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Scientific Education

560 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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  • [Missing]9

  • Science--Study and teaching514
  • 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
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  • Publications409
  • Illustrations81
  • Rare books39
  • Chemistry sets35
  • Manuscripts19
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  • Text491
  • Image458
  • Physical Object53
  • Moving Image6
  • 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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  • English516
  • French8
  • German5
  • Spanish2
  • Russian1

  • Public Domain Mark 1.0508
  • In Copyright17
  • No Known Copyright15
  • In Copyright - Rights-holder(s) Unlocatable or Unidentifiable12
  • No Copyright - United States4
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  • Library445
  • Museum59
  • Archives52
  • Center for Oral History4
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  • Chemistry sets

    Handy Andy Junior Chemistry Lab

    • 1955

    Cardboard box with removable lid; lime cardboard insert with various indentations and slits for chemicals and tools; on the bottom is a row of six amber glass bottles with lime metallic removable lids houses in…

    • Manufacturer Skil-Craft Corporation
    • Subject Chemistry sets, Skil-Craft Corporation
  • 3 items
    Chemistry sets

    Harmonic Reed Corporation Spitz Junior Planetarium

    • Circa 1955
    • Manufacturer Harmonic Reed Corporation
    • Subject Harmonic Reed Corporation, Astronomy, Toys, Astronomical instruments
  • 8 items
    Pamphlets

    Fourth Annual Southern California Science Fair

    • 1955

    The pamphlet provides an overview of the rules, prizes, and purpose of the Southern California Science Fair, held April 23-29, 1955, at the Los Angeles County Museum. The following year, Beckman Instruments would become…

    • Subject Science--Study and teaching, Science fairs, Science projects
  • 2 items
    Chemistry sets

    Gilbert Chemistry Outfit no. 7

    • 1954

    Wooden case with a blue synthetic covering. Case opens on a hinge to reveal three shelves of amber glass bottles with red metal lids; 21 bottles containing the following: aluminum sulphate, ammonium chloride, borax,…

    • Manufacturer A.C. Gilbert Company
    • Subject Chemistry sets, A.C. Gilbert Company
  • 28 items
    Handbooks and manuals

    Gilbert Home Chemistry

    • 1954

    Manual written to accompany the Gilbert Chemistry Outfit No. 7 chemistry set for middle to high school-age students, especially boys. Includes instructions for a range of home chemistry experiments requiring only…

    • Manufacturer A.C. Gilbert Company
    • Subject Chemistry sets, A.C. Gilbert Company, Chemistry--Experiments, Chemistry--Handbooks, manuals, etc., Science--Experiments, Science--Study and teaching, Education, Secondary, Chemistry
  • Chemistry sets

    Gilbert No. 1 Chemistry Outfit

    • 1954

    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 A.C. Gilbert Company
    • Subject Chemistry sets, A.C. Gilbert Company
  • 107 items
    Handbooks and manuals

    Fun with Gilbert Chemistry

    • 1954

    Manual written to accompany the Gilbert Chemistry Outfit No. 7 chemistry set for middle to high school-age students. Includes a range of experiments in areas of inorganic chemistry, electrochemistry, organic chemistry,…

    • Publisher A.C. Gilbert Company
    • Author Johnson, Treat B., Gilbert, A. C. (Alfred Carlton), 1884-1961
    • Subject Chemistry sets, A.C. Gilbert Company, Chemistry--Experiments, Science--Study and teaching, Education, Secondary, Science--Experiments
  • 5 items
    Handbooks and manuals

    Microcraft Triple Objective Microscope Instructions

    • 1953

    Microscope instructions and an inspection information card for the Microcraft Microscope Set No. 310.

