Guglielmo Marconi - Inventors & Inventions

Italian inventor Guglielmo Marconi sent the first radio signals through air.  Instead of sending messages through wires as were previously used int he telegraph system, he used electromagnetic (radio) waves.  His system of radio became known as wireless telegraphy.  In 1901Marconi succeeded in sending waves across the Atlantic from England to Canada, a distance of more than 2,000 miles (3,300 kilometers). This led the way for huge advancements, particularly for ships which used his technology to send distress signals when they were sinking or in trouble. Marconi sent his messages in Morse code.

In class activities:

• Learned about the life of Marconi
• Built (or attempted to build) our own electromagnets
• Discussed the changes that radio brought to the world
• Learned about a murderer caught at sea via radio
• Made our radio drama covering the life of Marconi with our own sound effects

Optional lesson extension activities:

• Continue to perfect your electromagnet. Instructions here
• Listen to old radio dramas at OldTimeRadio.  Pay attention to sound effects.

Assignment:

• Find an image of your inventor.  At the bottom indicate the source where you found the image. 
• On a slip of paper in LARGE, NICE handwriting, write your inventor's full name, with his dates of birth and death written below the name, and their country of origin below that.  It will look like this:

Jenny Smith

1907-1952

Finland

• Continue to work on your model, sample, or other project that you intend to display with your poster.