Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Innovation

Middle-class families scooped up affordable and speedy Model Ts. As they began to race through the streets, they ran headlong into pedestrians—with lethal results.

When Pedestrians Ruled the Streets

The driverless car may take a while to catch on—just as the automobile did a century ago

One of the original Regency TR-1 models resides in the Smithsonian collections.

How the Transistor Radio with Music for Your Pocket Fueled a Teenage Social Revolution

In a burst of post World War II innovation, the Regency TR-1 transistor radio became the new “It” gift for the holiday season

Muhammad Ali, Abraham Lincoln, and Georgia O'Keeffe are among the Americans listed

Meet the 100 Most Significant Americans of All Time

A new, special issue of Smithsonian magazine attempts the impossible: to list out the most significant people in United States history

A new, zero-power screening method might make testing for lead and other pollutants easier than ever.

Drop This Capsule Into a Stream and It Will Screen For Pollution

Researchers have developed a sensor (no batteries required) that creates a barcode indicating the amount of pollutants and their whereabouts in water

This is how you build the world's first solar bike path.

A Bike Path Near Amsterdam Is Now Generating Solar Power

As cyclists ride above, solar panels embedded in the pathway pump energy into the power grid

One third of an airline's operating costs go to fuel.

Holy Smokes! Tobacco May Fuel Planes in the Future

The seeds from a new type of tobacco plant grown in South Africa release an oil that can be made into biofuel

The Innovative Spirit - OLD

Designing for Seniors and Soldiers, Toward a “Silver” Architecture

Going green is good, but could architects be doing more for two segments of our population?

The nonprofit SkyTruth enlisted more than 200 volunteers to scan aerial imagery and pinpoint the locations of fracking wastewater ponds in Pennsylvania.

Tracking Frackers From the Sky

Citizen scientists eyeing Pennsylvania’s natural gas drillers in aerial images may help determine if there is a link between fracking and certain illnesses

Microbes were used in the cleanup of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

New Understanding of Toxin-Loving Organisms May Help Tackle Pollution

A breakthrough in the understanding of how bacteria break down toxins using vitamin B12 could lead to improved cleanup methods

Slipped into the handle of an officer's firearm, this sensor keeps commanders aware of on-duty activity.

A Sensor In Guns Tells Dispatch When Police Officers Need Backup

By monitoring the position and status of firearms, commanders can see exactly what’s happening in the field

Using the Automatic Link and License+ app, parents can coach their teens to have safer driving habits.

Parents, Give Your Teens Driving Lessons Without Even Being in the Car

A six-month training program gives parents of new drivers a training tool—and a little extra peace of mind

Rub the label to see if the food inside is still good to eat.

A Label You Rub To See If Food Has Expired and Other Finalists for the Dyson Award

There’s also a pen that lets you know when you should reapply your sunscreen and a device called Luke Stairwalker

This past weekend an innovation festival at the National Air and Space Museum celebrated inventions from across the United States.

The Innovative Spirit - OLD

Here’s What You Missed at the Smithsonian Innovation Festival

Inventors and museum staff alike inspired the crowd to see the world through the prism of innovation

MicroCHIPS, a startup formed by MIT researchers, has developed a drug delivery chip that is implanted under the skin.

Turn Your Birth Control On and Off With a Remote

Bill Gates is backing MicroCHIPS, a Massachusetts-based startup developing an implantable chip that releases birth control hormones on demand

The Innovative Spirit - OLD

The Smithsonian Celebrates American Invention at This Weekend’s Innovation Festival

How do you bring an idea to life? The inventors of new technologies will share their stories at a two-day event at the National Air and Space Museum

Doctors are refining a method to remove the "ouch" from injections.

A Needle Could Make For Pain-Free Flu Shots

Using temperature, vibration and pressure, this needle can trick a patient into feeling no pain

Located on the Rhode River of the Chesapeake bay, the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center's new laboratory building emits 37 percent less CO2 and cuts energy costs by 42 percent.

A New Environmental Science Lab Now Walks the Walk, Cutting Its Overall Emissions by 37 Percent

With geothermal heating, on-site water reclamation and a host of other energy saving technologies, the Smithsonian’s first LEED-Platinum building opens

The bedside S+ frees sleep trackers from uncomfortable watches and chest monitors.

Tech Watch

This Device Tracks Your Sleep Without Ever Touching You

The ResMed S+ monitors your Zzzs from the comfortable distance of your nightstand and offers tips for getting a better rest

Google's newest Street View collection takes users to Gombe Stream National Park, where Jane Goodall pioneered her chimpanzee behavioral research. "Don't forget to look up," a Google project manager says.

Exclusive: The Chimpanzees of Gombe National Park Make Their Street View Debut

For its latest collection, Google traveled to the African rainforest where Jane Goodall pioneered her groundbreaking chimp research

A plate filled with drops of blood detects microRNA patterns that might indicate cancers.

Testing for Cancer With a Single Blood Sample

Startup Miroculus has developed a system that screens for dozens of cancers in 90 minutes

Page 117 of 155