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 ^l)e educational Ualue ot Certain 
 
 ^f ter=^cftool 
 
 iWaterialsi anb ^ctibittesi in Science 
 
 BY 
 
 MORRIS ^MEISTER 
 
 Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree 
 
 of Doctor of Philosophy in the Faculty of Philosophy, 
 
 Columbia University. 
 
 NEW YORK 
 
 1921 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 
 in 2007 with funding from 
 
 IVIicrosoft Corporation 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/educationalvalueOOmeisrich 
 
THE EDUCATIONAL VALUE 
 
 of 
 CERTAIN AFTER-SCHOOL MATERIALS 
 
 and 
 
 ACTIVITIES IN SQENCE 
 
 BT 
 
 MORRIS MEISTER 
 
 
 Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the 'Degree 
 
 of Doctor of Philosophy in the Faculty of ^Philosophy, 
 
 Columbia University, 
 
 NEW YORK 
 
 /p2J 
 

 «KCHANQC 
 
 
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 
 
 TT is with a feeling of great gratitude that the author wishes to thank 
 his instructors and associates at Teachers College for the inspiration 
 and guidance which he has received from them. To Professor John F, 
 IVoodhull he owes the discovery of a life-interest. To Professors Thomas 
 H. Griggs, Otis W. Caldwell and IVilliam H. Kilpatrick he is indebted for 
 invaluable aid in gathering and organizing the material of this study. For 
 much of the data and experimental equipment, the author owes thanks to 
 ^r. A. C. Gilbert of the A. C Gilbert Co., Mr. J. P. Porteus of the Mec. 
 cano Co., and to Mr. H. M. Porter of the Porter Chemical Co. In the 
 experimental phases of the study the author could never have done with- 
 out the cooperation of 'Principal Henry C. Pearson of the Horace Mann 
 School and 'Principal Joseph K. ^anDenburgh of the Speyer Junior High 
 School. To SMr. Fred. F. Good, the author wishes to express thanks for 
 his patience and for his many valuable suggestions. 
 
 But above all the author wishes to acknowledge the great interest 
 and devotion of <SMiss Florence Glickstein whose intelligence and self-sacrifice 
 made possible the bringing of the work to a successful close. 
 
 M 
 
 452303 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 Chapter Tage 
 
 I Introduction - . - - - 1 
 
 II The Materials and Activities Listed and Described - 8 
 
 III Educational Propaganda of the Manufacturers - 63 
 
 IV Boy Reactions to After-School Materials in Science - 78 
 V Analysis of the Problem - - - _ - 98 
 
 VI The Procedure Used - - - ■ .107 
 
 VII Experimental Results and Data - • - 129 
 
 VIII Conclusions and Discussions - - - - 141 
 
 IX The Science Club and the Science Play Shop - 153 
 
 X Summary of the Important Features and 
 
 Findings of the Study - 172 
 
CHAPTER I 
 
 INTRODUCTION 
 
 Educational thought and investigation of the last ten or fifteen 
 years have been focusing the attention of teachers, supervisors, 
 educators, and the thinking public upon certain educative forces 
 that exist quite apart from the activities of the schoolroom. These 
 forces are sometimes so vital and so important in shaping the 
 life of the individual that the failure of the educational system 
 properly to guide and control them has brought upon it a consid- 
 erable portion of the criticism of recent years. Developments in 
 educational philosophy and psychology have been very emphatic 
 in pointing out that what our pupils do during every hour of the 
 twenty-four in the day — and of every day in the year — is a factor 
 making for education and therefore a legitimate consideration for 
 the school and teacher. Thus, we have begun to investigate such 
 questions as home-study, play, and nutrition. We have gone into 
 the home and made recommendations to parents in matters which 
 have hitherto been looked upon as belonging only to mother and 
 father. We have begun to lay stress upon student organizations 
 of all sorts ; seeking in them value in citizenship and habit for- 
 mation. Clubcraft, scoutcraft, and camping have become perti- 
 nent considerations for the educator and, what is more important, 
 for the teacher in the class room. And, as might be expected, 
 this newer element has had its influence upon our schools, their 
 organizations, curricula, courses of study, and methods of instruc- 
 tion. The concept that the school is not a place where we pre- 
 pare for a Hfe that is to come, but is an integral part of life itself, 
 must necessarily and in a very intimate way relate school proce- 
 dures with the vital factors of life. 
 
 In a sense, we are preparing our pupils for a future life in the 
 most effective way when we teach them to live better their pres- 
 ent lives. From considerations such as these, extra-curricular 
 activities have been deriving greater and greater importance. 
 Eventually the line of demarcation between the two phases of 
 
2 After-ScHool Material in Science 
 
 activity should fade completely. The school day may start at 9 
 and end at 3 ; but its influence will function at all times. And in 
 turn, methods of work, content, and organization within the four 
 walls of the school-room should take their quality and their inspi- 
 ration from the well-springs of enthusiasm so common to after- 
 school activity. 
 
 Needless to say, we are as yet far from so ideal a development. 
 To the pupil, out-of-school time has always been and still is the 
 period of freedom par excellence. We have perhaps progressed 
 beyond the point where he thinks of the school-room as an abode 
 of horrors, of the teacher as an ogre, and of books as instru- 
 ments of torture; but too often his real life is still essentially 
 distinct from the school. His greatest activity and his greatest 
 enthusiasm still center around the extra-curricular where are to 
 be found problems of his own choosing and ideas born of his 
 own inner urgings. 
 
 As for the teacher, he has been reacting to the extra-curricular 
 in many different ways. When seized by the immensity of some 
 teaching difficulty, he may storm at the "distracting influences" 
 which take "their minds off their subjects," or he may feel envi- 
 ous of these rivals to his efforts, or he may welcome them as 
 offering a "whip" with which to lash pupils into submission — 
 by laying punitive restrictions upon their after-school time. Or, 
 he may throw care to the winds, and enter whole-heartedly into 
 the extra-curricular plans of his boys. If he is one who reacts in 
 this last way, he almost always attains a popularity and a sphere 
 of influence that make teaching a joy. 
 
 The parent is perhaps the only one who is in a position fully 
 to appreciate the extra-curricular. Most of his problems as a 
 parent, a good deal of his worry, a goodly portion of the cost of 
 child support, and nearly all of his pleasure with his children are 
 tied up with the extra-curricular. If he be the unintelligent 
 parent, he welcomes such a procedure as will relieve him of his 
 problems. Time spent in school is so much less time for his boy 
 to get into mischief. If he be the thinking parent, he will make 
 the effort himself to reconcile for the boy the two distinct claims 
 upon the latter's time. Both types of parents are ready to 
 cooperate and to accept recommendations looking to a better 
 state of affairs. 
 
