What's going on at SPARK?
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 …
“Nature abhors a vacuum,” wrote Aristotle of Stagira—one of history’s greatest minds, and the first to approach the natural world in a systematic, organized way. Aristotle (384–322 BC) had theories about everything he could think of, and he could think of a lot. “He’s said to be the last person to know everything there was to be known,” says John …
Things are looking up at SPARK—and so will you—when you visit the Museum’s newly enhanced Performance Center, now featuring a live demonstration space worthy of its star attractions. Over the years, the Center has become home to an array of outrageous electrical devices and lightning machines, including one of the largest Tesla coils in the country: the MegaZapper. As the …
In 1895, German physicist Wilhelm Röntgen noticed a strange glow coming from a screen while experimenting with cathode ray tubes in his laboratory. He had discovered a mysterious new radiation that could pass through solid objects and leave a ghostly impression on a photographic plate. He called his discovery, X-rays. A few weeks later, Röntgen produced the first X-ray image—of …
For many Americans, summer is the best time of year. A time to shed the flannel, throw open the windows, fire up the grill, and start focusing on road trips, snow cones, water slides, outdoor festivals, all while meeting a serious challenge – staying cool. In many parts of the country—especially the South—summer heat can be too much of a …
