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Scientific Education

553 items

This digital collection features selected chemistry sets, molecular models, and science kits used for both instruction and play, all primarily from the mid-20th century. Some of these objects were previously on display in the Institute's museum as part of the Science at Play exhibition. Materials in this collection also include lecture notes, such as Louis Pasteur’s on stereochemistry, as well as letters between scientists concerning the state of scientific education.

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Current results range from 1709 to 2014

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  • Unknown 8

  • Science--Study and teaching507
  • Scientific illustration333
  • Textbooks332
  • Zoology246
  • Animals214
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  • Chautauqua Press246
  • Jenks, J. W. P. (John Whipple Potter), 1819-1894246
  • Steele, Joel Dorman, 1836-1886246
  • Pepper, John Henry, 1821-190032
  • Martyn, Lily29
more Creator »

  • Publications409
  • Illustrations81
  • Rare books39
  • Chemistry sets35
  • Manuscripts19
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  • Text490
  • Image457
  • Physical Object53
  • Sound4

  • Cardboard28
  • Plastic23
  • Glass22
  • Paper18
  • Wood17
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  • New York (State)--New York286
  • England--London131
  • Scotland--Edinburgh31
  • Rhode Island--Providence25
  • Illinois--Chicago19
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  • English509
  • French8
  • German5
  • Spanish2
  • Russian1

  • Public Domain Mark 1.0508
  • In Copyright16
  • No Known Copyright15
  • In Copyright - Rights-holder(s) Unlocatable or Unidentifiable6
  • No Copyright - United States4
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  • Library445
  • Museum58
  • Archives46
  • Center for Oral History4

  • Science at Play30
  • The Sky's the Limit3
  • Things Fall Apart1
Previous 526 - 550 of 553 Next
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  • 2 items
    Chemistry sets

    Skil-Craft No. 506 Senior Chemistry Lab Case

    • 1965 – 1969

    Chemistry sets reached their heyday in the 1950s, but production of them began in the United States during World War I. Playing with a toy chemistry set inspired many a boy to become a chemist, and not until the late…

    • Manufacturer Skil-Craft Corporation
    • Subject Chemistry sets, Skil-Craft Corporation
  • Molecular models

    Organichem Model Set

    • 1970s

    Small, multicolored plastic connectors and straws in small plastic bag.

    Models kits, such as this one, are often found in laboratories and classrooms and are used to visualize the structure of chemical substances.

    • Manufacturer Freeman, Cooper & Co.
    • Subject Molecules--Models
  • Chemistry sets

    Johnny Horizon Environmental Test Kit

    • 1971

    Cardboard box with color printing on lid, showing young men and women engaged in chemical testing of environmental factors (air, water). Inside is a blue plastic tray with wells for test equipment, including a…

    • Manufacturer Parker Brothers, inc.
    • Subject Games, Chemistry sets, Toys, Chemicals, Environmental testing
  • Ephemera, Postage stamps

    Mexican postage stamp commemorating the Instituto Politécnico Nacional (40th anniversary)

    • 1976

    Mexican postage stamp issued to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the founding of the Instituto Politécnico Nacional de México (the National Polytechnic Institute of Mexico) on January 1, 1936. Established during the…

    • Creator Of Work Mexico. Dirección General de Talleres de Impresión de Estampillas y Valores
    • Subject Commemorative postage stamps, Mexico, Postage stamps, Science on postage stamps, Instituto Politécnico Nacional (Mexico), Science--Study and teaching
  • Business correspondence

    Letter from Linus Pauling to Theodor Benfey

    • 1976-Aug-27

    Concerning possibility of publishing an early Pauling manuscript in a high school textbook or in an issue of "Chemistry."

    • Addressee Benfey, O. Theodor (Otto Theodor), 1925-
    • Author Pauling, Linus, 1901-1994
    • Subject Science--Study and teaching, Benfey, O. Theodor (Otto Theodor), 1925-, Pauling, Linus, 1901-1994
  • Molecular models

    Molecular Model Set for General Chemistry

    • 1980s

    Models kits, such as this one, are often found in laboratories and classrooms and are used to visualize the structure of chemical substances.

