Invention at Play: The Hall Explores the Playful Side of Invention and the Inventive Side of Play

Press Release

Queens, N.Y. - What kinds of toys did inventors play with as children? Is the quality and quantity of children’s play changing? How do new technologies affect children at play? What’s the connection between the things you played with as a child and your creativity today? These and other questions are explored in Invention at Play, an interactive traveling exhibition developed by the Lemelson Center at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, in partnership with the Science Museum of Minnesota. The exhibition will be on display at the New York Hall of Science from February 16 – May 11.

“We are surrounded by inventions in our daily life: from iPhone to Proactiv,” says Marilyn Hoyt, President and CEO of the New York Hall of Science. “This exhibition is fun and compelling, and a hands-on visit brings us into the process behind every invention. Among the tens of thousands of visitors who we’ll welcome this spring, there are bound to be more than a few of our future inventors. We’ll help them on their way!”

Visitors to the exhibition will explore the striking similarities between the ways children play and the creative processes used by innovators in science and technology. Combining artifacts from the National Museum of American History collections and interactive experiences, visitors will have opportunities to learn how play fosters creative talents among children as well as adults, experience their own playful and inventive abilities and understand how children’s play parallels processes used by inventors.

By working with a large magnet wall and kitchen utensils, creating block towers on a wobbly surface and devising wind-powered devices and tessellation patterns, visitors of all ages will have opportunities to engage in four distinct types of play that foster inventive thinking.

Through photos and stories, visitors will learn about inventors and innovators who have used playful and creative techniques in their work including: Stephanie Kwolek, the chemist who invented Kevlar (a strong and lightweight substance used in bullet-proof vests and cable, among other things); Newman Darby, inventor of the sailboard, and Alexander Graham Bell, inventor of the telephone.

Visitors will also be encouraged to reflect upon questions and debates in the history and future of play. Experimental playthings and historic and contemporary toys and games will allow visitors to explore the connection between the objects visitors played with as children and their creativity today.

Invention at Play was developed by the Lemelson Center at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History in partnership with the Science Museum of Minnesota and with the generous support of the Lemelson Foundation and the National Science Foundation. The Invention at Play tour is managed by the Association of Science-Technology Centers Incorporated.

###