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SEPTEMBER 10TH, 1846 Who invented the sewing machine? It might not be who you think, because it's not a household name (though perhaps it should be). It was on this day that American inventor Elias Howe received the first U.S. patent for a sewing machine. It's the name "Singer" we remember however; Isaac Singer perfected the Howe machine, but still used Howe's stitching components -- already patented. Howe won a lawsuit and the ensuing royalties, though both Howe and Singer became millionaires as a result of their respective sewing machines.

INVENTOR WEB TREK
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Students in grades 5 through 9 will visit various selected websites on inventors and their Innovative Lives for this web trek, and then answer the guided student questions. An Answer Key & Extension Activities are included.

INVENTING A NEW KIND OF PENCIL:
Here's a great way to engage your students in critical thinking and science, with a wonderful project in creating (drum roll for your students please)... a pencil! Find guidelines and suggestions here for an innovative class project.

THE INVENTOR'S TOOLBOX & GADGET ANATOMY:
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From the Da Vinci exhibit at the Museum of Science, students will learn all about different tools and the elements of simple machines, and then reinforce their learning with the interactive Gadget Anatomy at the 2nd link above. A lesson plan for sketching Gadget Anatomy is listed at the 3rd link above, and should be used after the two preceding interactive lessons.

INVENTING MODERN AMERICA:
Innovation, like Sir Isaac Newton so famously suggested, rests upon the ideas of the giants that go before. Students will understand the connections between inventions with this online and interactive exhibition.

CREATE, DESIGN, & INVENT WITH PLASTIC:
Recycle your plastic and make it look beautiful - with inspired art projects. Find ideas here to create tangrams, weavings, and sculpture - all with plastic.

HOW EDISON ARE YOU?
Flash makes this exhibit flashy - click on the timeline in Edison's life to find out what he created and what his career spanned.

FRIDAY POSTER:
You can change out your classroom posters weekly with our quotable posters series. Today's printable poster features an inspirational quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson.