Gilbert started out by selling magic kits for kids—calling on his years as a magician while at Yale. The Mysto Magic set included card games, mind-reading tricks, coins, handkerchiefs, cup tricks, and more....[More]
MYSTO MAGIC SET:
Gilbert started out by selling magic kits for kids—calling on his years as a magician while at Yale. The Mysto Magic set included card games, mind-reading tricks, coins, handkerchiefs, cup tricks, and more.
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Eli Whitney Museum
ERECTOR SET:
Patented in 1913, the Erector set was Gilbert's most famous toy. The story goes that he was looking out a window of a train on his way to New York City when he saw workmen building electrical towers....[More]
ERECTOR SET:
Patented in 1913, the Erector set was Gilbert's most famous toy. The story goes that he was looking out a window of a train on his way to New York City when he saw workmen buildingelectrical towers. As they positioned a set ofriveted steel beams, Gilbert realized that building things like those towers was something most kids would love to try. The Erector set has gone on to become one of the most famous and popular toys of its time. It was one of the first toys with a major ad campaign in the U.S., and in 1998 it was inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame.
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Eli Whitney Museum
JUNIOR ERECTOR SET:
After the success of the Erector sets, Gilbert created a version for younger children with easier–to-connect pieces.
One of many spin-offs from the Erector set, this kit allowed kids to build a merry-go-round, a parachute jump, a “rocket ride” and hundreds of other models, motorized by a 110-volt engine with forward and reverse gears....[More]
THE AMUSEMENT PARK SET:
One of many spin-offs from the Erector set, this kit allowed kids to build a merry-go-round, a parachute jump, a “rocket ride” and hundreds of other models, motorized by a 110-volt engine with forward and reverse gears.
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Eli Whitney Museum
MYSTERIOUS WALKING ROBOT:
The Mysterious Walking Robot had two tanklike feet with treads run by small motors. Once it was wired up, the robot would crawl forward and its eyes would light up....[More]
MYSTERIOUS WALKING ROBOT:
The Mysterious Walking Robot had two tanklike feet with treads run by small motors. Once it was wired up, the robot would crawl forward and its eyes would light up. "For many years, scientists all over the world have tried to build a robot or walking man," the instructions say. Now, with just a few parts, kids could solve that mystery themselves.
The whole kit weighed over 35 pounds and cost $50 in 1950, the modern equivalent of about $470.
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Eli Whitney Museum
CHEMISTRY SET:
In 1922 Gilbert added chemistry sets to his toy company. The original kits had ingredients for rocket fuel, and later sets included Geiger counters and information about radioactivity....[More]
CHEMISTRY SET:
In 1922 Gilbert added chemistry sets to his toy company. The original kits had ingredients for rocket fuel, and later sets included Geiger counters and information about radioactivity. Kids could mix chemicals together to observe reactions, and the kits came with booklets filled with hundreds of experiments.
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Eli Whitney Museum
GILBERT ELECTRIC EYE SET:
"Can you think of anything more uncanny than making a bell ring by striking a match—turning a radio off or on by the flick of a flashlight—making the rising sun operate an alarm?" asks the catalog copy for the Gilbert Electric Eye, released in 1948....[More]
GILBERT ELECTRIC EYE SET:
"Can you think of anything more uncanny than making a bell ring by striking a match—turning a radio off or on by the flick of a flashlight—making the rising sun operate an alarm?" asks the catalog copy for the Gilbert Electric Eye, released in 1948. The set came with a battery box, an electric light socket with a bulb, an RCA photoelectric tube, an RCA amplifier tube, and many other parts.
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Eli Whitney Museum
ATOMIC ENERGY SET:
The original Atomic Energy set sold for $49.50 in 1950, the modern equivalent of $458.99, and came with four different kinds of uranium ore. It also included a Geiger counter, a government manual called Prospecting for Uranium and a comic book called Learn How Dagwood Splits the Atom ....[More]
ATOMIC ENERGY SET:
The original Atomic Energy set sold for $49.50 in 1950, the modern equivalent of $458.99, and came with four different kinds of uranium ore. It also included a Geiger counter, a government manual called Prospecting for Uranium and a comic book called Learn How Dagwood Splits the Atom.
