What does innovation look like? Who innovates, where does it happen, and how do great ideas evolve? Discover the creativity and ingenuity of Puget Sound’s residents in the Bezos Center for Innovation.
Seattleites are known inventors. From dimming windows in the Dreamliner to the sound waves used in the Sonicare toothbrush, the people in the Puget Sound region are entrepreneurs at heart and have boundary-pushing visions. Discover Seattle’s role as a nexus of big ideas and new directions through interactive exhibits and first-person insights from leading innovators. Tackle a challenge in the Idea Lab, discover a Seattle-made invention on the Patent Tree, and check out cutting-edge concepts in What’s Next.
The Bezos Center for Innovation received the 2014 Alliance of American Museums Muse Best Museum Interactive Award for Interpretive Interactive Installations.
The Bezos Center for Innovation was curated by Margaret O’Mara, PhD, Lorraine McConaghy, PhD, and Alan Maskin and generously supported by a lead gift from Jeff Bezos and MacKenzie Scott.
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Good ideas grow when people get together
Innovative hot spots have emerged around the world at different points in time. Ancient Rome and industrial Detroit may seem very different, but they share key characteristics.
Innovative places provide resources. They benefit from good universities and good roads—and they bring people together. Innovative places share another characteristic: there is no guarantee they will remain innovative forever.
Innovators turn ideas into reality
New ways…to travel
New ways…to make music
New ways…to fight disease
Innovations happen when people seize opportunities, develop strong ideas and bring them to the world.
A remarkable number of inventions and innovations have come—and continue to come—out of the Seattle region.
Where do good ideas come from?
Good ideas often bubble up when people with different skills and perspectives work together.
Collaborate—toss your ideas around with others to spark something new. Throw unrelated concepts together—maybe an interesting hybrid will pop up. Improve on something that already exists—people’s wants and needs are always changing. Be patient—and follow your passion.
Innovations change over time
How many people would use whale oil for fuel today? Very few.
But if we turn back the clock, most folks lit their homes with whale oil lamps that burned brighter and longer than candles. Once, whale oil was brand new—an innovation. It worked so much better—and no one worried about hunting whales to extinction.
Then, over the last 200 years, smart people came up with new ways to light our world. These new ideas brought new opportunities and risks. No innovation solves all problems, forever.
Exhibit Support
Jeff Bezos
MacKenzie Scott
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