Resources: Inventors, Inventing, & Citizen Science
- Science of Innovation (video series) – The United States Patent and Trademark Office hosts a YouTube channel of videos about innovation. These 5 minute videos offer good introductions to cutting-edge technologies such as 3D bioprinting, VR, driverless cars, bionic limbs, and more.
- Inventions, Inventors, and Invention Stories – Articles, video, classroom resources, and an audio database of famous inventors and invention from the Smithsonian’s Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation.
- Lemelson-MIT Program – Grants and contests for grades 7-12. Celebrates outstanding inventors and inspires young people to pursue creative lives and careers through invention.
- Spark!Lab Invention Projects – A list of activities to make your own light bulb, gramophone, and other famous inventions from the Spark!Lab at the National Museum of American History in Washington, DC.
- Edison Muckers – All about Edison and inventing.
- UN Sustainable Development Goals – 17 goals to transform the world are a “to do” list for the future and can be used as the basis for challenges and projects.
- Invent Now – A non-profit that supports invention through contests, camps and hosts the National Inventors Hall of Fame, including an online database of inventors.
- Citizenscience.gov – Official US government site coordinating crowdsourcing and citizen science initiatives in the US.
- Citizen Scientists League – A group of scientists and science hobbyists dedicated to promoting the tools and skills of science.
- The STEMIE Coalition – K-12 invention and entrepreneurship education resources, events, and contests.
- Scistarter – Searchable database of science projects open to public participation.