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Eli Whitney Museum
MICROSCOPE SET:
Kids could look into the Gilbert microscope and see fly wings ® gleam back under its polarizing lens. The microscope set came with everything from fly wings ® to minerals for kids to examine....[More]
MICROSCOPE SET:
Kids could look into the Gilbert microscope and see fly wings® gleam back under its polarizing lens. The microscope set came with everything from fly wings® to minerals for kids to examine.
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Eli Whitney Museum
KASTER KIT:
With the Gilbert Kaster kit, kids could make lifelike models of soldiers, sailors, American Indians and athletes out of pieces of lead. The crucible got up to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and melted the lead bits into hollow figurines in the shapes of soldiers, sailors, athletes, and more....[More]
KASTER KIT:
With the Gilbert Kaster kit, kids could make lifelike models of soldiers, sailors, American Indiansand athletes out of pieces of lead. The crucible got up to 400 degrees Fahrenheitand melted the lead bits into hollow figurines in the shapes of soldiers, sailors, athletes, and more. The only safety instruction: "Don't pour water in molten lead."
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Eli Whitney Museum
ELECTRIC TRAINS:
In 1938 Gilbert bought the rights to a line of toy trains called American Flyer. As he developed toy trains, Gilbert was known for his focus on realism and scale—making his toy trains look more lifelike than most....[More]
ELECTRIC TRAINS:
In 1938 Gilbert bought the rights to a line of toy trains called American Flyer. As he developed toy trains, Gilbert was known for his focus on realism and scale—making his toy trains look more lifelike than most.
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Eli Whitney Museum
A. C. GILBERT’S LEGACY:
In 1941 Gilbert opened the Gilbert Hall of Science in New York City. The hall was half museum and half gift shop full of toys. Gilbert retired in 1954, handing over his company to his son, A.C., Jr., and writing an autobiography called The Man Who Lives in Paradise ....[More]
A. C. GILBERT’S LEGACY:
In 1941 Gilbert opened the Gilbert Hall of Science in New York City. The hall was half museum and half gift shop full of toys. Gilbert retired in 1954, handing over his company to his son, A.C., Jr., and writing an autobiography called The Man Who Lives in Paradise. After his death in 1961, the company fell on hard times, and in 1967 it went out of business. Erector sets were still sold by Gabriel Industries, which bought the rights, until 1976.
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Eli Whitney Museum
YES! Send me a free issue of Scientific American with no obligation to continue the subscription. If I like it, I will be billed for the one-year subscription.
Wow, make *me* feel old, willya? As a kid I had three of his chemistry sets, many Erector sets, an American Flyer train set, microscope, and even the Atomic Energy lab as a hand-me-down from an uncle. Sadly, by the time I got the lab the included isotopes had lost much of their activity.
I had the (bad?) habit of mixing and matching bits from multiple sets; I tried to build an atomic-powered model train but the holes on the Erector set girders wouldn't line up and I wasn't allowed to drill extra holes...
Yeah, this is a different world; mechanical toys have given way to electronics, and schools are closing "shop" classes due to insurance costs, but multiple-purpose teaching toys aimed at today's tech aren't quite dead. For instance there's "Twine":
It isn't designed as a toy, strictly speaking but if it takes off big time I can see it in classrooms, teaching logic and cause-and-effect by hands-on example just as Gilbert's toys did for my generation.
The instructiions on the chemistry set: 'don't heat the test tube with the cork on'.. what 12 year-old isn't then wondering 'why not?' Kaboom.
The broken glass from the test tube is all over the room...my brother steps on a piece and while he's running around crying while I'm trying to get a drop of his blood on a microscope slide.