Introduction 3 
 
 And society is filled with individuals who look back upon these 
 two phases of their past lives with two quite distinct attitudes: 
 with censure, criticism, and unpleasantness for the one; and with 
 glowing recollections of time profitably spent for the other. It 
 is a very wide-spread reflection upon American college education 
 that it is essentially an extra-curricular training. In some col- 
 leges it is frequently a matter of disrepute to have devoted much 
 time to studies. The same condition holds for the high school 
 and in a different sense even for the elementary school. The 
 man of sixty who reviews his life and concludes that his real 
 education was what he got while in contact with the world of 
 actual experience is often paralleled by the high school or college 
 student who regards as his real schooling his experiences of out- 
 of-school life. "He has nine months in which to get his schooling 
 and three months in which to gain an education." 
 
 From every point of view possible, extra-curricular activities 
 loom up as immense factors of educational importance. In the 
 field of science there has always existed a body of materials and 
 experiences that were essentially tied up with life out of school. 
 Before the great industrial changes which brought to civilization 
 the "factory," and which herded our masses into congested cities, 
 the home was a center of industrial, social, and intellectual activ- 
 ity. In this activity were found a stimulus and an opportunity 
 for experiences of a physical, mechanical, and manipulatory 
 nature. This stimulus existing quite apart from the systematic 
 education of sixty or seventy years ago, nevertheless made one 
 cf the largest contributions to the intellectual development of the 
 individual of that day. As modern industrialism continued in its 
 growth, the home ceased to function in the old sense. Education 
 became more and more "curricular" and systematic, "squeezing 
 the educational juice" out of the home. 
 
 Charles W. Eliot in his paper on ".Changes Needed in Ameri- 
 can Secondary Education," comments upon this situation as 
 follows : 
 
 "If any one should ask — why has modern society got on as well as it 
 has, if the great majority of its members have had an inadequate training of 
 that sort, the answer is that some voluntary agencies and some influences 
 which take" strong effect on sections of the community have been at work 
 to mitigate the evil. Such are, for example, athletic sports, travel, the 
 use by city people of public parks and gardens, the practice of that alert 
 
4 After-School Material in Science 
 
 watchfulness which the risk of crowded thoroughfares and of the dan- 
 gerous industries compel, and the training of the senses which any man 
 who practices well a manual trade obtains on the way . . . The problem 
 now is how to make systematic secondary education support and better 
 these incidental influences, and how to co-ordinate sense-training with 
 accurate reasoning and retentive memorizing." 
 
 Clearly Dr. Eliot recognizes certain extra-curricular forces 
 which are supplying a need not met by the schools. In the last 
 ten or fifteen years another of these forces has come into exist- 
 ence, to make up for the lack of manipulatory, sense-experiences 
 that have followed the decadence of the home. A mass of science 
 play materials has invaded the apartment house. The boy spends 
 large portions of his time on them ; and the parent often stints 
 himself in order that his boy may have them. In the matter of 
 time expended, effort exerted, interest aroused, and thought pro- 
 voked, these materials and activities compare most favorably 
 with the subject matter and activities of the same boys in school. 
 
 In addition to being socially important and of vital interest to 
 the boy, these materials present problems to the parent and to the 
 science teacher. In the case of the former, there are matters 
 such as safety of the boy, safety to the household furnishings, 
 and interference with the comfort and rights of other members 
 of the family, that are to be carefully considered. Then, too, 
 which are the best things to buy among the countless articles 
 offered for sale as "educational toys?" Are the expensive toys 
 more valuable educationally? Are they really educational? May 
 they not over-stimulate? How often should new materials be 
 bought? What are the most efficient arrangements for the boy's 
 play room or shop? What tools shall he have? There are many 
 other questions which the writer has been called upon to answer 
 by parents of his boy pupils. 
 
 The science teacher too is affected by this activity which goes 
 on outside of his class room. Sometimes he uses it for his illus- 
 trations, sometimes he makes use of the apparatus, sometimes he 
 cautions against certain projects, and sometimes he opposes the 
 activity and rules against its worthwhileness. Though it must be 
 pointed out that this study does not attempt to treat or solve 
 problems in the teaching of science, it is hoped that any conclu- 
 sions which are arrived at will throw light upon these curricular 
 problems. These out-of-school materials affect the science teach- 
 
Introduction 5 
 
 er's problems in two ways. They cause a change in the reaction 
 that boys will make to the teacher's materials ; and thereby tend 
 to change his content, organization, and methods. Two instances 
 of such tendencies may be briefly discussed with profit. 
 
 There is no greater problem for framers of courses of study 
 than the proper selection of content. Even when basic principles 
 have been agreed upon, the task of choosing the details that are 
 to be taught is fraught with argument and indecision. Two con- 
 tending principles are in most cases the cause for this difficulty. 
 On the one hand we have the school of thought which lays maxi- 
 mum stress upon the items of ''racial experience" that are proved 
 and of long standing, irrespective of likes or dislikes of the 
 pupils. 'This is good for them !" On the other hand we have 
 the group of educators who lay maximum stress upon the inter- 
 est of the child as the starting point, and will include or exclude 
 each item in the course of study according as it meets or does 
 not meet the criterion of interest. A proper compromise between 
 these two points of view has been proposed by Dr. Kilpatrick in 
 which a weighting of three factors can be used as the criterion: 
 the frequency with which an item occurs in actual life, its signifi- 
 cance when it does occur, and the cost of instruction. But which- 
 ever criterion is used, our extra-curricular activities, in offering 
 the most effective selection of content on the basis of genuine 
 ii terest, perform a service for framers of courses of study which 
 is surely of great value. 
 
 Another immediate significance that these play materials have 
 for curricular work is in connection with laboratory procedure. 
 There is a growing dissatisfaction with our meaningless bits of 
 high school apparatus, the very quantitative procedure of measur- 
 ing useless objects for the sake of developing habits of accuracy 
 and the great stress upon performing experiments from rigidly 
 designed manuals which destroy the last bit of initiative in the 
 pupils. The dissatisfaction is not at all with quantitative pro- 
 cedures or with high ideals of accuracy of measurement, but with 
 the attempt to force these things upon pupils of an age and train- 
 ing which make impossible a proper appreciation. Here again 
 extra-curricular activities offer some valuable suggestions by pre- 
 senting a type of experimenting which possesses more character- 
 istics in common with the activities of great scientists (whatever 
 
6 After-School Material in Science 
 
 else they possess) than do our present-day laboratory courses in 
 the high school. 
 
