Inventor Labs

{{Short description|CD-ROM software from Houghton Mifflin Interactive and Red Hill Studios}} {{Infobox software | name = ''Inventor Labs'' | developer = Houghton Mifflin Interactive<br>Red Hill Studios<ref name="developer"/> | released = 1996<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=21704|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20141114190045/http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=21704|title=Inventor Labs|website=All Game Guide|archivedate=November 14, 2014|accessdate=February 10, 2026}}</ref> | operating_system = {{ubl|Macintosh<ref name="platforms">{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-record/155971026/|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20240925132154/https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-record/155971026/|title=Edison, fellow inventors give guided tours of labs|newspaper=Daily Record|page=42|archivedate=September 25, 2024|date=July 7, 1996|accessdate=April 17, 2025|via=Newspapers.com|url-status=live}}</ref>|Windows<ref name="platforms"/>}} | genre = }} '''''Inventor Labs''''' is a CD-ROM software from Houghton Mifflin Interactive and Red Hill Studios.

==Summary== The CD has a virtual tour through three of the most famous science labs ever: the workshops of Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell, and James Watt.<ref name="CNET"/><ref>{{cite web|first=James|last=Coates|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1996/07/08/netscape-pack-plugs-in-users-to-the-power-of-the-web/e07377fc-56fb-42f2-8889-e615a59d51ba/|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20250417122256/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1996/07/08/netscape-pack-plugs-in-users-to-the-power-of-the-web/e07377fc-56fb-42f2-8889-e615a59d51ba/|title=Netscape plugs in users to the power of the web|newspaper=The Washington Post|archivedate=April 17, 2025|date=July 8, 1996|accessdate=April 17, 2025|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Development== ''Inventor Labs'' was developed by Red Hill Studios, a company founded in 1991.<ref name="developer">{{cite web|url=http://www.redhillstudios.com/index.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/19970103010951/http://www.redhillstudios.com/index.html|title=About|website=Red Hill Studios|archivedate=January 3, 1997|accessdate=April 17, 2025|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Reception== ''CNET'' said "Combining an interactive look at science history with an eye to the future, this virtual tour will be as much fun for kids as their first magnifying glass".<ref name="CNET">{{cite web|first=Peter|last=Scisco|url=http://www.cnet.com/Content/Reviews/Cdcentral/Reviews/0%2C50%2C465%2C00.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/19961222183734/http://www.cnet.com/Content/Reviews/Cdcentral/Reviews/0,50,465,00.html|title=InventorLabs|website=CNET|archivedate=December 22, 1996|accessdate=April 17, 2025}}</ref> ''New York Daily News'' gave Inventor Labs a score of 2 out of 4.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news/155970508/|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20240925130802/https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news/155970508/|title=ABC's of high-sci|newspaper=New York Daily News|page=552|archivedate=September 25, 2024|date=October 20, 1996|accessdate=April 17, 2025|via=Newspapers.com|url-status=live}}</ref>

''Publishers Weekly'' said "Though the science here is solid, kids will likely seek out something more entertaining".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?p=GPS&u=wikipedia&id=GALE%7CA18808292&v=2.1&it=r&sid=bookmark-GPS&asid=232a5fd3|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20250417083408/https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?p=GPS&u=wikipedia&id=GALE%7CA18808292&v=2.1&it=r&sid=bookmark-GPS&asid=232a5fd3|title=Inventor Labs|magazine=Publishers Weekly|archivedate=April 17, 2025|date=October 28, 1996|accessdate=April 17, 2025|via=Gale Research|url-status=live}}</ref>

''Inventor Labs'' won a Gold Invision Award for Best Young Adult Title.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://newmedia.com/Invision/winners/Inventor.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/19970417025321/http://newmedia.com/Invision/winners/Inventor.html|title=Inventor Labs |website=NewMedia|archivedate=April 17, 1997|accessdate=April 17, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hminet.com/home/company/news/invision.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/19970222213752/http://www.hminet.com/home/company/news/invision.html|title=News|website=Houghton Mifflin Interactive|archivedate=February 22, 1997|date=June 4, 1996|accessdate=April 17, 2025}}</ref> It was also a finalist in the Best Use of Visual Arts in Multimedia category in the 1997 CODiE Awards.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.spa.org/codies/1997/multimedia.htm|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/19970109082300/http://www.spa.org/codies/1997/multimedia.htm|title=1997 in excellence software awards program|website=Software Publishers Association|archivedate=January 9, 1997|accessdate=January 9, 2026}}</ref>

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== *{{official website|https://web.archive.org/web/19970103010936/http://www.redhillstudios.com/invent/invent.html}} (archived)

Category:1996 software Category:Windows software Category:Macintosh software