Virtual Visit to the NIHF Museum

The NIHF Museum is Going Digital!

Starting on March 6, you can travel virtually to the National Inventors Hall of Fame® (NIHF) Museum and explore this National Monument to Innovation™.

“Once Upon a Try – Stories of Inventions and Discoveries”

In 2017, Google Arts & Culture, an online platform that allows the public to access images, artwork and artifacts from museums around the world, formed a partnership with the NIHF Museum as part of the Once Upon a Try project.  

To date, Google Arts & Culture has partnered with 1,800 institutions from 80 countries around the world, and 50 million people use the free platform annually.

The goal of Once Upon a Try is to present meaningful digital storytelling that encompasses both the history and future of innovation. 

Currently, Google Arts & Culture has projects focusing on a wide range of topics — from black history and culture to deep dives into natural history — and continues to expand every day.

The Once Upon a Try project invites culturally curious online visitors to view the museum anytime, anywhere, telling stories through artifacts, photographs and videos.

Once Upon a Try — the largest online exhibition about inventions and discoveries ever curated — is bringing together more than 110 institutions from 23 countries.

The platform will feature the stories of NIHF Inductees Frances Ligler and Marshall Jones. Jones, inventor of Industrial Lasers, is a pioneering engineer at GE and Ligler, inventor of Portable Optical Biosensors, is a leader in the optical biosensor industry. These Inductees have directly influenced the curriculum of NIHF’s Camp Invention® program.

Eight other exhibits from the NIHF Museum are featured on the platform, including Intellectual Property Power^®, where visitors can examine the impact intellectual property has on our everyday lives through a split-model Ford Mustang, photographic advancements, smartphone technology and counterfeit products.

Visit Us Online

The NIHF Museum is free and open to the public. While we encourage in-person visits to our museum in Alexandria, Virginia, we are excited to offer this virtual experience, allowing visitors to explore our museum in a new way.  Log on to Google Arts & Culture to check out the Once Upon a Try project and the latest exhibits at the NIHF Museum!