 However, solution to curricular problems will not be the imme- 
 diate concern of this study. It will be quite sufficient if prin- 
 ciples and conclusions evolving from this investigation will make 
 for a better development of the mass of materials that is daily 
 irxreasing its sphere of influence. At the present time, stress of 
 business competition is evolving a science toy which has value in 
 terms of "number of sales." It is true that in the long run manu- 
 facturers of these toys and also science-motion-picture producers, 
 popular science magazine editors, etc., will, in their struggle for 
 existence, evolve a type of product which will '"survive." But 
 can educators accept as the sole criterion of survival the "number 
 of sales"? Ought not education to make this development of 
 after-school materials less feverish, less hit-or-miss, and more 
 definitely directed toward a worthy goal ? That, in a word, is the 
 primary aim of this investigation. Assuming that business com- 
 petition as it exists today is not conducive to altruistic aims, and 
 that we ought not to wait upon the slow process of evolution, the 
 writer attempts to analyze the problem that these activities raise 
 and establish certain principles and criteria. From these criteria 
 an evaluation will be attempted in terms of objective measure- 
 ment.* 
 
 As for a literature of the subject, almost nothing has been 
 found that deals with a problem that is even remotely akin to 
 this. Of course, there has been a flood of extra-curricular liter- 
 ature in the past few years, all of which might be used in sub- 
 stantiation of the point that these activities are significant and 
 important, but not to throw light on the educational values of the 
 specific activities that are the concern of this study. Then, too, 
 and in a general way, what has been written on such questions as 
 play, interest and effort, self-activity, purposeful activity, con- 
 crete vs. abstract, practical vs. cultural, play vs. work, etc., is all 
 
 *It might be in place here to state that the leading manufacturers of 
 science toys have all shown a keen interest in this aim. They have de- 
 voted days of their busy week to conferences with the writer. They have 
 very generously given of their materials for purposes of study and have 
 put their office staffs at the writer's disposal. More important still they 
 are ready to accept some of the findings of this investigation. 
 
Introduction 7 
 
 pertinent to this problem. But to my knowledge there has been 
 a total lack of experimentation or investigation in this particular 
 field.* Here and there in some current magazine, we read of 
 some teacher's experience with "science clubs," or of some teacher 
 of science whose hobby it has been to teach science by means of 
 toys. The important experiences of this sort and their contribu- 
 tions to the general problem will be dealt with in the course of 
 this paper. 
 
 *In the last few months the Mother's Magazine has been reporting regu- 
 larly on a series of experiments with educational toys in a public school 
 of Chicago. The aims, methods, and organization of the experiment are 
 all very vague. Each month the editor gets back a number of reports 
 from teachers as to how children have reacted, and these are printed 
 as informational material for mothers. 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 THE MATERIALS AND ACTIVITIES LISTED AND 
 DESCRIBED 
 
 The aim of this chapter is to set down and describe the materi- 
 als and activities which are the basis of this study. The writer 
 recognizes four large types of such materials and activities. 
 I. Toys 
 
 (a) Sets and Outfits 
 
 (b) Specific Toys 
 II. Reading Materials 
 
 III. Educational Agencies Involving Science Materials 
 
 IV. The Science Club 
 
 I. (a) The Toy Outfits 
 
 These outfits, of which there are at least forty different makes 
 and types sold to the American boy, group themselves roughly 
 into Mechanical, Electrical, and Chemical Sets, and Sets for Spe- 
 cial Purposes. 
 
 Of the Mechanical Sets three are worthy of mention : the 
 Meccano, the Erector, and the Structo. The original toy of 
 this type was the Meccano, first introduced in England in 1902 
 and later in most civilized countries of the world. The remark- 
 able success of the toy everywhere — as a commercial venture — 
 brought into the toy market in but a very short time as many as 
 thirty or forty imitations. Fortunately or unfortunately these 
 imitations were declared by the courts to be infringements of 
 patent rights ; so that our present product has evolved from the 
 experimentation of but one company. The Erector, an American 
 innovation, is sufficiently different from the Meccano to have 
 withstood legal attack; but the Structo, after several years of 
 active effort in the field, has been compelled by the courts to 
 withdraw as competitors of Meccano and Erector. 
 
 The history of the development of Meccano is typical of a 
 great many of these outfits, and is significant educationally. The 
 inventor is Frank Hornby of England. Bom at a time when the 
 possibilities of scientific inventions were beginning to grip the 
 
The Materials and Activities Listed and Described 9 
 
 minds of men, he spent his youth and early manhood in dreaming 
 of inventions and mechanical contrivances to do new and won- 
 derful things. Practically all of his efforts in that direction were 
 complete failures, but he carried with him into manhood an 
 appreciation for this great longing of the normal boy to manipu- 
 late, to experiment, to "make things go ;" so that when his own 
 two boys arrived, it was with keen understanding that he under- 
 took to satisfy their craving to do things. 
 
 The derrick has always proved a particularly fascinating object 
 for boys. Hornby conceived the idea of constructing a derrick 
 that would actually lift things, and which could be dismantled 
 and its parts used for other purposes when the boys got tired of 
 the derrick. The first project worked out to the satisfaction of 
 his two boys; it was but a simple step to build with the same 
 parts other objects of interest. Gradually the parts were stand- 
 ardized and perfected so as to be as interchangeable as possible. 
 The ingenuity of his boys and his own ability to play as a boy 
 soon developed an imposing array of different models — all built 
 out of strips of steel, accurately and uniformly perforated, fast- 
 ened by miniature brass nuts and bolts, and operated by real 
 gears, belts, and pulleys. 
 
 Dr. Hele-Shaw, professor of engineering at University Col- 
 lege, Liverpool, recognized the educational value of Hornby's 
 toy and assisted the latter in launching the venture commercially. 
 A good many of the original investors in the scheme were men 
 and women who were inspired by the Froebel doctrine and the 
 writings of Horace Mann, and who believed with Herbert Spen- 
 cer that "Invariably children show a strong tendency to make, 
 to build; a propensity which, if duly directed, will not only pre- 
 pare the way for scientific conceptions, but will develop these 
 powers of manipulation in which most people are so deficient." 
 
 Thus it is important to note that Meccano had its origin in 
 educational ideals. But as with hundreds of other attempts to 
 make money out of education, there soon arose difficulties. 
 Hornby's toy was sold under the title, "Hornby's System of 
 Mechanical Demonstration," in which he endeavored to provide 
 "an economical and yet very effective series of apparatus for 
 demonstrating the main elementary fundamentals of mechanics 
 and mechanical science." To quote further from his avowed 
 
10 After-School Material in Science 
 
 purposes, "The scheme is intended to cover the requirements of 
 the ordinary elementary schools; though it is by no means lim- 
 ited to such an application. The present models used in the 
 teaching of mechanical science are very costly. In such models 
 one piece of apparatus is employed to teach a given lesson, and 
 that one only; the consequence being that to cover anything like 
 a proper ground, the cost of the apparatus required is very 
 heavy. . . . Experimental models constructed from 'Hornby* 
 System parts will be found to be of quite as high a degree of 
 accuracy as apparatus costing many times as much. 
 Every care has been taken in designing these models to make 
 each one both simple in construction and effective as a demon- 
 stration of some important principle. . . . We need hardly 
 say that suggestions from teachers will be welcomed by us, and 
 are invited. . . . We have introduced three separate outfits 
 to meet the requirements of the three higher standards of ele- 
 n^entary day schools. 'A' section relates mainly to constructional 
 work, and is designed to bring out such ideas as bracing, girder 
 construction, the building up of roof-trusses, the joining of plates 
 and so on. *B' section embodies a series of movable parts in 
 engines, whilst 'C section is designed to afford scope for the 
 teaching of the elementary laws of mechanics." 
 
