Special Report

The Innovative Spirit

A look at how creative thinkers within the Smithsonian and beyond are changing our world for the better

Coneyl Jay/Getty Images

When she learned to play the theremin, Dorit Chrysler was struck by its emotional expressiveness.

A Century Ago, This Eerie-Sounding Instrument Ushered in Electronic Music

Stephanie Kwolek's initial ambition was not to be chemist at all.

You Can Thank Chemist Stephanie Kwolek for Bulletproof Vests and Yoga Pants

The process of coloring the test objects took between 15 and 40 minutes.

This New Dye Changes Color When Exposed to UV Light

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A Brief History of Solar Panels

Patent History

Kraft Heinz, Cool Whip’s current owner, still sells 200 million tubs of the stuff a year.

The Scientist Behind Some of Our Favorite Junk Foods

To deflect from concerns around sexual undertones, Milton Bradley packaged the game as inoffensively as possible.

When Twister Was Too Risqué for America

Commuters ride up escalators at the Dupont Circle Metro Station in Washington, D.C.

How the Escalator Forever Changed Our Sense of Space

As women entered through the “Ladies” side of a turnstile, Lenna Winslow’s “Voting Machine” concealed ballot items on which they could not vote.

The Voting Machine That Displayed Different Ballots Based on Your Sex

The Wiffle Ball comes with slots on one side to make it easier to throw curves and other pitches.

How the Wiffle Ball Came to Be

Every year its manufacturer, 3M, sells enough of it to circle Earth 165 times.

How the Invention of Scotch Tape Led to a Revolution in How Companies Managed Employees

Innovation at the Smithsonian

Susan Kare designed pictorial symbols that enabled non-technical users to operate a computer, a great contrast to previous screens with “command line” interfaces that required knowing code.

How Susan Kare Designed User-Friendly Icons for the First Macintosh

Expression Mirror (detail) by Zachary Lieberman

AT THE SMITHSONIAN

Here’s Why A.I. Can’t Be Taken at Face Value

The Smithsonian has launched the first national-scale, scholarly research and collecting project to gather and preserve the artifacts, documents and voices associated with the beer industry’s craft revolution (above: label, Sierra Nevada Brewing Company).

AT THE SMITHSONIAN

Here’s What’s Brewing in the New Smithsonian Beer Collections

Theresa McCulla

Wyss Institute engineers selected works from the collections to illustrate a "new approach to Design Science." The clusters of polyhedrons in the 1954 textile Time Capsule reflects the 1950s sentiment for a brighter future built on scientific progress.

AT THE SMITHSONIAN

How Biology Inspires Future Technology

To celebrate its centennial, KitchenAid released a passion red limited edition stand mixer.

AT THE SMITHSONIAN

For 100 Years, KitchenAid Has Been the Stand-Up Brand of Stand Mixers

Ginkgo has survived three mass extinctions, including the one that killed the dinosaurs.

AT THE SMITHSONIAN

Smithsonian Scientists Are Using Ginkgo Leaves to Study Climate Change—They Need Your Help

Innovation Beyond the Smithsonian

SmartCan is essentially a pair of robotic wheels that are compatible with any municipal-issued trash receptacle.

This Robotic Trash Can Takes Itself to the Curb

Rachael Lallensack

John B. Goodenough, M. Stanley Whittingham and Akira Yoshino

Development of the Lithium-Ion Battery Earns Nobel Prize in Chemistry

Queens Museum Brings Rube Goldberg Machine to Life

The Buoyant Ecologies Float Lab will be offshore of Middle Harbor Shoreline Park in Oakland for three years, in an effort to test its viability as a substrate for futuristic floating cities.

Designing Floating Buildings With an Eye to the Marine Species Living Underneath

Lindsey J. Smith, Undark Magazine

A fan carries a copy of ‘Abbey Road’ as he traverses the infamous crosswalk that appears on the album’s cover.

How the Beatles Took Recording Technology to a New Level in 'Abbey Road'

William D. Moylan, The Conversation

Scientists at the University of Central Florida have modeled a path toward self-sufficiency for one million settlers of Mars over the course of 100 Earth years.

What Will Humans Eat on Mars?

Andrea Michelson

In this agricultural revolution, there are plenty of mind-blowing devices to awe and excite.

Five Roles Robots Will Play in the Future of Farming

Rachael Lallensack

Monon and Ottily Bayer, the daughters of Mr. and Mrs. Otto Bayer of Costamesa, California, pose in a small, "bunk bed" trailer at their campground in the Shasta National Forest. California, August 1953.

Ten Inventive Attempts to Make Camping More Comfortable

Rachael Lallensack

The bacterium Escherichia coli, shown here, moves itself with propeller-like structures called flagella; it is one of the mobile microbes scientists have linked to cargo-carrying structures to form biohybrid microrobots.

How Tiny, Microbe-Propelled Bots Could Deliver Drugs in Our Bodies

Tom Siegfried, Knowable Magazine

In December, Your Call technology will be used during the Liberty Bowl.

In This Interactive Football League, Fans Pick the Plays