October 12, 2011

Press Release, 11-54

Exercising Ingenuity: A New Exhibit at the National Inventors Hall of Fame

Highlighting Historic Advances, Current Trends, and Future Technologies for a Healthier Body and Mind

WASHINGTON – The National Inventors Hall of Fame and Museum will feature Exercising Ingenuity beginning on 14 October 2011. This exhibit highlights inventions, patents, and trademarks that have emerged from the fitness, nutrition, and exercise industries. Organized in a decade by decade timeline approach, it presents many of the leading health and fitness innovations of each period, from the turn of the 20th century to tomorrow’s fitness breakthrough. The exhibit will run through October 2012.

Exercising Ingenuity will highlight well-known trademarks, iconic innovations, and amazing artifacts that have helped change the way Americans have thought about themselves, their weight, and their appearance. Included in the exhibit are trademarks such as Gatorade and Tony Horton’s P90X workout; inventions such as the ThighMaster and the Nike waffle-sole running shoe; and historic items such as The Seat of Health and President Calvin Coolidge’s Electric Horse. Visitors will have the opportunity to use a variety of penny scales and vintage strength testers featured in the Strength Arcade. Together with interviews of patent and trademark examiners, the exhibit presents the history and future of the health and fitness industries.

Notable inductees of the National Inventors Hall of Fame are featured throughout the exhibit, including John Kellog and his creation of flaked breakfast cereal and exercise equipment; Benjamin Rubin and his development of the bifurcated vaccination needle; and Robert Gore and the creation of GORE-TEX® materials.

WHAT           Exercising Ingenuity Exhibition Opening

WHERE          United States Patent and Trademark Office
                       600 Dulany St. – Madison West
                       Alexandria, VA 22314

WHEN            Friday, 14 October 2011, 10am

Background: The non-profit National Inventors Hall of Fame was founded in 1973 to honor the men and women who have promoted the progress of science, technology, and the economy. Each year a new exhibit is opened to the public that highlights the importance of innovation to modern life. The NIHF was founded by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the National Council of Intellectual Property Law Association. The National Inventors Hall of Fame and Museum is located in the atrium of the Madison Building on the campus of the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Museum hours are Monday through Friday from 9am to 5pm and Saturday from 12n to 5pm (closed Sundays and Federal Holidays). For more information, visit www.invent.org.

To stay current with the USPTO, subscribe to regular e-mail updates at www.uspto.gov/subscribe.

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