 And so Hornby begins his "Manual of Instructions" with a 
 series of simple elements. He has the boy make a "diagonal tie 
 bar for a frame ;" and when he can do that well, he allows him 
 to apply the "frame" to a "swinging gate." 
 
 He has him make an "angle bracket;" and when he has per- 
 fected himself in that exercise he can then apply it to a "simple 
 roof-truss" and a "girder." Then the boy makes a "rectangular 
 angle iron framing," after which he applies it to another unit 
 which "might be a braced tower." Following this, the boy is 
 asked to perfect himself in making a "trestle," an "H-girder," 
 "joining plates at right angles," making a "butt joint with a Tee 
 Iron," and making a "lap joint of plates." This completes Sec- 
 tion A. 
 
 In Section B, Hornby assumes an ability on the part of the boy 
 to manipulate all of the above units, and asks him to construct a 
 series of mechanical devices which involve to some extent the 
 units of Section A. Some of these devices are rather complicated 
 
The Materials and Activities Listed and Described 11 
 
 and difficult to construct. There are in all nine such models. 
 The pantograph, the open and crossed belt drives, the crank and 
 connecting rod, tracing a locus, quick-return motion, a beam- 
 engine, a centrifugal, governor, a universal crosshead, and a 
 Hookes' Coupling. His dominant idea seems to be to teach the 
 boy certain important mechanical actions, so that when he meets 
 with these actions in actual engines he will appreciate and under- 
 stand them. 
 
 In Section C he points out to the teacher the applicability of 
 Meccano parts to the traditional type of physics experiment. He 
 very ingeniously illustrates different types of pulley arrangements, 
 block and tackle arrangements, the wheel and axle, a train of 
 gears, a worm gear, the lever, the bell crank, the triangle of 
 forces, the forces acting in a crane, in a roof-truss and in a cross 
 head, and the inclined plane. 
 
 It is not necessary to dwell at great length on the merits of the 
 "Hornby System." The greatest criticism and the most severe 
 that Hornby could have received came from the boys of Eng- 
 land. They wouldn't play with his toy. It wasn't a toy. He so 
 completely bound up their inner urgings with his rigid proce- 
 dure, he left so little for them to do, he took away from them 
 so completely the possibility to experiment, that Meccano lost 
 its appeal. It took Hornby about five years to realize that in his 
 anxiety to prove that his device was "educational" he had robbed 
 it of the spirit which had given him the original inspiration. In 
 the parlance of our men of business, the Hornby System did not 
 "pan out." It didn't attract. It was too "educational" to edu- 
 cate. 
 
 Hornby, however, persisted. Some of our modern educational 
 theorists might have told him that teaching through play was an 
 abuse of play,* or that he was using play as a means to an end, 
 when play should be an end in itself,** or that his procedure was 
 from general principle to application where it should be the 
 reverse. His own analysis of the difficulty was put in this form : 
 "The boy must have fun; if he learns anything in the process, 
 so much the better." Since 1907 the Hornby System has been 
 
 *J. C. Merriam, Child Life and the Curriculum. 
 **John Dewey. 
 
12 After-School Material in Science 
 
 virtually extinct. In its place has come the toy that millions of 
 boys the world over play with. 
 
 Let us contrast with the quotations cited before from the 
 Hornby System Manual the following excerpts from the later 
 series of Meccano Instruction Books : 
 
 "Meccano Land — The Land of Happy Boys'* 
 
 "Have you ever heard of the wonderful new country where 
 nearly all the inhabitants are boys — ^millions of them, the happy 
 land where all is sunshine and joy . . . where all the inhabi- 
 tants crowd the fleeting hours with enjoyment and fun? 
 
 "The young ones are amusing themselves among miniature 
 cranes and bridges; wagons and windmills; trucks and towers — 
 exquisite little engineering models, which they have built and set 
 to work for themselves. The older ones are building and play- 
 ing with great structures, real giant cranes, big bridges, ingenious 
 looms for real weaving, clocks which keep time, automobiles 
 which actually run; while the thoughtful and serious boys are 
 busily engaged in inventing and creating new and ingenious mod- 
 els and movements for themselves. 
 
 "This happy country is called Meccano Land, and boys from 
 every country in the world live there. Meccano language is the 
 universal boy language, and all the inhabitants understand and 
 speak it. . . . Many boys have lived in Meccano Land for ten 
 years, and the longer they live there the happier they are. Every 
 day boys are crowding into the country eager to participate in its 
 wonders. They know they are going to have the time of their 
 lives; more fun than they ever had before — healthy boys' fun; 
 fun which will make them glad to be alive; fun which will 
 strengthen their characters; set their brains working, and teach 
 them something which will make them into big and successful 
 men." 
 
 And then, in a somewhat calmer, more subdued tone, and evi- 
 dently directed at the adult, parent or teacher, "Meccano is sold 
 as a children's toy, to give them fun, interest them, and instruct 
 them in the fascinating wonders of engineering, hut every day 
 sees a fresh use for it. Engineers and architects use it for 
 designing models and inventing movements. Professors and 
 teachers in technical schools use it to demonstrate mechanical 
 
The Materials and Activities Listed and Described 13 
 
 principles to their students. We have received enthusiastic let- 
 ters from inventors who have designed practical commercial 
 machines with Meccano parts for weaving and other purposes. 
 It is largely used in institutions for the blind for teaching patients, 
 and in very many children's hospitals." 
 
 It is hard to say whether Hornby's efforts to surround his toy 
 with "dignity" have been of use to him either to increase the 
 number of sales or to command the respect of educators. This 
 much is certain — that the Meccano Company has been convinced 
 through bitter experience that the fun element is by far the domi- 
 nant contribution of Meccano. And for purposes of this study 
 it is just as certain that we must evaluate Meccano as it func- 
 tions in the life of the boy. 
 
 Meccano as it is sold at the present time consists of about fifty 
 or sixty standardized parts. The materials are in the main of 
 good quality iron and brass. As shown in the accompanying 
 illustrations,* the parts are small and simple. The interchange- 
 ability of parts is truly the most ingenious feature of the device. 
 
 It is impossible to describe in words the endless variety of uses 
 to which each part can be put. Only one who has built with 
 these parts can appreciate the flexibility of the toy. There are 
 other features about these parts which are worthy of mention 
 from a mechanical standpoint. 
 
