National Inventors Hall of Fame and Museum

Location

The museum is in Alexandria, Virginia at the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
It is located in the atrium of the Madison Building, 600 Dulany Street, Alexandria, VA, and easily accessible from the King Street and Eisenhower Avenue Metro stations (Blue Line and Yellow Line).

Museum Info: (571) 272-0095

Hours

The museum and store are open to the public:
Monday through Friday 9 am to 5 pm
Saturday Noon to 5:00 p.m.
(closed on Sundays and federal holidays)

FREE ADMISSION

Inventive Eats: Incredible Food Innovations

Welcome to Inventive Eats: Incredible Food Innovations, the latest exhibit at the National Inventors Hall of Fame & Museum, and discover how the food we enjoy for breakfast, lunch and dinner has been invented, transformed, and revolutionized!

See how Inductees of the National Inventors Hall of Fame have influenced food-related innovations, from production in a farmer’s field to the processing plant, and in transporting food to the market and on to your own table.  The ideas of the Inductees and other innovators have contributed to the food industry by making it more economical, safe and healthy.  Join us as we celebrate appetizing advances from yesterday and today and look forward to delicious new opportunities tomorrow.

Press Release | Alexandria Times | Federal News Radio | USPTO Site

Hall of Fame Inductees on Display

Also new to the museum is a display of the inductees of the Hall of Fame. Large panels prominently feature the names of all the inductees, and an interactive kiosk allows visitors to learn more about each inductee. The exhibit is an ideal way to impress upon visitors the importance of the inductees’ life-changing work and also of their induction into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.

Portrait Gallery

The new “Portrait Gallery” exhibit features digital electronic portraits of United States Presidents Thomas Jefferson and James Madison; famous inventor Thomas Edison; National Inventors Hall of Fame Inductees Helen Free, who developed home testing for diabetes, and Steve Wozniak, the inventor and co-founder of Apple Computer; and Under Secretary of Commerce and Director of the USPTO David Kappos.

The gallery portraits, through the magic of computer-generated special effects and exclusive control software, spontaneously come to life, interactively engaging in humorous banter that highlights the history and growth of America's intellectual property system.

The high-definition video exhibit was produced for the USPTO by the National Inventors Hall of Fame Foundation’s Invent Now Studio and Aperture Films.

Isaac Fleischmann Theatre

Now Playing at the museum in the Isaac Fleischmann Theatre is a 7-minute film entitled Extraordinary Innovations. This film gives museum visitors a look at the range of creative inventions submitted to the USPTO.

The National Inventors Hall of Fame Museum and Store are designed and managed by Invent Now Studio.

Museum Store

The store offers a large selection of unique merchandise. Many items feature the official USPTO seal.

Apparel - Books - Invention Kits - Glassware - Jewelry - Desk Accessories

Visit the Museum Store at www.nationalinventorshalloffamestore.org

National Inventors Hall of Fame School…Center for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Learning
For more information, click here.

Invent Now continues to work in partnership with Akron Public Schools, The University of Akron, and the City of Akron on the NIHF School focused on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics for middle grades 5–8. Construction is complete on the school’s permanent location at 199 South Broadway in Akron, Ohio, which will open in fall 2010. The NIHF School is currently operating off-site with grades 5-6. An additional grade will be added in 2010-2011 and the final grade will be added in 2011-2012 to complete the middle school with grades 5-8.

Invent Now staff serve on committees supporting all aspects of the school. In addition, Invent Now received a grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation to operate two programs in collaboration with the school:

• Visiting Inductee Program: National Inventors Hall of Fame Inductees have been involved with the planning and evolution of the school since the project’s inception in 2003. The Visiting Inductee Program provides funding for Inductees to participate in problem-based learning with NIHF School students both on-site and through distance learning. In 2009-2010, Inductee Jim West kicked off the Visiting Inductee Program, working with students to solve a problem involving the acoustics in the new NIHF School building. West visited the students in March, meeting with every student in a small group setting, answering their questions about sound, and challenging them to think of additional ideas. West also addressed the students as a group, speaking about the process of invention and answering questions from the students about his life and work. NIHF School students were thrilled with the opportunity to meet with West, whom they had been studying for several weeks in advance. To read more about West’s work with the NIHF School, click here.
  
  
• Invent Now Akron Museum and Store: Invent Now is pleased to announce the upcoming Grand Opening of the Invent Now Akron Museum and Store located at 221 South Broadway, adjacent to the National Inventors Hall of Fame (NIHF) School in downtown Akron. The Museum features 2,000 square feet of state of the art multimedia and hands-on exhibits as well as a store featuring innovative products and themed apparel. Exhibits will change on an annual basis and will involve invention as a core theme. The Museum will be free to the public through the generous support of its sponsors and will provide special programs for NIHF School children throughout the year.
  
  The Museum’s first exhibit, The Art of Invention, highlights works of art that have emerged from inventions, patents, and trademarks. From the over 7 million patents and trademarks issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office, Invent Now has selected the exceptional images and artifacts that serve as dynamic examples of art and high craftsmanship.
  
  On exhibit will be patent models, patent drawings, design patents, and graphic art illustrated through trademarks – all of which were created with a purpose other than the deliberate creation of art. In addition to loans from the Invent Now archives and the collections of well-known American companies, institutional loans from other collections such as the Library of Congress and National Archives provide an intriguing look at the art of invention. The building’s main exhibit floor is now managed by the City of Akron and the tiers have been incorporated into the design of the attached National Inventors Hall of Fame School.
  
  We invite you to join Invent Now and presenting sponsors, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the United States Patent and Trademark Office, in sponsoring the Museum and its exhibits. Click here for sponsorship information.