Inventors Science

You know the Super Soaker. It's one of the top 20 toys of all time. And it was an accidental discovery that brought it into being. Trying to create a new cooling system for refrigerators and air conditioners, inventor Lonnie Johnson instead created the mechanics for the iconic toy. A love of rockets, robots, and inventions and a mind for creativity were present in Lonnie Johnson's early life.

As young boys, Orville and Wilbur Wright loved all things mechanical. As young men, they gained invaluable skills essential for their success by working with printing presses, bicycles, motors, and any sort of machinery they could get their hands on. As adults, the brothers worked together to invent, build, and fly the world's first successful airplane. This is the fascinating story of the two inventors and aviation pioneers who never lost sight of their dream: to fly, and to soar higher!

In science fiction, people upload their minds into computers for them to be stored. How could this futuristic way of preserving the mind work? Scientists have some ideas, which involve mapping the brain cell by cell. Discover the science and technology behind what it would take to upload a mind in real life!

In science fiction, invisibility cloaks let their users vanish from sight and sneak around unnoticed. How could one of these stealthy pieces of clothing work? Scientists have some ideas, which involve bending light. Discover the science and technology behind what it would take to make a real-life invisibility cloak!

In science fiction, energy blades are weapons or tools that look like glowing swords. How could one of these powerful devices work? Scientists have some ideas, which include using plasma. Discover the science and technology behind what it would take to make a real-life energy blade!

In science fiction, flying cars let people soar over traffic jams and get to where they're going quickly. How could a vehicle that both flies and drives be created? Scientists' ideas for this involve futuristic materials and technology from drones. Discover the science and technology behind what it would take to make a real-life flying car!

Thomas Edison was a famous American inventor in the late 1800s. His work with light bulbs got a lot of attention. Over time, many stories were told about this work, including that he invented the light bulb. But this isn’t true! Discover what’s real and what’s fiction.

Militaries use robots and drones in the air, on the ground, and underwater all around the world. Drones spy on targets and robots disable bombs to get the job done!

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.

People have been traveling over water to get from here to there for thousands of years, but not in these vehicles! Long ago, people could only dream of what modern technology would bring. Take a tour of some of the most unique and fascinating watercraft around.

Humans are ingenious when it comes to meeting challenges. We invent all sorts of useful contraptions from the wheel to the can opener. But some of the things people have come up with are truly odd. Who came up with grass sandals, and why? Have you ever heard of a portable radio hat? Not many people have, but someone invented it. Get the inside scoop on these odd contraptions and many more weird inventions.

In the new Mini Movers and Shakers children's book series comes a cast of characters who have failed, yet succeeded despite overwhelming obstacles. In the second volume, we meet Steve Jobs. Find out what happens in this kids book about changing the world. Sometimes, we are faced with challenges that seem insurmountable. But with grit and hard work, one can achieve great things!

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.

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.

David Aguilar was born missing part of one arm, a small detail that seemed to define his life and limit people’s ideas of who he was and who he could be. But in this funny and heartfelt memoir, David proves that he can throw out the rulebook and people’s expectations and maybe even make a difference in the world—and all with a sense of humor.

A worldwide race is on to perfect the next engine of economic growth, the advanced lithium-ion battery. It will power the electric car, relieve global warming, and catapult the winner into a new era of economic and political mastery. Can the United States win? Steve LeVine was granted unprecedented access to a secret federal laboratory outside Chicago, where a group of geniuses is trying to solve this next monumental task of physics. But these scientists - almost all foreign born - are not alone.

In the World War II era, Geoffrey Pyke was described as one of the world's great minds - to rank alongside Einstein. Pyke was an inventor, adventurer, polymath, and unlikely hero of both world wars. He earned a fortune on the stock market, founded an influential pre-school, wrote a bestseller, and came up with the idea for the US and Canadian Special Forces. Henry Hemming is the first reporter to sift through this extraordinary new information and finally tell Pyke's astonishing story in full: his brilliance, his flaws, and his life of adventures, ideas, and secrets.

In a story that is both of its time and timeless, Evan I. Schwartz tells a tale of genius versus greed, innocence versus deceit, and independent brilliance versus corporate arrogance. Many men have laid claim to the title "father of television," but Philo T. Farnsworth is the true genius behind what may be the most influential invention of our time. Driven by his obsession to demonstrate his idea, by the age of 20 Farnsworth was operating his own laboratory above a garage in San Francisco and filing for patents. The resulting publicity caught the attention of RCA tycoon David Sarnoff, who became determined to control television in the same way he monopolized radio.

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.

Imagine a school in the year 2074 where students don't read history, but watch it happen around them; where running in gym class isn't around a track, but up a virtual mountain; and where learning about animals means becoming one through an avatar. Welcome to Cragbridge Hall, the most advanced and prestigious school in the world. Twins Abby and Derick Cragbridge are excited as new students to use their famed grandfather's inventions that make Cragbridge Hall so incredible.