FAMOUS OHIO INVENTORS
For this activity you will explain the importance of one of Ohio’s own
inventors! Technology from many different areas have improved human lives
including transportation, communication, nutrition, agriculture, healthcare,
entertainment, and manufacturing. Inventions have changed to meet the
different wants and needs of people throughout history. You will focus on
one Ohio inventor and just one of their inventions. Along the way you will
also find some interesting facts about their lives.
DIRECTIONS: Choose one of Ohio’s famous inventors from the list below.
Then, using the web links provided, gather information about their lives and
their greatest invention. Next, answer the questions listed to fill in the clue
sheet about your inventor. Don’t forget to include a picture of both your
inventor and their invention (either from the computer or illustrated). Allow
the picture of your inventor to be flipped up to reveal their name. Your final
copy can be made on the computer or handwritten on construction paper. Be
creative! The more detail you put into your descriptions and pictures, the
better your final product will be.
DUE DATE: Friday, March 23rd
FAMOUS OHIO INVENTOR LIST:
Charles Brush (electric arc light)
Arthur Compton (sodium vapor lamp)
Charles Hall (inexpensive aluminum)
Charles Kettering (car starter)
Granville Woods (train telegraph)
Garrett Morgan (traffic signal)
Charles Richter (earthquake scale)
James Spangler (portable vacuum)
Harvey Firestone (rubber tires)
Josephine Cochran (dishwasher)
Elisha Gray (telegraphic instruments)
Frank Seiberling (work safety)
Ernest Volwiler (anesthetic)
W.F. Semple (chewing gum)
James Ritty (cash register)
Thomas Edison (not light bulb)
WEB LINKS:
Ohio Inventors Game:
http://www.oplin.org/famousohioans/inventors/puzzler.html
Ohio History Central: Ohio Inventors:
http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/scrapbook-view.php?rec=135
National Inventors Hall of Fame Search:
http://invent.org/hall_of_fame/1_1_search.asp
Ohio Bio: Inventors:
http://www.ohiobio.org/inventor/
About.com: Ohio Inventors:
http://inventors.about.com/od/americaninventors/qt/Ohio.htm
QUESTIONS:
1. When were they born? ____________________________________________________
2. Where did they live? ______________________________________________________
3. What is an interesting fact from their life? ________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
4. What was their most famous invention? __________________________________
5. What problem did it solve? (transportation, communication, nutrition,
healthcare, agriculture, entertainment, or manufacturing)
6. How did this invention impact the daily lives of people? _________________
______________________________________________________________________________
7. How might they improve their invention if they were alive today? _______
______________________________________________________________________________
8. End with the phrase: Who am I?
EXAMPLE:
We were born in 1867 and 1871.
We lived in Dayton, Ohio.
An interesting fact about us is that we owned a bicycle shop.
Our most famous invention was the airplane.
It solved a problem in the field of transportation.
It changed peoples’ lives because it allowed them to travel from place to place much quicker.
If we were alive today, we would probably try to find a different fuel for the airplane to make it more
environmentally friendly.
Who are we?