Thomas Edison National Historical Park

Thomas Edison Biography: 1847-1882:  Birth to Pearl Street

You've heard of #FatBearWeek...now get ready for #FatBookWeek! In honor of the 10,000+ books in the Longfellow family collection, we called on other literary-minded sites to submit the fattest book in their museum collections for a tournament-style bracket of 10 heavyweight tomes. Check out the bracket, then visit @LONGNPS on Instagram each morning from October 6-12 to vote for your favorite bulky book!

For students at Stephen T. Mather Building Arts and Craftsmanship High School in New York City, parks are an extension of the classroom. Along with core academic classes, they learn concepts and skills of preserving historic landscapes and structures, then apply that classroom learning in the field. This year, the tenth grade class sharpened their landscape preservation skills at Thomas Edison National Historical Park.

A historic house can be like an ant trapped in amber. What was once alive and growing is sealed in a single sepia-tinted moment. What if we could melt the amber?

National parks have provided the backdrop for many iconic American films, including the original "Star Wars" trilogy at Death Valley National Park, "Thelma and Louise" at Canyonlands National Park, and many more. Filmmakers have been recording at National Park Service sites since the early years of motion picture history. While the location might not be the first thing in the credits, these films and television shows shine a spotlight on park landscapes.

The National Park Service, the National Park Foundation, BMW of North America, the U.S. Department of Energy, concessioners, and gateway communities have collaborated to provide new technologies for travel options to and around national parks. As part of this public-private partnership, BMW of North America, working through the National Park Foundation, donated and arranged for the installation of 100 electric vehicle (EV) charging ports in and around national parks.

"As new technologies changed military conflict during World War I, Thomas Edison called for industrial preparedness, experimented on some of the Navy's most difficult technical problems and helped the U.S. government prepare for future wars by advocating the creation of the Naval Research Laboratory."