    • Publisher Porter Chemical Company
    • Subject Chemistry sets, Porter Chemical Company, Chemistry--Handbooks, manuals, etc., Microscopes, Microscopy, Science--Study and teaching
  • 2 items
    Chemistry sets

    Microcraft Microscope Set No. 310

    • 1953

    Wooden grey-blue case that opens on a hinge. Inside, the left side of the case contains a sealed glass bottle of mounting cement, a sealed glass bottle of thinner, small cardboard boxes labeled "Microcraft Microscopy…

    • Manufacturer Porter Chemical Company
    • Subject Chemistry sets, Porter Chemical Company
  • 36 items
    Handbooks and manuals

    Microcraft Senior Microscopy Manual

    • 1953

    Manual written to accompany the Microcraft Microscope Set No. 310 for the amateur microscopist. Includes instructions for using the microscope and accessories, as well as a range of experiments and recommendations for…

    • Manufacturer Porter Chemical Company
    • Subject Chemistry sets, Porter Chemical Company, Chemistry--Experiments, Microscopy, Science--Experiments, Science--Study and teaching, Education, Secondary, Microscopes, Chemistry--Handbooks, manuals, etc.
  • Photographs

    National 4-H Entomology Program exhibition display (1953)

    • 1953-Dec-03

    General view of an exhibition display for the National 4-H Entomology Program sponsored by the Hercules Powder Company.

    Formed in 1912 as part of an anti-trust settlement with DuPont, the Hercules Powder Company (later…

    • Creator Of Work Hercules Incorporated
    • Photographer Lighthall, Allison
    • Subject 4-H clubs, Corporations, Entomology, Entomology--Research, Hercules Incorporated, Science--Study and teaching, Insects
  • Postage stamps, Ephemera

    Mexican postage stamp commemorating the Instituto Politécnico Nacional (25th anniversary)

    • 1951

    Mexican postage stamp issued to commemorate the 25th 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), Women in science, Scientific apparatus and instruments, Science--Study and teaching
  • 2 items
    Chemistry sets

    Chemcraft Chemical Magic No. [33?]

    • 1940 – 1949

    Wooden box painted red with white speckled paint design. The case opens on a hinge to reveal nine test tubes on left containing sodium iodide solution, bleaching powder, sodium salicylate, cobalt chloride, ferric…

    • Manufacturer Porter Chemical Company
    • Subject Chemistry sets, Porter Chemical Company
  • Chemistry sets

    Gilbert Electric Eye Kit

    • 1949
    • Manufacturer A.C. Gilbert Company
    • Subject Electric apparatus and appliances, Electricity, A.C. Gilbert Company, Electron tubes
  • Chemistry sets

    The Practical Chemist

    • 1947

    Cardboard box with color printing shows boys and girls engaged in household chemistry: cleaning and polishing metals, "chemistry magic," stain removal and laundry tasks. Inside, blue-labeled vials of chemical samples…

    • Manufacturer Science Creations, Inc.
    • Subject Chemistry sets, Toys, Chemistry--Study and teaching
  • 2 items
    Chemistry sets

    A.C. Gilbert No. 1 "Chemistry Outfit for Boys"

    • 1943

    Board-game like rectangular cardboard box; box top comes off and reveals a blue cardboard frame in the box bottom to support various set components; to the top right of the frame is a row of six wooden chemical…

    • Manufacturer A.C. Gilbert Company
    • Subject Chemistry sets, A.C. Gilbert Company
  • 22 items
    Manuscripts

    Study questions for Household and Organic Chemistry course at Pennsylvania State University

    • 1942

    Study questions for Household and Organic Chemistry (Chemistry 52) course taught by American chemist, home economist, and college administrator Dr. Pauline Beery Mack (1891-1974) at Pennsylvania State University. The…

    • Creator Of Work Mack, Pauline Beery, 1891-1974
    • Subject Chemistry, Chemistry--Study and teaching, Chemists, Home economics, Home economics--Study and teaching, Mack, Pauline Beery, 1891-1974, Pennsylvania State University, Science--Study and teaching, Women chemists, Women in science
  • 157 items
    Manuscripts

