Plastics encompass a wide range of synthetic and semi-synthetic materials created from large repeating molecules called polymers. The Institute’s collections include a wide variety of materials documenting the history of the study of polymers, the development of plastics, the plastic industry, synthetic fibers, microplastics, works depicting or created by early pioneers of the field, and other related topics. Browse the digitized materials in this digital collection to learn more about plastics and synthetic fibers from the lab to your living room.
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6 items
Chacott's Nude Perky Tights and All Through Stockings
- 2021
Three pairs of Nude Perky brand ballet dance tights in original packaging. The tights are in sizes Tall-Large, Medium, and Large and are in the colors Brown, Nut Brown, and Camel respectively.
Chacott is a Japanese…
- Creator Of Work Chacott Co., Ltd.
- Subject Commercial Products, Packaging, Nylon, Dyes and dyeing--Nylon, Hosiery, Hosiery industry, Chacott Co., Ltd., Clothing and dress, Ballet, Human skin color, Freed of London (Firm)
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52 items
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10 items
Half Chest Binders
- 2015
Five chest binding garments produced by the gc2b Company. This garment comes in five "nude" tones ranging from dark to light tan shades. A chest binder is anything used to bind and flatten the chest.
According to gc2b,…
- Creator Of Work gc2b
- Subject Gender expression, Sex (Psychology), Gender identity, Gender nonconformity, Commercial products, Nylon, Transgender people, Human skin color
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52 items
Distillations, Volume 1 Number 3
- 2015 (Fall)
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52 items
Chemical Heritage, Volume 29 Number 3
- 2011 – 2012 (Fall/Winter)
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Oral history interview with Emmett D. Crawford
- 2011-Oct-06 – 2011-Oct-07
Emmett D. Crawford was born in Meridian, Mississippi, but grew up in Laurinburg, North Carolina. His father, a minister and director of admissions at St. Andrews Presbyterian College, and his mother, a teacher, divorced…
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3 items
Vuvuzela from the 2010 FIFA World Cup
- 2010
White plastic horn-shaped noise maker used by cheering fans at the 2010 Fifa World Cup held in South Africa. The vuvuzela is handpainted in multiple colors with acrylic paint. The horn's bell is decorated with the South…
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Polypropylene Pellets
- Circa 2008
Small, round pellets of Polypropylene. Pellets are white and semi-translucent.
Polypropylene, also known as polypropene, is a nonpolar, thermoplastic polymer and polyolefin. Though its physical properties are similar…
- Creator Of Work Quantum Chemical Corporation
- Subject Polypropylene, Plastics, Thermoplastics, Polyolefins
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52 items
Chemical Heritage, Volume 26 Number 3
- 2008 (Fall)
- Publisher Chemical Heritage Foundation
- Subject Nylon, Chemical engineering, Chemical Heritage Foundation, Chemistry
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56 items
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9 items
Oral history interview with Irvin I. Rubin
- 2002-Feb-26
Irvin I. Rubin begins the interview by describing his family history and how he came to work in the plastics industry. Throughout the interview Rubin describes the intricacies of working with plastic, starting with the…
- Interviewee Rubin, Irvin I., 1919-
- Interviewer Traynham, James G.
- Subject Rubin, Irvin I., 1919-, Chemists, Robinson Plastics Corporation, Injection molding of plastics, Chemists--Biography
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52 items
Chemical Heritage, Volume 18 Number 4
- 2000 (Winter)
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LEGO Seaweed
- 1990s
A small green plastic LEGO accessory shaped like a patch of seaweed. This piece was part of the Lego Lost at Sea Project, started by Tracey Williams.
On February 13, 1997, approximately five million LEGO pieces were…
- Creator Of Work LEGO koncernen (Denmark)
- Subject Plastics, LEGO toys, Water--Pollution, Pollution, Plastic marine debris, Plastic marine debris--Environmental aspects
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LEGO Scuba Tank
- 1990s
A small gray plastic LEGO accessory shaped like a scuba tank and breathing apparatus. This piece was part of the Lego Lost at Sea Project, started by Tracey Williams.
On February 13, 1997, approximately five million…
- Creator Of Work LEGO koncernen (Denmark)
- Subject LEGO toys, Plastic marine debris, Plastic marine debris, Plastics, Pollution, Water--Pollution
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2 items
LEGO Dragon
- 1990s
A small black plastic LEGO accessory shaped like a dragon. This piece was found by Lucy and Edward Thresher as part of the Lego Lost at Sea Project, started by Tracey Williams.
