Forget it, kid. You'll end up blowing up the whole city."
Posted on 12/25/2011 2:56:00 AM PST by AnAmericanAbroad
Before video games and robotics competitions, toys were much simpler: girls got dolls; boys got model trains and bicycles. Toys that promoted learning and experimentation were rare until one inventor, Alfred Carlton (“A. C.”) Gilbert, started making toys that taught children about science and engineering. His most famous, the Erector set, became one of the best -selling toys of its day and inspired children across the country to build everything from bridges to robots.
Gilbert was a man of many talents. He financed his medical degree from Yale University by working as a magician, invented the pole-vaulting box and won a gold medal in the sport in 1908, and broke the world record for consecutive chin-ups—39 in a row. In 1918 he became "the man who saved Christmas" by convincing Congress not to ban toy production during the war.
But he is most famous for his toys. Gilbert founded the A. C. Gilbert Company and went on to invent and sell all kinds of classic science toys from chemistry sets to robots to microscopes. Gilbert's real innovation was to provide kids with a way to experiment with real-life tools and parts, says William Brown, director of the Eli Whitney Museum in Hamden, Conn., where a large collection of Gilbert toys is on display. "They had that feel of being not symbolic but part of the real world," he says. "You were working with a motor for your Erector set that could actually move heavy things."
(Excerpt) Read more at scientificamerican.com ...
Lincoln logs,tinker toys, and the dreaded wood burning kit,and the killer of all,sling shots,BB guns,and the killer lawn darts how did we ever survive??
My father worked in a boat yard and many of the ferrys that ran across the bay had lead sheets on the bottoms which would be replaced at times, he would bring home pieces for me to melt down a pour into a lead solder mold I had,I made huge Armys to battle on my train table, also used a teaspoon for a mold to make lead weights for fishing,good old days for sure.
I still have my Carbide Cannon.
Don’t know where I would buy the carbide today
Remember whena gun and holster set was a great Christmas gift. Can’t find those any more, but you can get a video game where you kill thousands electronically.
I remember fondly both my erector set and my chemistry set, especially the chemistry set. When I searched for a similar set as a gift a few years ago, I realized that the PC crowd had taken all the fun out of childhood.
Okay let’s try this one more time
http://chemistry.about.com/b/2011/11/02/download-the-golden-book-of-chemistry-experiments.htm
What a maroon, what an imbezzel :-)
And still A Merry Christmas to y’all
alfa6 ;>}
Not a problem!
Wow ....I have the atomic kit with the Dagwood Comic Book. Made a bunch of copies for friends at work.....LOL !
The chemistry kit was also a gift when I was young , just not sure if it was an A.C. Gilbert product. Led to my career in EOD etc ....:o)
Merry Christmas Sir !!
Stay Safe !
And you can still buy ‘em. Not exactly cheap. http://www.scientificsonline.com/c3000-chemistry-experiment-kit.html?&cm_mmc=Mercent-_-Google-_-NULL-_-3001651&mr:trackingCode=F76C1735-DB81-DE11-8C0A-000423C27502&mr:referralID=NA
But could be a good way to teach the kiddies about chemistry.
Check out this site:http://www.princeaugust.ie/
Casting moulds, ladels, a hot plate for melting lead (yeah, not a crucible but it works) etc. Nice to see someone in the world is keeping the tradition alive.
It’s out of Ireland.
Merry Christmas.
My father-in-law used it to mock up things he invented...since he had several patents, it was a good "toy" for adults too.
The 50 series erector set, chem set and microscope I grew up with and used/abused went the way of most "toys" handled by a kid that did not fully understand nor appreciate what they were.
In my own defense, I will say that I learned a lot from them and the sacrifice to the junk heap of my personal history does not detract from the knowledge gained.
Forget it, kid. You'll end up blowing up the whole city."
It was a kinder, gentler time.
My older brother managed to blow himself up real good with his chemistry set. After healing, he went on to become a chemical engineer. Go figure.
LOL I think I paid $15.00 dollars for the Cannon I have 40 years ago.
I raised my boys to be men. Exposure at a young age to guns, knives, reloading, blackpowder, and other things that would bring down the wrath of social services on my butt today.
One time as we were driving out of the parking lot of Smokey Mountain Knife Factory I said, “Watch out, that knife is sharp and you might cut.” I stopped there in my sentence because the oldest boy suddenly yelped,”Ouch!” after he cut himself.
They both got their first gun at age 6.
I got to meet the Lutheran High School principal when the school secretary found explosive making instructions in my son’s locker. He had downloaded it 3 years before and left it in a 3 ring binder that he had taken to school without realizing what was in the binder. My son and I had lots of discussions about my experiences in the combat engineers and he had started researching makeshift explosives after I told him about mixing fertilizer and diesel fuel. Later that year the principal told me that he thought my son’s t-shirt was funny considering. It said, “EOD, If you see me running don’t be far behind.”
My youngest had to do a demo speech in the 7th grade. He chose to show how to field strip an M1911A1 pistol. His Mom had to help because he was to weak to hold in the return
spring. (She was called his assistant and she worked the barrel bushing wrench.)
Later today we will Skype with the boys (1,700 miles away.) I will enjoy watching them open up their presents; reproductions of 1858 Remington pistols, black powder pistols. And blocks of lead, a ball mold, and an electric lead casting furnace so they can cast their own ammo.
I would love to tell you more but Echelon might be listing and the 7 year limit may not be over on everything.
There is still hope for America.
Google VEX Robots and watch what some kids are playing with today. I just got a grant from the Alcoa Foundation and we will be training adult advisers and giving them an $900 VEX robot kit for them to let their youth group play with. 14 kits per year for the next three years.
VEX kits are erector sets on steroids.
I had an erector set and a chemistry set from Gilbert. Kids don’t know what they’re missing today.
There are several companies that sell science products to homeschoolers. Telescopes, microscopes, chemistry sets, we had it all.
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