Fran's Favorite Toy In History:

Mr. Wizard's Experiments In Electronics
1972

In 1977 I had a wish list, and on top of that list was a box that was gathering dust on the shelves of Allen's Variety Store that had my attention all summer.  It was far out of the price range of my measly 50¢ a week allowance, but on Christmas of that year it ended up under the tree.   This toy was better than cool.....  It was so awesome that it would actually determine the course of much of my life.  This toy made me into a scientist!

 This kit got a lot of use and many decades have passed, so sadly few of the modules remain.

 The kit was made up of modular blocks that each contained an electronic component, and the blocks were transparent so that you could also see the component inside.  These components could be electrically connected to adjacent modules by magnetic contact plates, which also made a ground connection to the stainless steel tray on which the modules were set.  On top of each module was the schematic representation of the component inside, with lead traces to the contact points on the module.  You could quite literally draw the schematic with the blocks, and then turn it on and see it work.  Genius!!!

A long-ago dismantled module with missing components - This toy had unleashed a scientist!  I had to know how it worked, inside and out.  Sometime around the time I was 12 I had moved on to more advanced kits, and Mr. Wizard ended up on the dissection table.  We were poor and doing experiments cost money - so I actually pilfered parts from this and other toys to make other projects through the late '70's.
 Here is the complete booklet with the experiments and schematics:

 
 
 

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