The Edison Tech Center is an interactive learning center with a central emphasis on electricity and engineering. The organization was founded in 2001 under the name Edison Exploratorium, and changed to Edison Steinmetz Center and finally the Edison Tech Center in 2009. It is located at 136 Broadway,

Schenectady, New York Schenectady () is a city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the 2020 census, the city's population of 67,047 made it the state's ninth-largest city by population. The city is in eastern New Yo ...

. The Center was created to have a focus on engineering education while keeping the connection to the historical and human story behind the field. Electrical Engineer and founder John D. Harnden Jr. saw a need to keep the focus on engineering after witnessing many museums diffusing their limited resources on science, entertainment, art and other wide subjects.

Founding

The Edison Tech Center was founded by John D. Harnden Jr. of the General Electric Research Laboratory and General Engineering Laboratory. Harnden established himself as an electrical engineer in the beginning of the solid-state age. Through the 1950s and 60s he worked on LCDs, piezoelectric devices, pressure sensors, induction cooktops and other things. His most notable projects were on the GEMOV surge protection device (now found in every home) as well as improvements in switches for the telephone industry. Mr. Harnden eventually managed many engineers and reported to GE's company presidents and lab directors over the years. He dealt with inspiring business managers like Oliver Winn (GE's battery business) and difficult ones including

Jack Welch John Francis Welch Jr. (November 19, 1935 – March 1, 2020) was an American business executive, chemical engineer, and writer. He was Chairman and CEO of General Electric (GE) between 1981 and 2001. When Welch retired from GE, he receive ...

. During his long career he worked with well known engineers from other companies who spent summers on special projects, including

Gordon Moore Gordon Earle Moore (born January 3, 1929) is an American businessman, engineer, and the co-founder and chairman emeritus of Intel Corporation. He is also the original proponent of Moore's law. As of March 2021, Moore's net worth is re ...

and

Simon Ramo Simon "Si" Ramo (May 7, 1913 – June 27, 2016) was an American engineer, businessman, and author. He led development of microwave and missile technology and is sometimes known as the father of the intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). He ...

Facilities

The learning center and adjoining artifact storage buildings are located in

. Schenectady was the historical headquarters of

General Electric General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable energ ...

and

George Westinghouse George Westinghouse Jr. (October 6, 1846 – March 12, 1914) was an American entrepreneur and engineer based in Pennsylvania who created the railway air brake and was a pioneer of the electrical industry, receiving his first patent at the age o ...

Senior and has a strong economic and social tie to the electrical industry. The center has thousands of artifacts ranging from rare engineering prototypes to common household electrical appliances of decades ago. Artifacts and displays are laid out in a flexible and informal fashion so that visitors may touch and interact with the objects. Displays have included: batteries, generators, electric motors, lighting technology, power transmission, microwaves, audio recording, video recording, washing machines, ovens and kitchen appliances, televisions, telephones, and radios. Artifacts include some of the newest available consumer products to show contrast of old and new. Part of the flexible area of the facility is used by the Electric City Bike Rescue.

Online presence

The Edison Tech Center reached over 2 million visitors online last year (2014) between its website and online video channels. The organization publishes new media and television programs on prominent engineers of the electrical age and various technologies. Since 2008 the center has expanded its online presence to include videos and more in-depth web pages. The website provides information on everything from the history of the transformer to locations showcasing the latest in engineering. Since the early years of the organization the focus shifted from only General Electric's history to pioneers of technology from all parts of the world. Engineers from government and private companies have contributed time and content to various projects including

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute () (RPI) is a private research university in Troy, New York, with an additional campus in Hartford, Connecticut. A third campus in Groton, Connecticut closed in 2018. RPI was established in 1824 by Stephen Va ...

, Seagate Technology,

University of California, Santa Barbara The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a public land-grant research university in Santa Barbara, California with 23,196 undergraduates and 2,983 graduate students enrolled in 2021–2022. It is part of the ...

, IPU (Moscow),

International Federation of Automatic Control The International Federation of Automatic Control (IFAC), founded in September 1957, is a multinational federation of 49 national member organizations (NMO), each one representing the engineering and scientific societies concerned with automatic ...

, Lockheed Martin,

Caterpillar Caterpillars ( ) are the larva, larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterfly, butterflies and moths). As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawfly ...

Union College Union College is a Private university, private liberal arts college in Schenectady, New York. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, and second in the state of New York, ...

and of course

Programs

The organization has several programs which are funded by grants and private donors. The Wizards of Schenectady Program is a series of television shows and connected publicity events which highlight prominent Schenectady-based engineers who worked at General Electric. The Edison Tech Center collaborated with the Minerals Education Coalition on a video series highlighting raw materials processing for materials used in electronics called Minerals in our Electrical World. Another video and web curriculum program was "Tour EL" which was the first program extensively cover the history of the electric light and include multimedia. Outside of educational programs the organization has made donations of engineering related toys to

Toys for Tots Toys for Tots is a program run by the United States Marine Corps Reserve which distributes toys to children whose parents cannot afford to buy them gifts for Christmas. The program was founded in 1947 by reservist Major Bill Hendricks. ...

and the Schenectady Day Nursery. The Electric City Bike Rescue operates at the Edison Tech Center specializing educating people on how to fix bicycles and selling bikes at low to no cost to the low income residents of the city.

References

External links

* {{Official website Buildings and structures in Schenectady, New York Learning programs