Thanks Mr Gilbert. Never realized how much you were part of our best childhood memories.
Much too young to have owned those pieces of kit, but when my generation got old enough to fiddle around with stuff was about the time when 8-bit home computing became affordable (I was born in '71). So while I haven't blown up test tubes or erected ferris wheels while listening to the radio I've spent quite a few hours of my childhood in front of the family TV, programming utility software and games. In the process I've learned about binary and hexadecimal and a plethora of other subjects, and it certainly motivated me to read a lot of English language literature since Danish literature on the subject was limited and sometimes hard to come by.
I'm sure the brighter ones among the kids of today will find ways to feed their brains. The golden age of home experimenting might be over, but where there's a will there's a way.
4. thevillagegeek
in reply to sijodk04:35 PM 12/25/11
It's hard, but not impossible, to find such things today. I'm old enough to remember what little we could afford back in the 70s (insulation and plumbing were luxuries of the rich to us). Toy tractors made from wood, a Radio Shack electronics kit, later learning Morse code from my older brother the HAM, building a telescope tube from an old Edmund Scientific publication, then being too poor to get the mirrors and lenses....
Wait a minute. A much higher percentage of kids today are over weight, and suffer with ADD and ADHD. The landscape of TV and video games versus active learning activities has a lot to do with that. I won't even go into the differences in physical activity pass times.
all five sets of grandkids has an erector set, the $99 one. One came from, Scientificonline.com which is Edmonds Scientific as well as the $150 house from Germany that explains energy. the other four came from A.C. Moore with 50% off coupons. Did you see Barnes & Noble book stores for Christmas? Shelves full of the various sets that Edmonds sells in their catalogue were available off the shelf. Chemistry for girls with the perfume set among other kits. All sorts of building sets are available, Lego has a robot set which is called Mindstorm for about $250. There is another one that is connected to your computer and ones you can control with the Wi Fi on your phone. These can move motors. Oh was I tempted to buy the fish that flys for the kids. Stop complaining and do the Santa thing for your relatives and the neighborhood rather than whine. Light that candle and spread learning - I do science, math and history books for Halloween rather than candy.
Forgot to add, not rich, just don't buy new clothes but every five or so years at Goodwill and cut my own hair. The car is used very sparingly and the week after Christmas is my black Friday as is July when the discount stores buy last years products from big stores like FAO (sp?) Schwartz.
Afew years ago there was a device that you added to your computer that acted like a microscope it put magnified pictures on the computer screen ... haven't seen one for quite a while .. are they still around ??
The IntelPlay QX3? Yeah, you can still find them on certain auction websites. I'm not letting loose of mine under any circumstances. I may will it to one of my grandkids though... ;>)
Why in the world does one caption say, "fly wings®"?
How could "fly wings" be a Registered mark? The phrase is a description of something from nature. So how could it be protected?
Growing up in the '50s I had an Erector Set and a Gilbert #6 Chemistry Set. I also received a very nice metal microscope with three lenses but don't believe that was a Gilbert product. I also had several Heathkit projects to build, too.
Thank God I had parents who believed in science and math as well as music and the arts. I have built hundreds of custom-designed computers for individuals and clients. Since 1955 have been a photographer. So as the old saying goes, "As you sew, so shall you reap."
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11 Comments
Add CommentWow, make *me* feel old, willya? As a kid I had three of his chemistry sets, many Erector sets, an American Flyer train set, microscope, and even the Atomic Energy lab as a hand-me-down from an uncle. Sadly, by the time I got the lab the included isotopes had lost much of their activity.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI had the (bad?) habit of mixing and matching bits from multiple sets; I tried to build an atomic-powered model train but the holes on the Erector set girders wouldn't line up and I wasn't allowed to drill extra holes...