    • Manufacturer Allyn and Bacon
    • Subject Molecules--Models
  • Charts, diagrams, etc

    The 3-Dimensional Periodic Cube

    • 1982

    Periodic table designed in the style of a cube by J. Francis Young, Professor of Civil and Ceramic Engineering, University of Illinois. This table was published by Instruments for Research and Industry and includes…

    • Creator Of Work Young, J. Francis
    • Publisher Instruments for Research and Industry
    • Subject Mendeleyev, Dmitry Ivanovich, 1834-1907, Periodic table, Periodic table of the elements, Chemical elements, Scientific illustration, Science--Study and teaching
  • 2 items
    Molecular models

    FlexibleStereoChemistry Flexible Molecular Model Kit

    • 1983

    Green plastic case with snap lid on front; kit comes with five different types of plastic pieces: 12 multi-colored balls, eight gray "double bonds" pieces, one gray "triple-bonded carbon pairs" rod, and dozens of…

    • Manufacturer FlexibleStereoChemistry, Inc.
    • Subject Molecules--Models
  • Charts, diagrams, etc

    The Periodic Pyramid

    • 1983

    Periodic table designed in the style of a pyramid by Charles E. Gragg. This table was published by Instruments for Research and Industry and includes instructions for assembly into a 3-D model.

    • Creator Of Work Gragg, Charles E.
    • Publisher Instruments for Research and Industry
    • Subject Mendeleyev, Dmitry Ivanovich, 1834-1907, Periodic table, Periodic table of the elements, Chemical elements, Scientific illustration, Science--Study and teaching
  • Molecular models

    HGS General Chemistry Molecular Model Set

    • 1985 – 1989

    Transparent plastic container with five interior compartments for multicolored plastic pieces. Instruction manual included.

    Models kits, such as this one, are often found in laboratories and classrooms and are used to…

    • Manufacturer Benjamin / Maruzen
    • Subject Molecules--Models
  • 3 items
    Plastics, Charts, diagrams, etc

    ElemenTree 3D Periodic Table

    • 1990

    Three dimensional representation of the periodic table of elements (unassembled). ElemenTree is made of transparent Vivak plastic in pink and green with black text. The tree has 17 pieces (layers are polygonal) with a…

    • Artist Dufour, Fernando
    • Subject Science--Study and teaching, Chemistry, Dufour, Fernando, Periodic table of the elements, Scientific illustration
  • 2 items
    Charts, diagrams, etc

    Periodic Round Table

    • 1995

    The "Periodic Round Table" looks like a multi-layered cake. There are eight wooden layers that sit on top of one another and can be rotated. Layers are divided into chemical elements with engraved element name and…

    • Creator Of Work Katz, Gary
    • Subject Science--Study and teaching, Periodic table of the elements, Katz, Gary
  • 92 items
    Handbooks and manuals

    Smithsonian MicroChemistry XM Manual

    • Circa 1996

    An instruction manual written to accompany the Smithsonian MicroChemistry XM 5000 chemistry set. Intended for use by children ages 10 and older, the manual describes how to use the set's tools, then outlines a series of…

    • Manufacturer Smithsonian Institution
    • Subject Chemistry sets, Smithsonian Institution, Chemistry, Chemistry--Experiments, Chemistry--Handbooks, manuals, etc., Education, Secondary, Science--Experiments, Science--Study and teaching, Educational toys
  • 4 items
    Chemistry sets

    Smithsonian MicroChemistry XM 5000 Chemistry Set

    • Circa 1996

    Gray plastic (Rubbermaid) container; two panels open to the right and left and snap into place with small protrusions on the raised base platform; platform also has two support sticks that can be rotated outward so…

    • Manufacturer Smithsonian Institution
    • Subject Chemistry sets, Smithsonian Institution
  • Oral histories

    Oral history interview with Markus D. Meister

    • 1998-Nov-18
    • 1998-Nov-20
    • 1998-Nov-28

    Markus D. Meister was born in Siegsdorf, Germany, a small town in Swabian Germany, in the foothills of the Alps. His father completed a PhD in physics, and when Markus was a young boy the family moved to the village of…

    • Interviewee Meister, Markus, 1940-
    • Interviewer Maestrejuan, Andrea R.
    • Sponsor Pew Charitable Trusts
    • Subject Meister, Markus, 1940-, Science--Study and teaching, Euratom, Education, Bilingual, Biology, Berg, Howard C., 1934-, Neurosciences, Visual perception, Harvard Medical School
  • Business correspondence

    Letter from Arnold O. Beckman to potential Beckman@Science conference attendees

    • 1999-Sep-24

    This letter from Arnold O. Beckman invites potential attendees (and potential donors) to a conference on the future of science education in Orange County, California. This initiative to improve science education was…

