a site such as SchoolTube (reviewed here). Write letters to the product's inventor to find out their feelings about being included on the list.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Inventors and Their Inventions - Time Magazine
Grades
4 to 12tag(s): inventors and inventions (92)
In the Classroom
After presenting the slideshow on your interactive whiteboard or projector, ask students to create their own list of modern inventions that are in general use. Students can then research their inventors and how the invention came about. Have a "Create an Invention" Day where students design and build their own invention that would make their lives easier. Have students share their inventions and how they work on video. Share the videos using a site such as SchoolTube (reviewed here). Another possibility is to include this slideshow in your study of the Industrial Revolution. Share TeachersFirst's interactive introduction to Inventors of the Industrial Revolution, and ask students to compare the circumstances around successful inventions today vs then.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Gajitz Science - Gajitz
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): cells (99), engineering (129), inventors and inventions (92), medicine (70)
In the Classroom
Share selected discoveries or a science-in-real-life scenario at least weekly on a projector or interactive whiteboard. Watch the site for real world examples of your current unit or award extra credit to students who lurk on this site to find such connections. Just as your social studies colleagues assign students to write up a current event each week, you can assign students to write a blog post or brief explanation of a recent find on your class wiki. Be sure to include this link on your class web page for students to access both in and out of class, and be sure to include it in your emergency sub plans for students to find and explain an accomplishment of a real scientist found here. If you do a unit on science careers, this is a definite source for student projects. Why not have students create an interactive infographic using a tool like Genial.ly, reviewed here, on a branch of science that interests them after exploring this site?Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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The Inventor's Workshop - Learning Science Network
Grades
3 to 8tag(s): inventors and inventions (92), machines (27), simple machines (35)
In the Classroom
Use this site when teaching about Da Vinci, during an invention unit, a science unit on simple machines, and more. Share the identification quiz on your interactive whiteboard or projector as practice and review prior to testing on the concept of simple machines.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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