 1. The strength and elasticity of the parts make for good 
 service and permanency. 
 
 2. In the main, each part is very definitely modeled after the 
 same part as it functions in real life. 
 
 3. The holes are of uniform diameter and are accurately 
 spaced; so that the boy is not handicapped unnecessarily 
 by fortuitous difficulties. 
 
 4. The odd number of holes in each perforated strip make 
 possible a great many balanced structures. 
 
 5. The spring motor and the electric motor are efficient 
 mechanisms which stand up well in service. 
 
 The boy can buy a Meccano Outfit (No. 00) for $1.00. He 
 can buy No. OOA for 50^ and turn his No. 00 into No. 0. He 
 can buy No. OA for $1.50 and turn his No. to a No. 1. No. lA 
 
 *The illustrations have been omitted in this edition. 
 
14 
 
 After-School Maierial in Science 
 
 for $3.00 will turn his No. 1 into a No. 2. And in this way, 
 after a few years, he can own the most complete outfit — No. 6 — 
 which costs about $40.00. In the following table the possibilities 
 of each of these sets are listed : 
 
 Set 
 umber 
 
 No. of 
 Different Parts 
 
 Total No. 
 of Parts 
 
 Minimum No. 
 of Models 
 That Can 
 Be Built 
 
 
 
 
 22 
 15 
 
 28 
 15 
 
 35 
 21 
 
 44 
 28 
 
 51 
 21 
 
 55 
 42 
 
 60 
 
 28 
 
 70 
 
 76 
 
 126 
 
 136 
 
 596 
 
 78 
 105 
 175 
 251 
 377 
 513 
 1109 
 
 80 
 
 OA 
 
 1 
 
 
 105 
 
 lA 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 151 
 
 2A 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 106 
 
 3A 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 247 
 
 4 A 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 277 
 
 5A 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 325 
 
 Inventors' 
 
 Outfits 
 
 
 The "minimum number of models" listed above represent a 
 bare minimum. Periodically the company has issued new man- 
 uals of instruction to supplement the original ones given with the 
 various sets ; so that one can safely double the number here given 
 in order to get an idea of the mass of constructive material that 
 the company makes available to the boy. In the past four years 
 the writer has recorded no fewer than 260 models, not found in 
 the manuals and built by about 174 boys. It is to be noted also 
 that the models presented with the more advanced sets are pro- 
 portionately fewer, but mechanically far more difficult and com- 
 plex. 
 
 In a later chapter the manner in which these constructions 
 were collated will be fully discussed. It will be found that these 
 models came originally, like the writer's 260, from the efforts of 
 boys themselves. Hence an analysis of the types of models be- 
 comes significant, since it is indicative of certain interests and 
 tendencies. 
 
The Materials and Activities Listed and Described 15 
 
 For the first five outfits the models group themselves as fol- 
 lows: 
 
 Type. Number. Per Cent. 
 
 1. Vehicles 55 202 
 
 2. Drills, Presses, Lathes 26 9.6 
 
 3. Cranes and Derricks 25 92 
 
 4. See Saws and other ''games" ... 24 9.0 
 
 5. Furniture 17 6.2 
 
 6. Ploughs and other farm tools . . 14 5.1 
 
 7. Bridges 9 3.3 
 
 8. Windmills 7 2.6 
 
 9. Railway signals 7 2.6 
 
 10. Weighing Scales 7. .^ 2.6 
 
 11. Guns and Implements of War . . 7 2.6 
 
 12. Aeroplanes 6 22 
 
 13. Ladders 6 .^ 22 
 
 14. Circular Saws 5 1.8 
 
 15. Railway Systems 3 1.1 
 
 16. Lawn mowers 3 1.1 
 
 17. Elevator 3 1.1 
 
 18. Distance Indicators 3 1.1 
 
 19. Miscellaneous Items 45 16.0 
 
 (occurring no of tener than twice) 
 
 272 99.8 
 
 The most striking fact about the above figures is that there 
 does not seem to be any well-marked tendency in favor of one 
 type of construction. Even in the case of the "Vehicles," the 
 comparatively large percentage of 20,2 would dwindle to an insig- 
 nificant amount if we made but a slight efifort to distinguish be- 
 tween different types of vehicles. Included in this category are 
 models ranging from baby-carriages to locomotives. The same 
 might be said of ^'Drills, Presses and Lathes,'* and of "Derricks" 
 and of "Games." These figures are borne out by the addition of 
 hundreds of new models in the past few years. It is most cer- 
 tainly true of the writer's own 260 "original" models. In other 
 words, the interest which furnishes the child with motive power 
 to manipulate and construct does not tie itself too closely to any 
 environmental material in particular; but rather seeks an outlet 
 in diverse paths. 
 
 Another rather general conclusion regarding these models is 
 
16 After-School Material in Science 
 
 that by far the greatest portion of them involve the element of 
 motion. The static model is unpopular and infrequent. Usu- 
 ally this element of motion is bound up with the usefulness of 
 the model. The most popular models are the ones that accom- 
 plish a useful purpose and involve moving parts. In this con- 
 nection the spring motor and the electric motor become indis- 
 pensable. 
 
 The Erector Set is an American product and practically the 
 only competitor of Meccano. The inventor, A. C. Gilbert, is a 
 Yale graduate, who launched his idea as a business venture when 
 still a student in college. It was brought prominently into the 
 market at approximately the same time that Hornby gave up his 
 "System of Mechanical Demonstration" and launched the later 
 development of Meccano previously described. It might be of 
 interest to trace as we did with Meccano the origin of this device, 
 its development, especially in so far as it relates to ideals of edu- 
 cation. The following are excerpts from letters and other writ- 
 ings of A. C. Gilbert : 
 
 "Three things always interested me — Athletics, Sleight-of- 
 Hand, and Scientific experiments. Outside of my school work, 
 athletics claimed the major part of my time, but a good share 
 was left to learn the secrets of scientific things. This hobby 
 which I had had ever since I was a boy helped me in two ways: 
 first, it helped me earn my way through college, and second, it 
 helped me bring science down to a boy's understanding. The 
 first money I ever made was by giving magic entertainments to 
 private audiences, and while entertaining one of these audiences 
 in this way the thought occurred to me that if these same tricks 
 I was doing could be put up so that boys would understand them 
 easily, they would have a splendid sale. ... It was not long 
 before Mysto Magic Sets were known pretty familiarly all over 
 the country. 
 
 "Manufacturing and selling just magic toys did not satisfy me. 
 I had always felt that toys, besides giving a great amount of fun 
 and enjoyment, also had a big influence on the character of a boy 
 and that they should be considered of great importance by par- 
 ents. I realized that as a boy I always had a longing to know 
 more about the secrets of nature and to experiment along scien- 
 tific lines. So I conceived the idea of manufacturing toys of a 
 
The Materials and Activities Listed and Described 17 
 
 character and kind that had been such a hobby with me as a boy — 
 real engineering toys." 
 