    Laboratory exercises for Household and Organic Chemistry course at Pennsylvania State University

    • 1942

    Notebook of laboratory exercises for Household and Organic Chemistry (Chemistry 52) course taught by American chemist, home economist, and college administrator Dr. Pauline Beery Mack (1891-1974) at Pennsylvania State…

    • Creator Of Work Mack, Pauline Beery, 1891-1974
    • Subject Women in science, Women chemists, Chemistry, Chemistry--Study and teaching, Science--Study and teaching, Home economics, Home economics--Study and teaching, Mack, Pauline Beery, 1891-1974, Pennsylvania State University, Chemists
  • Business correspondence

    Letter from Joshua Lederberg to Frank Stodola

    • 1942-Jul-06

    Written by Joshua Lederberg while 17 years old, seeking permission to take Stodola's Chem s42C course, despite not having taken the necessary prerequisites.

    • Addressee Stodola, Frank Harold, 1905-1992
    • Author Lederberg, Joshua
    • Subject Science--Study and teaching, Chemistry, Organic, Lederberg, Joshua, Columbia University, Nobel Prize winners, Stodola, Frank Harold, 1905-1992
  • 32 items
    Handbooks and manuals

    Chemcraft Chemical Magic

    • 95 Mystifying Magical Demonstrations
    • 1940

    A manual written for middle to high school-age students to accompany the Chemcraft Chemical Magic Set. Includes 58 magic-themed experiments for the user to "amaze [their] friends by producing odors, invisible inks, and…

    • Publisher Porter Chemical Company
    • Subject Chemistry sets, Porter Chemical Company, Chemistry--Experiments, Science--Study and teaching, Science, Chemistry--Handbooks, manuals, etc., Racism, Racism in popular culture, Stereotypes (Social psychology)
  • 4 items
    Chemistry sets, Molecular models

    Bryan Chemical Illustrators Modeling Kit

    • Circa 1940

    Cardboard pop-out modeling kit; unused.

    • Manufacturer Porter Chemical Company
    • Subject Molecules--Models, Chemistry sets, Porter Chemical Company
  • 23 items
    Handbooks and manuals

    How to Use The Chemical Illustrators

    • 1940

    Modeling kit instruction manual, six unused cardboard sheets containing pop-out pieces representing ions, and a handwritten document found in the pages of the manual signed and dated Herbert T. Pratt, January 2, 1995.
    …

    • Publisher Porter Chemical Company
    • Author Bryan, Arthur Herbert
    • Subject Chemistry sets, Porter Chemical Company, Molecules--Models, Science--Study and teaching, Chemistry--Study and teaching
  • Molecular models

    Fisher Hirschfelder Taylor Atomic Organic Model Kit

    • 1940

    A wooden case contains twenty internal compartments made of cardboard. Colored wooden pieces represent atoms with metal snap fasteners imitating chemical bonds; contains sulfur (yellow), oxygen (light blue), nitrogen…

    • Manufacturer Fisher Scientific Company
    • Subject Molecules--Models, Fisher Scientific Company
  • Business correspondence

    Letter from Harold Urey to Frank Stodola

    • 1940-Aug-19

    Concerning appointment of Stodola as an Instructor at Columbia University.

    • Addressee Stodola, Frank Harold, 1905-1992
    • Author Urey, Harold Clayton, 1893-1981
    • Subject Science--Study and teaching, Urey, Harold Clayton, 1893-1981, Nobel Prize winners, Stodola, Frank Harold, 1905-1992
  • 3 items
    Chemistry sets

    Gilbert Chemistry Outfit

    • 1930 – 1939

    Wooden case with two steel handles on top and cabinet doors on both sides which are secured with a steel latch; on one side, case inside has a steel red shelf with seven wooden chemical containers; below the shelf is a…

    • Manufacturer A.C. Gilbert Company
    • Subject Chemistry sets, A.C. Gilbert Company
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