The Smithsonian Places of InventionThe Rogue Valley Featured in Smithsonian’s new Places of Invention Exhibit
Early in 2015, a new exhibit will open at the Smithsonian in Washington D.C. focused on places of invention throughout the United States. The Rogue Valley, with its rich history of creative innovation, rugged individualists and interesting industries, will be one of the regions featured in the exhibit, based on a proposal by ScienceWorks Hands-on Museum and Southern Oregon Historical Society.
“Invention and innovation are happening all around us, throughout the region,” ScienceWorks executive director Chip Lindsey said. “Being part of the Lemelson Center’s exhibit is a great opportunity to delve deeper into understanding what has helped to shape this culture and how we can continue to support it.”
Funded by the National Science Foundation, the Lemelson Center exhibit currently features twelve core sites, including Hollywood, CA; The Bronx, NY; Silicon Valley, CA; Fort Collins, CO and eight other sites, with innovations ranging from breakthroughs in the film and music industry to the evolution of computer technology and sustainable energy.
The second phase of the project expands the exhibit to feature communities throughout the United States where innovation and invention are either a rich part of the community’s history or continuing to shape the community today and into the future. The Rogue Valley was selected as part of the exhibition’s second phase.
The Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation is part of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. The center was founded in 1995, through a gift from prolific inventor Jerome Lemelson and his wife Dorothy Ginsberg Lemelson, as part of their effort to foster and support the next generation of inventors, innovators and entrepreneurs. The Lemelson Center focuses on the context, history and conditions that lead to and support invention and innovation.
“It has been inspiring to hear people’s stories over the last several months, as we have begun to research where innovation is happening in the region,” said Lindsey. “Innovative industries, people using their ingenuity to create new business, it’s been going on in this region for nearly 100 years, starting with Harry and David bringing together the region’s farmers during the depression and launching an entirely new industry of fresh fruit gift baskets, to innovative industries springing out of the recent recession. It’s been inspiring to hear the stories of Brammo, with its incredible strides in forwarding the electric vehicle industry, and to learn more about the cutting-edge forest management policies and collaborations that evolved out of the challenges of the timber wars. This region responds to challenges with innovative solutions. It’s a story we are excited to help tell.”