 There is no doubt at all that the growth of Erector was as 
 phenomenal as that of Meccano. In six years the Gilbert plant 
 has grown from a wooden shanty to a modern factory covering 
 acres of ground. Whether because of Hornby's experience or 
 convictions of his own, Gilbert has never strenuously attempted 
 to surround his toy with the ''dignity" of the school-room. On 
 the other hand, he very clearly recognizes larger ideals for his 
 product than mere money-making. Again and again he makes 
 the statement that "Toys can be made more than mere playthings 
 — ^they could be made to mean something to the boy and his 
 parents," and that he "has therefore continued to bring out many 
 engineering toys of the kind and character that will hold the 
 boys' interest because they are full of intensely interesting things 
 and because they provide fun and amusement." 
 
 As it is sold at the present time, Erector consists of sixty dif- 
 ferent parts. The standardization and interchangeability of parts 
 has not been carried to as high a point of development as has the 
 Meccano ; but there is nothing inherent in the device which should 
 prevent such development. The material is of a cheaper grade of 
 iron than Meccano, with not as fine a finish. Instead of per- 
 forated strips, the unit of construction is in this case a girder 
 type of strip that can fasten at the ends only, by means of a 
 slip-joint or angle iron held by a nut and bolt. This girder strip 
 is wider than Meccano and permits more easily of the building 
 of four-sided columns or pillars; or even three-cornered and 
 diamond-shaped posts. The flexibility of Erector and the possi- 
 bilities for original construction are extremely large, though not 
 quite up to the mark of Meccano. 
 
 Erector is sold in eight sets. The Manuals of Instruction 
 given with each set are fully illustrated and offer a wealth of 
 constructive material for each set. Again the number of models 
 offered does not quite equal the number offered by Meccano. 
 This, however, does not prove a serious handicap. Erector sells 
 individual parts in any quantity, but does not grade its sets, so 
 that a boy cannot feel that he can gradually buy enough material 
 to turn his set of a year ago into the most complete set sold by the 
 
18 After-School Material in Science 
 
 company. This does impose a hardship and is a decided disad- 
 vantage. 
 
 Several interesting points educationally come to light from an 
 analysis of the Erector Manual. On the very first page, the boy 
 is cautioned as follows: "Before attempting to build any mod- 
 els go through the exercise of building each standard detail. This 
 is the most important recommendation we have to make. You 
 will not be successful as a model builder unless you follow these 
 fundamental instructions implicitly." Then, by means of illus- 
 trated cuts, thirty-five elementary exercises are described. In 
 some cases detailed word descriptions are given, designed to help 
 the boy build. For example, "To construct a square girder: 
 Commence by placing a long screw through one or both ends of 
 two girders, as in A, then separating the two take another girder, 
 pushing it down into the grooves or channels as in B. Having 
 assembled the three sides, take the fourth girder and likewise 
 insert it into the grooves, as in C, and slide it down until the two 
 are flush; which makes you a square column girder as in D." 
 
 Among the thirty-five elementary constructions are many which 
 remind one of the Hornby System. The boy is told before doing 
 anything at all to make a lap-joint, a right-angle connection, an 
 acute connection, a connection for branch girders, a cross-con- 
 nection using screw, nut and washer, a four-way girder connec- 
 tion, eccentric motion, and interchangeable gear-box, a five-way 
 connection, a double pulley connection, a six-way girder-corner, 
 a brake mechanism, etc., etc. 
 
 Having been drilled in the elements, he can then proceed to do 
 what he enjoys. There is a diflFerence between Hornby's "ele- 
 ments" and Gilbert's. The former were fewer in number and 
 truer to actual machinery. The latter to a great extent are pecu- 
 liar to the inherent characteristics of Erector and are not dupli- 
 cated very often in actual life. The reaction of the boy to these 
 preliminaries, before he can actually build, varies with the boy. 
 Some will tire very easily and will jump into actual construction 
 at once. Gilbert seems to realize that this tendency exists among 
 boys and attempts to head the boy off by repeated warnings 
 throughout the manual. Thus, on page three : "Warning-' You 
 must not proceed with your models until you have worked out 
 all the standard details on pages 1 and 2 ; even if you are an old 
 
The Materials and Activities Listed and Described 19 
 
 Gilbert Model Builder. I find myself, after having built thou- 
 sands of models, that I frequently refer to the Standard Details 
 for reference and help." And again, a little later on: "The 
 square girder and the triangular girder are the fundamentals of 
 real structural steel engineering. You simply must practice this 
 until you can do it simply and easily. The boy who cannot do 
 this will never become a Gilbert Engineer." Still later on, with 
 more complicated models, he sounds another warning, and this 
 time adds a new note: ''Patience. This will require some pa- 
 tience, but you will not regret it; and you will enjoy your Erector 
 a good deal more by so doing." My experience has been that 
 the boy as a rule does not heed these warnings. There always are 
 a few who faithfully and painstakingly subject themselves to 
 Gilbert's training ; but they are never the brilliant builders. There 
 are, however, a very considerable number who will refer to the 
 Standard Details when they are "stumped." As a reference to 
 be looked up when needed, Gilbert's elementary exercises are a 
 valuable asset; but his toy suffers from this unavoidable compli- 
 cation. 
 
 Another interesting feature of the Erector Manual is the at- 
 tempt to lead the boy gradually to the point where he will build 
 his own original models. Under the caption of Imagination, the 
 manual tells the boy that "Nothing but illustrations are shown 
 in these models; because we wish to encourage imagination and 
 resourcefulness and to help you later on in creating your own 
 models." As in the case of the admonishings to practice and to 
 be patient, the boy misses the point completely. As a matter of 
 fact, one boy out of five ever constructs a model exactly as he 
 sees it in the picture; the other four just naturally ignore the 
 illustration and alter it in many small ways. Often (this will be 
 discussed more fully in a later chapter) a boy when half way 
 through with a model will be inspired to alter completely his orig- 
 inal plans or design and fashion out of the beginning given him 
 by the manual an entirely new creation. Furthermore, this is 
 just as likely to happen with a boy playing with Erector the first 
 time as with a boy who has had Erector for a year. 
 
20 After-School Material in Science 
 
 For the first six outfits the Erector models group themselves as 
 follows : 
 
 Type. Number. Per Cent. 
 
