What's going on at SPARK?
Before IMAX and 70 mm film, before movie theaters and television, way before Iphones and TikTok, magic was made with little more than a candle and a mirror. On Saturday, September 19, 2026, the SPARK Museum proudly presents Still Life to Reel Life: A History of Image Projection—an exploration of the technological developments that led to modern motion pictures and …
This summer millions of Americans will temporarily escape the summer heat by heading to their local cineplex for the latest blockbuster movie. The air conditioning, the plush stadium seating, the massive IMAX screen, the surround sound, the popcorn, and Raisinets all add up to create an immersive experience. Going to the movies in 1926 was also a spectacular, sensory-rich event, …
It’s safe to say the 20th century experienced more technological and scientific progress than all the centuries before it combined. A remarkable number of life-changing inventions were mass produced during that century—just look around and you’ll see many of them: light bulbs, telephones, airplanes, automobiles, and, of course, moving pictures. Today, moving images are everywhere. What was once confined to …
The history of human progress is, in many ways, the history of materials. For thousands of years, humans have carved and shaped civilization from the raw, organic offerings of nature—bone needles, wooden wheels, stone hammers, copper blades. Entire eras of history were named after the substances that transformed them: the Stone Age, the Bronze Age, the Iron Age. Each new …
People have been trying to illuminate glass with electricity for centuries—long before inventions like the lightbulb, X-rays, neon lighting, or television. “Inventors started applying electricity to hand-crafted glass tubes as early as 1705, when Francis Hauksbee (1660-1713) first made a rotating glass sphere glow using mercury and static electricity,” says John Jenkins, president & CEO. “What’s amazing is how successful …
When it comes to home entertainment, today’s options seem endless. Multimedia home entertainment means streaming, 4K Blu-ray, and cloud libraries. It means immersive Dolby Atmos audio, massive OLED or laser-projected displays, app-controlled simplicity—and let’s not forget the remote control. In 1931—less than a hundred years ago—if you were lucky enough to afford the very first multimedia home entertainment system, it …
It’s hard to imagine watching a science fiction classic like The Day the Earth Stood Still or It Came from Outer Space without recalling the haunting, spooky, otherworldly sound of the world’s first electronic musical instrument: the theremin. For many people, the movies were their first encounter with its ethereal tone — a sound unlike anything else, performed by a …
Of all the marvelous artifacts displayed at the SPARK Museum, few are simpler, or more wondrous, than their collection of early crystal radios. “These early radios may not look like much,” says John Jenkins, president and CEO. “But they are the key to understanding today’s wireless technology.” The first radios did not come in wooden boxes. They were not shaped …
Of all the ingenious appliances ever to enter the American home, few can match the impact of the sewing machine. The invention of the mechanical sewing machine in the mid–19th century is considered a cornerstone of the Industrial Revolution. Less dramatic than the steam engine or the telegraph, the sewing machine nonetheless profoundly transformed how people worked, dressed, and even …
Christmas in early twentieth century America was a glittering mash-up of age-old traditions and brand-new modern marvels. In 1925—smack dab in the middle of the Roaring Twenties—Americans were experiencing a swirl of monumental changes in their daily lives. Automobiles and streetcars were replacing horses and carriages; telephones and radios were becoming common additions to millions of American homes and business …
