The record for lights at a home, lawn included, is 601,736 bulbs.

Untangling the History of Christmas Lights

This bright idea was ahead of its time

Acelity scientists evaluate a new prototype at the company's Regenerative Medicine Laboratory in Bridgewater, New Jersey.

How Artificial Muscles Could Transform the Lives of Some Military Veterans

From pig muscle, scientists are developing an organic material that may help heal volumetric muscle loss

An Evaptainer is a lightweight storage unit that uses evaporative cooling to cut down on food spoilage.

The Innovative Spirit fy17

Could This Cooler Help Combat Global Hunger?

The Evaptainer keeps perishable food fresh for up to two weeks–no electricity required

Legacy is scheduled to be on display at the Ontario Science Centre beginning in 2017 before embarking on an international tour.

Art Meets Science

This Whale Sculpture Was Modeled After a Beached Orca

Canadian artist Ken Hall built Legacy based on 3D scans of the skeleton of Hope, an orca that died on the coast of Washington in 2002

The Expensive Material Behind the Huayra’s Incredible Speed

While much of the Pagani Huayra’s speed comes down to innovative design, one material used in its Formula 1-inspired monocoque is crucial

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2016 Ingenuity Awards

The 2016 Smithsonian Magazine American Ingenuity Awards

This year’s recipients range from a popular actor and comedian to a tech-savvy archaeologist

David Lynch

American Ingenuity Awards

Director David Lynch Wants Schools to Teach Transcendental Meditation to Reduce Stress

The acclaimed filmmaker has become the champion of the practice that’s now been adopted by thousands of kids

Marc Edwards and LeeAnne Walters

Without These Whistleblowers, We May Never Have Known the Full Extent of the Flint Water Crisis

A concerned mother and a renowned scientist spearheaded the investigation that exposed the dangers lurking in the water supply of the Michigan city

LIGO's founding fathers, from left: Rainer Weiss, Kip Thorne and Barry Barish. Not pictured: Ronald Drever

American Ingenuity Awards

Meet the Team of Scientists Who Discovered Gravitational Waves

This year, the geniuses behind LIGO announced that they had finally found what Albert Einstein had predicted a century ago

"You have students drowning in debt and scholarships that go unawarded. The system is broken," says Christopher Gray.

American Ingenuity Awards

Christopher Gray’s Scholly App Is Bringing Millions of Dollars to College Students in Need

The entrepreneur’s new digital platform has helped applicants land $50 million in scholarships

"I try to go into the personal stuff because I really believe that’s the most universal," says Aziz Ansari.

American Ingenuity Awards

With “Master of None,” Aziz Ansari Has Created a True American Original

The star of the breakout television series brings the voice of his generation to the masses

Anthony Antala

American Ingenuity Awards

Need a New Organ? Surgeon Anthony Atala Sees a Future Where You Can Simply Print It Out

When you can order a new body part online, you’ll have this doctor to thank

Sarah Parcak

American Ingenuity Awards

Space Archaeologist Sarah Parcak Uses Satellites to Uncover Ancient Egyptian Ruins

The Indiana Jones of low Earth orbit harnesses 21st-century technology to uncover long-buried treasures

Jeff Bezos

American Ingenuity Awards

Is Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin the Future of Space Exploration?

No one had ever launched, landed and relaunched a rocket into space until the company’s historic achievement

OK Go for launch: Andy Ross, Tim Nordwind, Damian Kulash Jr. and Dan Konopka

American Ingenuity Awards

How OK Go Has Revolutionized the Music Video

To pull off one of their most daring videos, they needed a borrowed Russian transport jet, spreadsheets and calculus, and a lot of motion-sickness medicine

The EcoHelmet is a foldable, recyclable helmet constructed of paper with a water-resistant coating.

The Innovative Spirit fy17

This Folded Paper Fans Out Into a Full-Size Bike Helmet

The EcoHelmet, this year’s James Dyson Award winner, could be used by bike shares across the world

Author Steven Johnson looks at many of history's "artifacts of the future" that hinted at huge technological, scientific and cultural breakthroughs to come in his new book, Wonderland: How Play Made the Modern World.

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If Necessity Is the Mother of Invention, Then Play Is Its Father

In a new book, Steven Johnson argues that many inventions, considered mindless amusements in their time, wind up leading to serious innovations later

How Pokémon Go Can Save Lives in a Hurricane

Players could mobilize by donating blood, filling sandbags and evacuating threatened areas

In the team's new approach, the whole shape of the wing can be changed, and twisted uniformly along its length, by activating two small motors that apply a twisting pressure to each wingtip.

NASA’s New, Super-Efficient Airplane Wing Comes With a Twist

The agency and several universities have designed a flexible wing that could reduce the cost of building and fueling airplanes

Payam Pourtaheri and Ameer Shakeel enjoy casual conversation with Radia Perlman, 2016 National Inventors Hall of Fame Inductee during the Meet the Experts session at 2016’s Collegiate Inventors Competition.

The Innovative Spirit fy17

Could These College Inventors Tackle the Global Pesticide Problem?

Developed by a team of University of Virgnia students, AgroSpheres break down pesticide residues on crops hours after they are applied

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