 1. Vehicles 23 21.9 
 
 2. Drill Presses & Lathes 10 .^ 9.5 
 
 3. Furniture 10 9.5 
 
 4. Windmills 6 , 9.5 
 
 5. Games 6 5.7 
 
 6. Cranes & Derricks 5 4.8 
 
 7. Aeroplanes 5 4.8 
 
 8. Boats 5 4.8 
 
 9. Railroads 3 2.9 
 
 10. Gear Arrangements 3 ,. 2.9 
 
 11. Railroad Signals 2 1.9 
 
 12. Washing Machines 2 1.9 
 
 13. Pumps 2 1.9 
 
 14. Lighthouses 2 1.9 
 
 15. Bridges 2 1.9 
 
 16. Telescopes 2 1.9 
 
 17. Miscellaneous Items 17 162 
 
 (occurring no oftener than once) 
 
 105 100.1 
 
 A comparison with the similar table for Meccano bears out our 
 conclusion as to the wide scope of this type of interest. Note also 
 that approximately the same types of models head the list in both 
 Meccano and Erector. This is especially interesting when we 
 realize that the Meccano models have in the main evolved from 
 the activities of the English boy — and the Erector models from 
 those of the American. Too much importance, however, should 
 not be placed upon this, as there is no way of knowing the extent 
 to which the Erector has copied consciously or unconsciously 
 from Meccano and vice versa. Although the writer's 260 models 
 agree closely with the figures of the two tables here given, it is 
 just as true that the boys under observation have been known to 
 take their inspiration from what they found in the manuals. A 
 similar analysis of the Structo Manual shows roughly the same 
 figures. 
 
The Materials and Activities Listed and Described 21 
 
 One further feature of Erector is worthy of mention. When- 
 ever, in presenting a new model, Gilbert finds it necessary to 
 introduce a new and important part, the manual at once becomes 
 an elementary text attempting to teach the new principles in- 
 volved. Thus, when he introduces the electric motor, he also 
 offers an explanation of why the motor turns, several wiring 
 diagrams and a simple discussion of volts and amperes. He fol- 
 lows an identical procedure when he finds need to introduce the 
 rheostat, the gear-box, the reversible switch and the transformer. 
 This text-book feature of the manual functions to a greater 
 extent than any of the other teaching devices in Erector; and 
 chiefly because of the strategic places which this material occu- 
 pies. Just as the boy wishes to automatize a model, the electric 
 motor is offered him; and of course he reads the explanatory 
 material that goes with it. The text, however, is not always clear 
 or readable ; and so leaves much to be desired. 
 
 As regards the Structo toy, there is not much of value that 
 can be had from as close a study or analysis as has been made of 
 Meccano and Erector. It is perfectly obvious that the toy has 
 no further contribution to make, resembling very closely the Mec- 
 cano. The only part of its business which has not been affected 
 by the decision of the courts is the manufacture of wheels and 
 gears of rather substantial quality. These they put out in all 
 sorts of dissectible "go-carts," "push-mobiles," and "scooters" 
 which do not fall legitimately within the scope of this study. 
 
 Another important and rather popular type of "toy outfit" is 
 the Chemical Set. Of these, three prominent types will be dis- 
 cussed : The Gilbert Chemistry Outfit, the Porter Chemcraft Set, 
 and the St. John Fun with Chemistry. 
 
 History and Development of Gilbert Chemistry Outfit 
 Originally this set was sold as a "Mysto Magic" Outfit. At 
 least, it was the "magic" trade that suggested the idea. Gilbert 
 realized very early in his experience that boys and adults for that 
 matter enjoy the mysterious ; but he learned also that to explain 
 the mysterious and bring it within the realm of human under- 
 standing in no way detracted from the enjoyment. In fact it 
 enhanced the pleasure and made this sort of play more appealing. 
 Psychologically, this idea is of course sound. Vaudeville per- 
 formers have long made use of this psychological fact when they 
 
22 After-School Material in Science 
 
 do some puzzling, impossible stunt and then let the audience in on 
 the secret. There is usually a laugh, loud applause and quite a 
 general feeling of satisfaction. The magician who attempts to 
 impress an audience with his super-natural powers, is more apt 
 to succeed in classifying himself as a fake, a charlatan, and in 
 eliciting from his audience a host of widely varying reactions in 
 which quite unworthy methods and motives are attributed to him. 
 In other words, to every situation there always is some response. 
 And as Thorndike puts it, "When any conduction unit is in readi- 
 ness to conduct, for it to do so is satisfying, for it not to do so 
 is annoying." Educationally, the response to a situation which 
 involves satisfaction is the response which will tend to be tied 
 permanently to that situation. In the case of our Chemical Magic, 
 explanations in terms of the laws of chemistry offer a response 
 to a puzzling situation far more satisfying and therefore more 
 educational than the response of being left just mystified. 
 
 The evolution of.Mysto Magic into a Chemistry Outfit immedi- 
 ately produced a larger market and a more popular appeal. In 
 1917 Gilbert issued his first definite effort to "bring chemical 
 science down to the level of the boy's understanding." Although 
 it made its appeal to the fun or play motive it was certainly an 
 advance beyond the collection of magic stunts which preceded it. 
 It is interesting to note that in this later development and in 
 others that followed, Mr. Gilbert has called in experts in the field 
 to assist him with their technical knowledge. In this particular 
 case a research chemist with a PhD from Yale is responsible for 
 the presentation of Chemical laws and facts. Other experts on 
 Gilbert's staff are a radio operator with a degree from Columbia 
 University, an engineer with experience from the General Electric 
 Company, a Worcester Polytechnic graduate, a former mechanic 
 of the Fire Alarm and Telegraph Company, a master mechanic 
 from the Sargent Lock Company, an experimental engineer from 
 the Wireless Division of the United States Army, an official of 
 the Hoyt Electrical Company, and Mr. Gilbert himself who is 
 an M.D. 
 
 Educational Aims of the Gilbert Chemistry Outfit 
 
 To understand the aims and purposes of the Company it is 
 perhaps best to quote from the Manual : 
 
The Materials and Activities Listed and Described 23 
 
 ''Chemistry is, without doubt, the most important of the sciences, 
 but it far outranks them, towering above them like a giant. The 
 reason for this is because of the close relation of Chemistry to our 
 every-day life. Look about you — every object you see has some 
 Chemistry involved in its history. The manufacture of some 
 articles depends entirely upon Chemistry; the manufacture of 
 others only partly. The ink you write with, the soap you wash 
 with, the food you eat; all are in some way or other interlinked 
 with chemistry. Every day wonderful new industries are spring- 
 ing up, built purely upon some Chemical discovery. 
 
 ''It is difficult to realize exactly how widespread Chemistry is, 
 since it is so broad that it now includes what once were separate 
 sciences. We all know of the part it has played in the European 
 war. Indeed it has been stated that Chemistry is the great 
 weapon of the conflict. We have read of the use of liquid fire, 
 poisonous gases, high explosives — all of these come within the 
 realm of Chemistry. . . . There was a time when Chemistry 
 was regarded as akin to sorcery. It was suppsoed that all chem- 
 icals were deadly poisons, that every chemical reaction resulted 
 in an explosion. The men who practiced chemistry had to do so 
 in secret, because they were regarded by the people with super- 
 stition and dread as related to the devil. . . . To-day, matters 
 are entirely altered. There is no need for secrecy. The Chemist 
 is looked upon with respect and there is a general desire to know 
 more about Chemistry. 
 