On February 13, 1997, approximately five…
- Creator Of Work LEGO koncernen (Denmark)
- Subject LEGO toys, Plastic marine debris, Plastic marine debris--Environmental aspects, Plastics, Water--Pollution, Pollution
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5 items
Kroger Disposable Plastic Shopping Bag
- 1990s
A gray plastic shopping bag with red print. This bag, manufactured for Kroger supermarkets, has a #2 HDPE recycling indication, meaning it is made from high-density polyethylene plastic and can be recycled. Information…
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52 items
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58M 50S
Once Upon a Christmas Cheery in the Lab of Shakhashiri
- 1997
One of many in a series of annual Christmas lectures given by Bassam Z. Shakhashiri, a Lebanese chemistry educator who spent most of his career at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The 1996 lecture includes the…
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5 items
Oral history interview with Edgar W. Spanagel
- 1997-May-09
This interview describes Dr. Edgar W. Spanagel's life, focusing on his contributions to nylon research at the DuPont Company. Although his father died when he was fourteen, leaving his mother alone with four children,…
- Interviewee Spanagel, Edgar W.
- Interviewer Smith, John K. (John Kenly), 1951-
- Subject Nylon, Chemists, Chemists--Biography, E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company, Carothers, Wallace Hume, 1896-1937, Spanagel, Edgar W., Hosiery
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6 items
Oral history interview with Joseph Labovsky
- 1996-Jul-24
Joseph Labovsky opens the interview with a discussion of his childhood in Ukraine and his family experiences there after his father emigrated to the United States in 1914. Labovsky moved with his mother and siblings to…
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7 items
Oral history interview with Frederick J. Karol
- 1995-Jan-10
This interview with Frederick J. Karol begins with a short discussion of Karol's family background and childhood near Boston, Massachusetts. Following an early interest in chemistry, Karol in 1946 enrolled at Boston…
- Interviewee Karol, Frederick J., 1933-
- Interviewer Bohning, James J.
- Sponsor Society of Chemical Industry (Great Britain). American Section
- Subject Karol, Frederick J., 1933-, World War (1939-1945), Soldiers, Union Carbide Corporation, Polyethylene, License agreements, Chemical industry, Shell Chemical Company, Polypropylene, Ziegler-Natta catalysts, Polymers, Polymerization, Chemists
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5m 53s
Passing Through: Behind The Scenes
- Circa 1993
This is a promotional work created by the National Plastics Center and Museum to advertise their educational video, Passing Through. Passing Through is a film for teenagers and high school science students in which a…
- Creator Of Work National Plastics Center and Museum
- Producer WAVE, Inc.
- Subject Science--Study and teaching, Plastics, Educational films, Middle Ages
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26m 58s
Passing Through: An Introduction to Plastics
- Circa 1993
A high school student who is nervous about failing his chemistry test is transported to a vaguely Middle Ages, high fantasy castle where he meets a wizard trying to invent better armor for a knight. The student teaches…
- Creator Of Work National Plastics Center and Museum
- Subject Educational films, Plastics, Middle Ages, Wizards
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4 items
Extrusion of saran bubbles at Dow Chemical Company
- 1993
Four views showing various stages of the extrusion of saran bubbles from a rolling machine at the Dow Chemical Company plant in Midland, Michigan. The employee visible in the photographs is unidentified. During…
- Creator Of Work Dow Chemical Company
- Subject Plastics, Employees, Industries, Extrusion process, Dow Chemical Company, Corporations, Plastics--Extrusion, Plastics industry and trade, Machinery
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10 items
Oral history interview with James R. Fair
- 1992-Feb-19
This interview with James R. Fair begins with a discussion of Fair's childhood in the Midwest, highlighting high-school experiences in Little Rock, Arkansas, and early interests in science. Fair attended The Citadel as…
- Interviewee Fair, James R., 1920-
- Interviewer Bohning, James J.
- Subject Chemical engineering, Washington University (Saint Louis, Mo.), Fair, James R., 1920-, University of Texas at Austin, Disasters, Shell Development Company, Texas--Texas City, Ethylene, High Flyer (Ship), Grandcamp (Ship), Chemical engineers, Styrene, Fires, Monsanto Chemical Company
