Sixth Grade
Worksheets
The Polaroid Camera
"Can I see the pictures, Daddy?" asked the three-year old daughter of Edwin Land in 1944. The Land family had been vacationing in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Edwin had taken pictures of the family at one of Santa Fe's tourist attractions. His daughter wanted to see the pictures right away. Edwin tried to explain to his daughter that the film had to be developed in a special place called a dark room. He told her the negatives had to be printed on special paper before they could be seen. This process usually took several days to complete. He saw his daughter's disappointment. Edwin Land used her disappointment as the inspiration for his next invention.
Edwin went for a walk after this conversation with his daughter. During his walk, he imagined everything he would need to create an on-the-spot printing system for photographs. It took him only one hour. Three years later, Edwin Land created an "instant" camera using Polaroid film. He called it the Polaroid Land camera.
Edwin Land had been doing research on polarized light for several years. His work produced the first modern filters for things such as sunglasses and optical devices such as motion picture projectors. He joined several other young scientists to form the Polaroid Corporation. Edwin Land served as president and head of research. During World War II, his company invented infrared filters, target-finding devices, and night goggles. His most successful product, however, was the Polaroid camera.
