Picturing women inventors

METC’s sidewalk exhibit Picturing Women Inventors explores the inventions of 19 highly accomplished American women. Astronauts, computer pioneers, and businesswomen join athletes, engineers, and even teenagers in this remarkable group of inventors in this inspiring exhibit. The stories on these posters illustrate that the creativity of women inventors ranges across diverse backgrounds and interests throughout American history.

If you had to name an inventor, would it be a woman? When we think of inventors, most think of Thomas Edison or Alexander Graham Bell. What about women inventors? Like their male counterparts, women inventors represent all segments of American society, but their stories are often overlooked or undervalued. 

This exhibit is courtesy of and developed by Smithsonian educators at the Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation.