Week 30: Scientists and Inventors
Homeschooling moms must fill up their knowledge bank in order to give the best to their kids. The more mom knows, the better she can teach. Research these topics and share the general idea with younger kids. For older kids, you might invite them to pick a topic to research.
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| Thomas Edison |
Topics for Week 30
Louis Pasteur
Thomas Edison
Alexander Graham Bell
George Eastman
Lewis Latimer
Discussion Questions
Louis Pasteur
Louis Pasteur, while studying microbes that cause wine to ferment, reasoned that microbes might also be responsible for illnesses. How do you think he came to reason that?
What led to the discovery of pasteurization?
Thomas Edison
Thomas Edison did not invent the lightbulb, he improved upon a 50-year-old idea that was not practical for home use. His invention of a filament made of carbonized sewing thread made the lightbulb practical, safe and economical.
Residents of Pearl Street in Lower Manhattan were the first to get electric power from Thomas Edison's Pearl Street Electricity-generating station. How did they plug in the first light bulb?
Alexander Graham Bell
Alexander Bell once said, “When one door closes another door opens; but we so often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us.” What do you think he meant by that?
Being able to draw was an essential part of being an inventor. Do you think it is still an important skill today?
Why was Bell interested in helping people with disabilities communicate?
George Eastman hired William Hall Walker a camera inventor and together they designed a roll holder that could advance paper film through a camera. The paper wasn't that good so they hired a chemist Henry Reichenback to come up with a transparent flexible film that could be cut into strips and inserted into a camera. How does finding others to help you, propel your dreams towards reality?
Lewis Latimer received a patent for the carbon filament needed in Thomas Edison's lightbulb
Lewis helped Alexander Graham Bell prepare the drawings so he could apply for a patent on his inventions.
What invention of his helped to cool people in hot climates?
Books (all links go to Goodreads)
Listen Up!: Alexander Graham Bell's Talking Machine read aloud on YouTube
The Groundbreaking, Chance-Taking Life of George Washington Carver
The Inventor’s Secret: What Thomas Edison told Henry Ford
Activities
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| Drawing by Alexander Graham Bell Source: Library of Congress / Public Domain Image Credit: Thomas Edison / Louis Bachrach / Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain |