Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Guide to the Ann Moore Innovative Lives Presentation, 1999

Summary

Collection ID:
NMAH.AC.0706
Creators:
Jerome and Dorothy Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation.
Berger, Sondra
Moore, Ann, 1940-
Moore, Mike
Dates:
1999-10
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
2 Cubic feet
5 boxes
BetaCamSP, 1/2 inch VHS videotapes
Repository:
Ann Moore is the inventor of the Snugli baby carrier and Air Lift oxygen carrier. The collection contains original, master, and reference videos, audiocassette recordings, and transcripts documenting Moore's inventive career.

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
This collection contains 5.5 hours of original BetaCam SP recordings, 5.5 hours of master video copies, 5.5 hours of reference copies, 5.5 hours of audiocassette recordings, transcripts, and articles documenting the life and work of Ann Moore, inventor of the Snugli baby carrier and Air Lift oxygen carrier. The recordings include a presentation by Ann and Mike Moore for the Lemelson Center's Innovative Lives Program. Audience participants include students from Seven Locks Elementary School in Bethesda, Maryland; Burrville Elementary School in Washington, D.C.; Barrett Elementary School in Arlington, Virginia; and Jefferson Junior High School in Washington, D.C. Ann Moore's interview includes footage of her home in Colorado and discussions with users of the Air Lift oxygen carrier and Weego baby carrier.

Arrangement

Arrangement
The collection is arranged into five series.
Series 1: Original videos, 1999
Series 2: Master videos, 1999
Series 3: Audiocassettes, 1999
Series 4: Reference videos, 1999
Series 5: Supplemental documentation, 1999

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Ann Moore was born in 1940 in a small Ohio farming community and studied pediatric nursing at the University of Cincinnati. She joined the Peace Corps in 1962 as part of a medical team and was sent to Togo. She met her husband Mike Moore during training. While in Togo, Ann Moore noticed that most women tied their babies onto their backs with a long piece of fabric, which made the babies more content. Back in Colorado, Moore wanted to carry her newborn daughter Mandela in the same way. With the assistance of her mother, Lucy Aukerman, Moore designed the first Snugli baby carrier in 1969 (US Patent 3,481,517). She patented the Snugli in 1984 (US Patent 4,434,920). Snugli, Inc. grew from a small company where each Snugli was handmade by Aukerman and her neighbors to a large company with an international presence and a factory in Colorado. In 1985 Ann and Mike Moore sold Snugli, Inc. to Gerico, a Huffy Company. In 1986 Ann invented Air Lift, a soft mesh backpack oxygen carrier so people on oxygen could be more mobile (US Patent 4,739,913).
Ann and Mike Moore became disappointed in how Gerico had simplified the Snugli design so it could be manufactured less expensively so in 1999 the Moores launched Weego, a soft baby carrier similar to the original Snugli. The Weego has some modern improvements, including an adjustable buckle around the top of the carrier instead of pin tucks. The Jerome and Dorothy Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation was founded in 1995 at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History through a generous gift from the Lemelson Foundation. The Center's mission is to document, interpret, and disseminate information about invention and innovation; to encourage inventive creativity in young people; and to foster an appreciation for the central role invention and innovation plays in the history of the United States. The Innovative Lives series brings together Museum visitors and especially school age children, and American inventors to discuss inventions and the creative process and to experiment and play with hands-on activities related to each inventor's product. This collection was recorded by the Innovative Lives Program of the Jerome and Dorothy Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation.

Administration

Author
Kimberly Kennedy (intern); supervised by Alison Oswald, archivist.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
This collection was recorded by the Innovative Lives Program of the Jerome and Dorothy Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation on October 15, 1999.
Existence and Location of Copies
Original videos digitized in 2014. See repository for details.
Processing Information
Processed by Kimberly Kennedy (intern), August, 2010; supervised by Alison Oswald, archivist.
Custodial History
Collection transferred from the Lemelson Center to the Archives Center on November 15, 1999.

Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Access
The collection is open for research use.
Preferred Citation
Ann Moore Innovative Lives Presentation and Interview, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution
Conditions Governing Use
Copyright held by the Smithsonian Institution. Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Reproduction permission from Archives Center: reproduction fees may apply.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Africa, French-speaking West Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Audio cassettes -- 1990-2000 Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
BetaCam SP (videotape format) Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Floppy disks Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Infants -- Care Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Innovative Lives Program (NMAH public program series) Title Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Inventions -- 1950-2000 Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Inventors -- 1950-2000 Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Interviews -- 1980-2000 Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Oral history -- 1990-2000 Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Slides Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Snguli baby carrier Title Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Women inventors Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Women inventors -- 20th century Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Weego Baby Carrier Title Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Videotapes -- 1990-2000 Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Auckerman, Lucy Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

Archives Center, National Museum of American History
P.O. Box 37012
Suite 1100, MRC 601
Washington, D.C. 20013-7012
archivescenter@si.edu