An employee pushes a microwave radar dish down a Rad Lab corridor.   MIT Museum

Nov 06, 2009 (Friday) - Dec 31, 2010 (Friday)

Showcase exhibition: Hot Spots of Invention

Invention happens everywhere. But sometimes a “hot spot” of invention takes shape when the right mix of creative people, resources, and inspiring surroundings come together. In the 1930s, a hot spot began to form among the industrial labs and universities of New England. As World War II neared, the hot spot matured at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The campus bustled with a growing network of inventive people and new research laboratories.

The Hot Spots of Invention showcase exhibition features the stories of three of the many war-era labs at MIT: Charles Stark Draper’s instruments lab, the Radiation Laboratory, and Harold Edgerton’s strobe lab. Together, they helped transform Cambridge into a dynamic place of invention.

First floor west.

Mar 27, 2010 (Saturday) - Apr 03, 2010 (Saturday)

NanoDays 2010

The Lemelson Center joins with the Nanoscale Informal Science Education Network to present NanoDays 2010, a nationwide festival of educational programs about nanoscale science and engineering and its potential impact on the future.

Activities in Spark!Lab March 27 - April 3 will include:

• constructing a giant model of a carbon nanotube entirely from balloons
• measuring height in nanometers
• creating a liquid crystal display that changes color
• other nanotechnology-related experiments

Activities in Spark!Lab on April 3 will be led by science educators and nanotechnology experts from:

• The Smithsonian's Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation
• The Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History
• The Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum
• The University of Maryland's Material Research Science and Engineering Center
• The Woodrow Wilson Center's Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies
• The Association of Science-Technology Centers
• The U.S. Naval Research Laboratory
• Northern Virginia Community College
• Nanotec-USA
  

Mar 27, 2010 (Saturday)

Innovative Lives: Dr. Michael Fuhrer

Dr. Michael Fuhrer, a leading expert on nanoscale electronics and Associate Director of the University of Maryland's NanoCenter, will discuss his research in the field as well as the role of nano-electronics in past, present and future innovations.

Saturday, March 27
4:30 p.m.
Spark!Lab

This installment of the Lemelson Center's Innovative Lives series is presented as part of NanoDays 2010, a nationwide festival of educational programs about nanoscale science and engineering and its potential impact on the future.

Apr 03, 2010 (Saturday)

Nanotechnology: Risks, Benefits, and Who Decides?

Join in the conversation to discuss whether experts, watchdogs, and/or the public should be the primary decision makers about nanotechnology policy. 

The goal is to provide the opportunity for participants from a broad range of backgrounds to engage in a thoughtful conversation about important nanotechnology-related issues including:

·          Potential environmental, health and safety issues

·          Societal, ethical and legal implications of nanotechnology  

Saturday, April 3
3:00 p.m.
Presidential Reception Suite

Space is limited for this program. Please contact Steven Madewell at madewells@si.edu to RSVP for this free program.

This program is presented as part of NanoDays 2010, a nationwide festival of educational programs about nanoscale science and engineering and its potential impact on the future.

Apr 10, 2010 (Saturday) - Apr 11, 2010 (Sunday)

National Robotics Week

Learn the basics of robotics through hands-on exploration and explore the electrical, mechanical, and software components that go into robots.

Saturday, April 10 and Sunday, April 11
Noon - 4 p.m.
Spark!Lab

Presented as part of National Robotics Week.

One of Lemelson's toy inventions.   Courtesy the Lemelson Foundation

Dec 01, 2008 (Monday) - Dec 31, 2010 (Friday)

Showcase exhibition: Jerome Lemelson--Toying with Invention

Jerome Lemelson earned more than 600 patents, and about 70 of them describe toys—inflatable toys, jumping toys, toys with propellers, toys that run on tracks, target games, dolls, and more. In fact, Lemelson’s first patent, issued in 1953, was for a new kind of propeller beanie. The objects in this case are examples of Lemelson’s toy ideas and show some of the stages in inventing a new plaything.

Lemelson Center foyer, third floor west.

Read more about Lemelson's toy inventions.