Yeah, this is a different world; mechanical toys have given way to electronics, and schools are closing "shop" classes due to insurance costs, but multiple-purpose teaching toys aimed at today's tech aren't quite dead. For instance there's "Twine":
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/supermechanical/twine-listen-to-your-world-talk-to-the-internet
It isn't designed as a toy, strictly speaking but if it takes off big time I can see it in classrooms, teaching logic and cause-and-effect by hands-on example just as Gilbert's toys did for my generation.
The instructiions on the chemistry set: 'don't heat the test tube with the cork on'.. what 12 year-old isn't then wondering 'why not?' Kaboom.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe broken glass from the test tube is all over the room...my brother steps on a piece and while he's running around crying while I'm trying to get a drop of his blood on a microscope slide.
Thanks Mr Gilbert. Never realized how much you were part of our best childhood memories.
Much too young to have owned those pieces of kit, but when my generation got old enough to fiddle around with stuff was about the time when 8-bit home computing became affordable (I was born in '71). So while I haven't blown up test tubes or erected ferris wheels while listening to the radio I've spent quite a few hours of my childhood in front of the family TV, programming utility software and games. In the process I've learned about binary and hexadecimal and a plethora of other subjects, and it certainly motivated me to read a lot of English language literature since Danish literature on the subject was limited and sometimes hard to come by.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI'm sure the brighter ones among the kids of today will find ways to feed their brains. The golden age of home experimenting might be over, but where there's a will there's a way.
It's hard, but not impossible, to find such things today. I'm old enough to remember what little we could afford back in the 70s (insulation and plumbing were luxuries of the rich to us). Toy tractors made from wood, a Radio Shack electronics kit, later learning Morse code from my older brother the HAM, building a telescope tube from an old Edmund Scientific publication, then being too poor to get the mirrors and lenses....
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWait a minute. A much higher percentage of kids today are over weight, and suffer with ADD and ADHD. The landscape of TV and video games versus active learning activities has a lot to do with that. I won't even go into the differences in physical activity pass times.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisall five sets of grandkids has an erector set, the $99 one. One came from, Scientificonline.com which is Edmonds Scientific as well as the $150 house from Germany that explains energy. the other four came from A.C. Moore with 50% off coupons. Did you see Barnes & Noble book stores for Christmas? Shelves full of the various sets that Edmonds sells in their catalogue were available off the shelf. Chemistry for girls with the perfume set among other kits. All sorts of building sets are available, Lego has a robot set which is called Mindstorm for about $250. There is another one that is connected to your computer and ones you can control with the Wi Fi on your phone. These can move motors. Oh was I tempted to buy the fish that flys for the kids. Stop complaining and do the Santa thing for your relatives and the neighborhood rather than whine. Light that candle and spread learning - I do science, math and history books for Halloween rather than candy.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisForgot to add, not rich, just don't buy new clothes but every five or so years at Goodwill and cut my own hair. The car is used very sparingly and the week after Christmas is my black Friday as is July when the discount stores buy last years products from big stores like FAO (sp?) Schwartz.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAfew years ago there was a device that you added to your computer that acted like a microscope it put magnified pictures on the computer screen ... haven't seen one for quite a while .. are they still around ??
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe IntelPlay QX3? Yeah, you can still find them on certain auction websites. I'm not letting loose of mine under any circumstances. I may will it to one of my grandkids though... ;>)
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this10. Percival.......Thanks
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWhy in the world does one caption say, "fly wings®"?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisHow could "fly wings" be a Registered mark? The phrase is a description of something from nature. So how could it be protected?
Growing up in the '50s I had an Erector Set and a Gilbert #6 Chemistry Set. I also received a very nice metal microscope with three lenses but don't believe that was a Gilbert product. I also had several Heathkit projects to build, too.
Thank God I had parents who believed in science and math as well as music and the arts. I have built hundreds of custom-designed computers for individuals and clients. Since 1955 have been a photographer. So as the old saying goes, "As you sew, so shall you reap."
Terry Thomas
Atlanta, Georgia USA