Inventors Science

Obsessive, brilliant, and tortured, Nikola Tesla was lauded for his invention of the alternating current (AC) and other significant contributions to science. His claim that “harnessing the forces of nature was the only worthwhile scientific endeavor" both impressed and enraged the scientific community. Eventually his peers could no longer dismiss his eccentricities and began to view him as a crackpot - a potentially dangerous one.

Garrett Morgan was an inventor concerned for the well-being of other people. His inventions included the safety hood gas mask and signals that set the standard for today's traffic lights. It is easy to see that the lives of many people were made better or saved by Garrett Morgan’s inventions.

Before Isaac Newton became the father of physics, an accomplished mathematician, or a leader of the scientific revolution, he was a boy living in an apothecary's house, observing and experimenting, recording his observations of the world in a tiny notebook. As a young genius living in a time before science as we know it existed, Isaac studied the few books he could get his hands on, built handmade machines, and experimented with alchemy.

Kids have always had amazing ideas, like how to keep your ears warm on a cold winter day or an icy treat to enjoy on a hot summer day. Learn about four young inventors and their inventions that helped to change people's lives.

Alexander Graham Bell est né en Écosse, où il enseigne à parler à des sourds. Son intérêt pour l’enseignement le conduit à développer des outils pour faciliter la communication orale. Après la mort de ses deux frères, il suit ses parents en immigrant à l'Ontario. Il s’installe ensuite à Boston, centre de recherche scientifique très vivant à la fin du 19e siècle. L’invention du téléphone lui assure la gloire et la postérité, mais comme tout grand inventeur, il mènera des recherches dans de nombreux domaines : électricité, médecine, aéronautique.

Johannes Gutenberg wasn't just an inventor. He was also a goldsmith, printer, and publisher. Young listeners will discover how this man found a way to bring information to people near and far.

Inventing is all about ideas—ideas for making products better or creating new ones. To put these ideas into action, young inventors need tools for tinkering. Find out how to put together your own inventor's workshop with simple tools and common household objects.

Do you have a need for speed? Does power make your heart pound? In Zoom It, you’ll invent a gas-powered boat, a catapult, an electric car, and many other amazing moving contraptions. When it comes to inventing, your imagination has no limits!

How did forgetting to wash a jar make cars safer? A scientist named Édouard Bénédictus accidentally dropped a plastic-coated flask that did not break. This invention was tested and engineered to help today's windshields protect drivers better.

Explore the lives and achievements of the Wright Brothers.

Explore the life and achievements of Elizabeth Blackwell, America's first woman doctor.

Thomas Edison wasn't just an inventor. He was also a physicist and businessman. Young listeners will discover how he became a great scientist whose inventions made a better life for most everyone.

How much do you know about Philo T. Farnsworth? Find out the facts you need to know about this inventor, scientist, and TV pioneer. You’ll learn about the early life, challenges, and major accomplishments of this important American.

Hear about some of the world's greatest gadget disasters. Find out how each gadget failed, what went wrong with its design or manufacture, and what programmers learned from their mistakes.

In ancient China, an alchemist mixed an exploding medicine and accidentally invented gunpowder. Learn about the development of gunpowder and other explosives, like nitroglycerin and dynamite, in this fun feature.

Can you imagine having to sit still for 30 minutes just to have your picture taken? Or having to send film away to be developed? Technology has come a long way since then! Listen to learn about photography inventions like flashbulbs, Kodak and Polaroid cameras, and more!

Some kids are born missing a hand or fingers, others lose them because of accidents. Find out how people are printing artificial hands on 3-D printers to help those who need a hand. They are cheap, easy to build, and really work!

In medicine, machines can be used to take detailed pictures of bones and even to save people’s lives. Listen to learn about the marvelous machines of modern medicine, like the defibrillator, the x-ray machine, and more!

Nikola Tesla was a major figure in the world in which he lived. As the 19th century gave way to the 20th, it was Tesla who would contribute to some of the world's most amazing inventions. It was Tesla's theories, patents, and experiments that would pave the way for the digital, wireless world we are so familiar with today. Tesla didn't enjoy the high honors bestowed on so many of his contemporaries, yet he enjoyed the power of knowing that it was his inventions that were powering the world, literally.

Our world is teeming with robots. Robotic arms build cars in factories. Military robots disarm bombs in war zones. And robot vacuum cleaners suck the dirt off our floors. But how do all of these robots work? From their computer brains to their super sensors, learn how robots are changing the world we live in.