Scientific Education

566 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.

25 minutes 41 seconds
Video Recordings

Chemistry Is Cool2
- 1996
Video of a performance presented by COSI (Center of Science and Industry) during the 1996 Ohio Chemical Council annual conference in Columbus, Ohio. In this performance, host Krista teaches the audience about chemical…
- Creator Of Work Center of Science and Industry (Columbus, Ohio)
- Subject Science--Study and teaching, Science--Experiments, Congresses and conventions
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
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
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
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
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
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
8 items
Manuscripts

Notes on manufacturing catalysts
- Undated
Scientific notes and diagrams on the manufacturing of catalysts written by Georg Bredig (1868-1944).
- Author Bredig, Georg, 1868-1944
- Subject Bredig, Georg, 1868-1944, Catalysis, Chemistry, Science--Study and teaching
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
32m 44s
Video Recordings

Radioactivity and the Parts of an Atom
- Undated
"Radioactivity and the Parts of an Atom" is one of fifty-three short education films originally produced in 1955 for KQED San Francisco as part of the series Tempest in a Test Tube. This series of half-hour episodes…
- Producer American Chemical Society, KQED-TV (Television station : San Francisco, Calif.)
- Subject Radioactivity, Educational films, Nuclear physics, Nuclear energy, Science--Study and teaching
Molecular models

Harshaw Crystal Model Kit
- Undated
Blue cardboard box containing three compartments; two compartments hold a number of black and white stone marbles; third compartment holds four brass rods, numerous glass spacers, and sheets of thin paper; box also…
- Manufacturer Harshaw Scientific, Division of the Harshaw Chemical Company
- Subject Molecules--Models