Jerome and Dorothy Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation. Search this
Extent:
0.5 Cubic feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Interviews
Oral history
Videotapes
Photographs
Date:
1997 September 17
Summary:
Collection consists of original, master, and reference videos documenting Nathan Kane, inventor of Pass-It-Football, a remote control for television, Project-A-Sketch opaque projector for children and low distortion bellows folds for industrial machines.
Scope and Contents note:
This collection contains original, master, and reference videos documenting Nathan Kane, inventor of low-distortion bellow folds for industrial machines, the Pass-It television remote control, and the Project-A-Sketch opaque projector for children. This video was created on September 17, 1997.
Arrangement:
The collection is divided into four series.
Series 1: Original Videos
Series 2: Master Videos
Series 3: Reference Videos
Series 4: Photographs and Slides
Biographical/Historical note:
Nathan Kane (1969-), is an inventor of several inventions that range from toys to industrial equipment. As a graduate student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Kane won the Lemelson-MIT Student Prize in 1997, for his inventiveness. The Lemelson-MIT Prize honors distinguished careers in invention each year. Kane's invention of an ultra-low distortion bellow fold patterns allow extremely light-weight, structurally rigid, long-extending bellows to be made inexpensively from a single sheet of foldable plastic. Traditional bellows, by comparison, are much heavier and more expensive to manufacture, because they consist of a complex assembly of fabric layers sewn to stiffening panels. Kane's folded patterns have many applications, such as making collapsible containers, expandable shelters, low cost pumps, and low cost protective bellows for industry. The increased extending ability means two to three times less material is needed for production, which cuts cost. The bellow is also two to three times lighter and more compact when folded, allowing machines that use the bellow to move further and, for precision applications, more accurately. Kane also invented the Pass-It television remote. This television remote is built into a foam rubber football so viewers can pass the remote with ease. Another invention is the Project-A-Sketch--a projector intended for children and which displays art or solid objects onto a wall.
Provenance:
This collection was created by the Innovative Lives Program of The Jerome and Dorothy Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation on September 17, 1997. The Innovative Lives series brings young people and American inventors together to discuss inventions and the creative process and to experiment and play with hands-on activities related to each inventor's product.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions. Signed copies of releases on file.
Janese Swanson developed video game software, a website, and an array of toys and gadgets aimed at making technology more accessible to girls. The collection contains approximately six hours of original and reference video footage of Swanson's Innovative Lives Presentation, in which she discussed her background and demonstrated her inventions with her daughter, Jackie. The material also includes a brief interview.
Scope and Contents:
This collection contains six (6) hours of original (BetaCam SP) recordings, six (6) hours of master (BetaCam SP) recordings, and six (6) hours of reference (VHS) copies documenting the life and work of Dr. Janese Swanson, inventor of toys, books, a website, magazine, and software. This video documentation was created on March 25, 1998. The recordings include a presentation by Swanson for the Lemelson Center's Innovative Lives Program. Audience participants are students from Thoreau Middle School (Vienna, Virginia), Options Charter School (Washington, D.C.), Carrollton Elementary School (New Carrollton, Maryland), and Rosa Parks Middle School (Olney, Maryland). The collection also contains a brief interview with Dr. Swanson.
Arrangement:
The collection is organized into three series.
Series 1, Original Videos, 1998
Series 2, Master Videos, 1998
Series 3, Reference Videos (viewing copies), 1998
Series 4, Photographs and Slides, 1998
Biographical / Historical:
Janese Swanson, a native of California, was the founder and CEO of Girl Tech (1995), a company created to bring girls into the world of technology. The second of six children, Swanson was raised by her mother after her father died in the Vietnam War. From a young age, Swanson had an interest in technology, often tinkering with household appliances. Building on her experience as a flight attendant and school teacher, Swanson served on the team at Broderbund Software that developed the video game Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? She produced Playroom and Treehouse, early learning software, and has developed award-winning curricula, electronic toys, and books that encourage girls to explore technology and inventions. Some of Swanson's toy inventions include the Snoop Stopper Keepsake Box, Me-Mail Message Center, Zap N' Lock Journal, YakBak, and Swap-It Locket. Her publications include Tech Girl's Internet Adventures, Tech Girl's Activity Book, and Girlzine: A Magazine for the Global Girl. Swanson received her Ed.D. in Organization and Leadership Technology in 1997 from the University of San Francisco.
The Jerome and Dorothy Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation was founded in 1995 at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History through a generous gift from the Lemelson Foundation. The Center's mission is to document, interpret, and disseminate information about invention and innovation; to encourage inventive creativity in young people; and to foster an appreciation for the central role invention and innovation play in the history of the United States. The Innovative Lives series brings together museum visitors and, especially, school aged children, and American inventors to discuss inventions and the creative process and to experiment and play with hands-on activities related to each inventor's product. This collection was recorded by the Innovative Lives Program of the Jerome and Dorothy Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation.
Provenance:
The collection was transferred to the Archives Center by the Jerome and Dorothy Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation in 1998.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research use.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning intellectual property rights. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions. Copies of oral history releases on file.
This collection contains original videos documenting Chuck Hoberman, inventor the Hoberman Sphere.
Scope and Contents note:
Original videotapes documenting Chuck Hoberman, inventor of expandable geodesic domes and spheres. Hoberman invented the Hoberman Sphere, Iris Dome, and a collapsible frisbee, tent and briefcase.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into three series.
Series 1: Original Videos
Series 2: Reference Videos
Series 3: Photographs and Slides
Biographical/Historical note:
Chuck Hoberman was born in 1956 and attended Brown University and holds a B.F.A. from Cooper Union and a M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Columbia University. He also holds four patents on ways to pleat sheets (of metal, plastic, or paper), and two patents on truss structures (structures that are based on series of triangles joined together). Hoberman has built expandable geodesic domes and spheres, including a motorized geodesic sphere that expands from 4.5 feet in diameter to 18 feet in diameter. Another dome, the "Iris Dome," could be used for emergency shelters and portable exhibition spaces. He named the dome after the iris of an eye, which also expands and contracts proportionally. Besides the Iris Sphere and a small toy called the Hoberman Sphere, Chuck Hoberman has invented a collapsible frisbee, a collapsible tent, and a collapsible briefcase. Hoberman combines aesthetics (the art of making things look pleasing to the eye) with engineering with problem-solving. His intriguing creations, based on both basic geometry and complex mathematics, solve problems or offer opportunities in the real world. In 1990, he founded his own company, called Hoberman Associates, Inc.
Provenance:
This collection was created by the Innovative Lives Program of The Jerome and Dorothy Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation on May 8, 1996. The Innovative Lives series brings young people and American inventors together to discuss inventions and the creative process and to experiment and play with hands-on activities related to each inventor's product.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions. Signed copies of release on file.