    • Creator Of Work Beckman, Arnold O.
    • Subject Science--Study and teaching, California--Orange County, Humanitarianism, Public schools, Education
  • Photograph of Bruce A. Hamilton
    2 items
    Oral histories

    Oral history interview with Bruce A. Hamilton

    • 2005-Oct-05 – 2005-Oct-07

    Bruce A. Hamilton was born in Palo Alto, California, where his father was a graduate student in engineering. His mother was at that time a housewife. Having finished his master's degree, the older Hamilton began work in…

    • Interviewee Hamilton, Bruce A., 1964-
    • Interviewer Mejia, Robin
    • Sponsor Pew Charitable Trusts
    • Subject Hamilton, Bruce A., 1964-, Science--Study and teaching, Religion, Genetics, Lander, Eric S., Neurogenetics, University of California, San Diego, Zinn, Kai George, Medical scientists, Neuroscientists
  • Oral histories

    Oral history interview with Jennie R. Patrick

    • 2006-Mar-30

    Jennie R. Patrick grew up in Gadsden, a small, typically Southern, town in Alabama, the fourth of five children. Her parents were laborers whose formal education stopped in junior high school. As a child, she had no…

    • Interviewee Patrick, Jennie R., 1949-
    • Interviewer Brown, Jeannette E.
    • Subject Patrick, Jennie R., 1949-, Women in science, Scientists, Black, Science--Study and teaching, Community development, Chemical engineering, Nucleation, Supercritical fluid extraction, African American chemists, Chemists
  • Oral histories

    Oral history interview with Catherine T. Hunt

    • 2009-Mar-26
    • 2009-Aug-28

    Catherine T. Hunt grew up in Bronxville, New York, one of seven children. Her father was a chemist at Allied Chemical Company, and Katie often went to work with him and always had questions for him about why things are…

    • Interviewee Hunt, Catherine T. 1955-
    • Interviewer Domush, Hilary
    • Subject Hunt, Catherine T. 1955-, Chemistry, Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, Women in chemistry, Rohm and Haas Company, American Chemical Society, Dow Chemical Company, Science--Study and teaching, Sustainable development, Chemists, Women chemists
  • 3 items
    Charts, diagrams, etc

    Periodic Table Card Game

    • Circa 2014

    Memory game features 54 card deck; 34 cards feature element number and cartoon characters who personify or act out elements and their characteristics, 16 group cards, and 4 command cards; game includes Periodic Table of…

    • Manufacturer Artec Educational
    • Subject Science--Study and teaching, Card games, Artec Educational, Periodic table of the elements
  • Plastics, Molecular models

    Bakelite Molecular Orbital Model

    • Undated

    Black Bakelite cylindrical base with four steel arms giving it support; red Bakelite circles are attached to the end of each arm; the model itself is attached with a steel arm that protrudes upward from the base; model…

    • Subject Molecules--Models, Molecular orbitals, Bakelite
  • Molecular models

    Disc Molecular Models

    • Undated

    Rectangular grey cardboard box with white writing and colored disks on sides; box contains a cardboard separator that divides the inside into four compartments and an instruction booklet; the compartments contain a…

    • Manufacturer W. A. Benjamin, Inc
    • Subject Molecules--Models
  • Chemistry sets

    Chemcraft An Introduction to the Wonders of Modern Chemistry

    • Undated

    Chemistry sets reached their heyday in the 1950s, but production of them began in the United States during World War I. Playing with a toy chemistry set inspired many a boy to become a chemist, and not until the late…

    • Manufacturer Porter Chemical Company
    • Subject Chemistry sets, Porter Chemical Company
  • Plastics, Molecular models

    Bakelite Molecular Orbital Model

    • Undated

    Black Bakelite cylindrical base with four steel arms giving it support; red Bakelite circles are attached to the end of each arm; the model itself is attached with a steel arm that protrudes upward from the base; model…

    • Subject Molecules--Models, Molecular orbitals, Bakelite
  • 2 items
    Manuscripts

    Praktische Uebungen in der Benützung und Anwendung des Polarisationsmikroskopes

    • Practical Exercises in the Use and Application of Polarization Microscopes
    • Undated

    Practical exercises in the use and application of polarization microscopes provided by Professor Schwartzman.

    • Subject Microscopes, Polarizing microscopes, Microscopy, Science--Study and teaching
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