Big Ideas That Changed Life
- In the 1920s the way of travel was revolutionized when the German airship Graf Zeppelin took 20 passengers across the Atlantic Ocean. At a time when travel was restricted to the ground it was a huge deal that people were finally able to figure out how to travel by air. It's even more important that this aircraft carried people because this mode of travel truly changed life. This shows that companies who are able to develop new and better ways of doing things will be successful.
- Clara Barton's ambulance was one of the first. It was purchased for the use of the National Red Cross. The ambulance is something that people from all over the world rely on to assist and save lives in emergency situations. It is such a crucial part of our society today. This ambulance was actually a wagon that was pulled by a horse and it was used to aid victims in emergency situations. This was a huge idea that really changed life. This shows that companies that are able to develop things that don't exist that can really help society can be successful.
- The food processor completely revolutionized the way that people cooked and ate. So much of the food that people eat is processed and being able to automate the way food is prepared is truly something that changed life and the way that people eat. This shows that it a company is able to deliver a product that changes the way people do a common activity then they can be successful.
- Another huge thing that revolutionized the food industry was the microwave. People were able to now heat something up easily in a matter of seconds. This completely changed the food industry and life. Imagine how many people now just throw their food in the microwave to have a nice and hot meal that normally would have taken them hours to heat up via another method. This shows that companies that can create a more convenient way to do something really have a lot of potential.
- What would America be without Democracy. While this is not a physical thing it is just as if not even more important in the way that life is lived today. Democracy was developed by the United States and it is the form of government in which every U.S. citizen lives their lives and it is beginning to be the form of government in which other countries live their lives to making it a life changing idea. Companies can learn from this that in order to make their ideas popular they need do develop an idea that makes sense and that people want to listen to which is very hard.
Reflection
We learned a lot at the National Museum of American History. Walking through the museum there were so many things to see, do, and learn. There were so many people there for so many different reasons and doing so many different things. We talked to a lot of people including three 8th grader who were their on a school trip. They told us that they were super inspired and excited by what they have seen so far and were very impressed with all the things that there was to do there. One of the main things that the museum seemed to focus on was the history of innovation. Through seeing the history we were inspired to things about new innovations but it is important to ask a few questions to determine what would drive this new innovation. We need to ask ourselves what were are passionate about because through looking at the history there was nobody who came up with any new innovation without being passionate about it. Next we need to ask what society could benefit from because at the end of the day to innovate we need to push society forward. Finally we need to ask what is not realistic because we need to think of something so outside the box that nobody would think that it could exist.