Eureka! Inventions and Discoveries in America

If you had to pick one invention or discovery as your favorite, which would you select and why?

Mrs. Horne’s Favorite

Eureka! In the Early Years People have been inventors and discoverers for thousands and thousands of years, since pre-historic times. Can anyone think of any inventions or discoveries from thousands of years ago, way before America was even thought of? Some examples might be…

Eureka! In the Early Years

Why are inventions and discoveries important? 1.They help civilizations progress. 2.They help make everyday life easier for people. 3.People have been able to cure sicknesses, build better communities, and discover new worlds…

Eureka! in America America was able to be discovered by other people far away because of the invention of boats that were able to cross the sea at great distances. When America received its Independence in 1776, a new nation was invented where anyone with enough hard work and determination could attain their dreams.

Eureka! in America This promise of opportunity in America not only brought in a stream of immigrants seeking a better life, but also led to the development of countless new inventions designed to make everyday living easier. Some examples of these inventions include…

Eureka! in America The electric light bulb The telephone The Polio vaccine The airplane The electric telegraph The potato chip

Famous Inventors and Discoverers

Willis Carrier November 26, 1876 – October 7, 1950 Was an engineer and earned his Master’s degree at Cornell University. In 1902, Carrier invented air conditioning and the first unit was installed in New York. Could you imagine sleeping in the summer with no air conditioning, or being in a movie theater with lots of people and no air conditioning?

Dr. Jonas Salk October 28, 1914 – June 23, The Son of Russian-Jewish immigrants and was the first in his family to attend college, New York University. During the early 1900’s, many people were in fear of the Polio disease. In 1952, Dr. Salk started a trial with his newly invented Polio vaccine which went public in Dr. Salk never patented his vaccine. He wanted everyone to have access to it.

George Crum Mr. Crum also never patented his invention. His father was African American and his mother was Native American. Was working as a chef in New York and he accidentally invented the potato chip. A customer complained his French fries were too thick, so to teach them a lesson he fried a batch of really thin and crispy potatoes with lots of salt. They ended up being a hit!

Charles Goodyear December 29, 1800 – July 1, 1860 His early years were spent working and learning the hardware business. At this time, rubber was greatly flawed; melted during the summer and became brittle during winter. Goodyear saved the rubber industry by inventing Vulcanized Rubber, or weatherproof rubber in 1836 and was patented in

Lonnie Johnson October 6, Grew up in Alabama making his own toys with his brothers. Received his Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering and a Master’s Engineering, both from Tuskegee University. Served in the Air Force as an engineer. Created the Super Soaker Squirt Gun in 1982 and secured the patent in

Ruth Handler November 4, 1916 – April 27, 2002 Worked as a stenographer in California. Ruth’s husband started the Mattel Company. Ruth invented the Barbie doll and in 1959, Barbie made her first debut. Ruth and her husband’s two children were named Barbara and Ken. I wonder where the names Barbie and Ken came from?

Sir Alexander Fleming August 6, 1881 – March 11, 1955 Was a Scottish biologist and pharmacologist. Spent his life working with bacteria, immunology and chemotherapy. In 1928, he accidentally discovered the world’s first antibiotic, Penicillin. He noticed mold growing in one of his Petri dishes and after thorough investigations, realized what it could do.

Protecting Inventions In order for an inventor to protect their invention from being copied or sold by others, the inventor must patent their invention. Once a patent is secured, no one can copy or sell your invention without your permission. Inventnow.org

Assignment You will be working in groups of 2 – 3 students. I will assign each group the name of a famous American inventor or discoverer. Each group will receive a worksheet and will perform research on their assigned person. Once research is done, you will insert your information into the Timeline software to make a class timeline.

Worksheet Example Name __Mrs. Horne_______ Date__April 12, 2010____ Inventor Biography Worksheet Name of Inventor/Discoverer: The Montgolfier Brothers__________________________ Date of Birth and Date of Death: Joseph-Michael ; Jacques-Etienne What did your person invent or discover?: _The first hot air balloon__________________ Year of invention or discovery: __1782__________________________________________ List any other inventions or discoveries by your inventor: ___________________________________ _______________________________ Explain how these inventions affect the world: The first hot air balloon was a pioneering discovery in the history of flight and paved __ the way for the evolution of the airplane and of flight itself._________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ Sources: Be sure to cite the sources you use!!

Timeline An example of what your timeline could look like

Eureka! of your own Anyone can be an inventor and bring their ideas to life, no matter who you are, male or female, young or old, or where you come from. No one has a patent on a good idea!