 ''To satisfy in part this thirst for chemical knowledge and to 
 afford the extreme pleasure derived from, the performance of the 
 entrancing experiments is the purpose of this chemical outfit. 
 
 "We have aimed to make the subject alive, real and amusing by 
 taking for Chemical explanation the things one sees and uses 
 every day of his life. There is no age limit for this outfit. For 
 the child — because he is intensely interested and derives real 
 pleasure from it — it is a toy. For the grown-up — who realizes 
 the value of the information herein — it is an instructive pastime." 
 
 As a statement of aim the above compares very favoraWy with 
 recent thought among leaders in science teaching. The outfit aims 
 to deal with environmental chemistry and to make its appeal to 
 the genuine interest of the child. 
 
24 After-School Material in Science 
 
 Materials, Activities and Methods of the Gilbert Chemistry Outfit. 
 
 The Manual opens with a set of "general directions," covering 
 five important points : Measuring chemicals, dissolving chemicals, 
 using test tubes, heating, and some notes on care of apparatus. 
 Chemicals are measured in an exceedingly rough way. One 
 measure of any dry chemical is defined as ''as much as the small 
 flat end of a spoon will hold after lightly tapping it." The success 
 of experiments is, however, very seldom dependent upon a more 
 accurate measurement of proportions. Heating of chemicals is 
 done by means of a candle flame, and is not always satisfactory. 
 Another "general direction" that reminds one very much of the 
 Erector method is this: "It is further suggested that it would 
 be a good idea to read the entire manual before attempting to do 
 any experiments. If this is done you will find many points clearer 
 and mistakes less frequent." One boy in twenty will make an 
 attempt even to follow out this direction. 
 
 To do the 75 experiments suggested by the manual, the outfit 
 provides small quantities of about 40 different chemicals, a candle, 
 some filter paper, rubber stoppers, glass tubing, glass funnel, 
 mortar and pestle, measuring spoon, a test tube brush and some 
 test tubes — all contained in a box of not over 300 cubic inches in 
 volume. In the most recent chemical outfit (to be described later) 
 the list of materials are supplied in a box of not over 600 cubic 
 inches. They enable a boy to perform 453 different experiments. 
 
 It is interesting to note that a list of 75 chemicals, appended to 
 Williams and Whitman's, Laboratory Exercises in General Chem- 
 istry contains 50 of the chemicals supplied in the Gilbert Chemistry 
 Outfit. The chemistry laboratory manual referred to is a typical 
 high school laboratory guide. 
 
 As for the experiments themselves, they are of two different 
 types. By far the major portion of them (62 out of 77) are 
 devoted to a series of practical exercises more or less appealing 
 to the boy. The other fifteen are especially adapted to Magical 
 Entertainments and are probably the remnants of the old Mysto 
 Magic. 
 
 The following are excerpts from the "Table of Contents" : 
 General Directions. 
 The Chemical Wet Electric Cell. 
 
 How and why it generates current. 
 
The Materials and Activities Listed and Described 25 
 
 Electro-plating. 
 
 How to give an object a coating of metallic nickel and 
 copper. 
 How to Make a Duplicate of your Medal. 
 
 Process of Electrotyping. 
 How to Etch Electrically Upon Copper. 
 How to Petrify the Baby's Shoe. 
 The Lemon Electric Cell. 
 The Filter Funnel and Filter Paper. How to Use Them. 
 
 Making a Precipitate. 
 Testing for Acids and Bases. 
 
 (a) With Litmus. 
 
 (b) With Phenolphthalein. 
 
 Beautifully Colored Precipitates with Phenolphthalein. 
 
 Testing for Metals by Their Flame Colors. 
 
 How to Fire Proof Cloth and Wood. 
 
 Making Chemical Soap Bubbles. 
 
 The Standard Peroxide Test. 
 
 Inserting an Egg into a Bottle by Softening the Shell. 
 
 How to Start a Fire Chemically. 
 
 Experiments in Crystallization. 
 
 (a) Making Frosted Glass. 
 
 (b) How Rock Candy is Made. 
 
 (c) Nickel Crystals. 
 Make Your Own Ink. 
 
 Disappearing Ink and Why It Disappears. 
 
 What is India Ink? 
 
 Black Sympathetic Ink. 
 
 Lovers' Ink. 
 
 How to Make a Weather Barometer. 
 
 Baking Powder. 
 
 Making Coke from Soft Coal. 
 
 Making Illuminating Gas. 
 
 Chemistry of the Gas Flame. Tapping a Flame. 
 
 How to Make an Acid from Wood. 
 
 (a) Application to Food Smoking Industry. 
 
 (b) How Charcoal is Made. 
 Carbon — How Diamonds Are Made. 
 
 Graphite. 
 
26 After-School Material in Science 
 
 Hard and Soft Water. 
 
 How to Make Your Own Soap. 
 
 Chemical Plants. 
 
 Manufacture of Soap, Powder and Shaving Cream. 
 
 How Glass is Made. 
 
 Rust — How It Forms. 
 
 How to Bend a Glass Tube. 
 
 Explanation of the Hand Fire Extinguisher. 
 
 Chemistry of Photography. 
 
 Why Silver Tarnishes and How to Remove the Tarnish. 
 
 The Incandescent Gas Lamp. 
 
 The Electric Lamp. 
 
 Manufacture of White Lead. 
 
 Iodine. 
 
 Vinegar. 
 
 How Leather is Made. 
 
 Paraffin— What It Is. 
 
 Helping Hints for Your Laboratory. 
 
 Definitions of Chemical Terms. 
 
 MAGIC PROGRAM— WITH PATTER TALK 
 
 Change Wine to Water by Passing Hand Over Glass. 
 
 Pour Wine from a Glass Pitcher of Water. 
 
 Pour Milk from a Milk Bottle Full of Water. 
 
 Change Blue Paper to Pink in Your Hand. 
 
 Blow the Color from a Blue Handkerchief. 
 
 Blow Chalk into Water with Your Breath. 
 
 Second-sight. An Amazing Exhibition of Mind Reading. 
 
 Write Black with Water. 
 As can be seen from the above there does not seem to be any 
 definite attempt to marshal this wealth of chemical knowledge 
 under the laws of chemistry or even under a few large categories. 
 It might be said that in the main the organization is psychological 
 rather than logical, were it not for the fact that the organization 
 does not lead on to any larger conceptions. The "definitions of 
 chemical terms" coming at the end of the manual, are a mere 
 glossary designed to enlighten the boy as to certain technical 
 terms. To it the boy seldom refers. 
 
 The purpose then of the manual is to introduce the boy to a 
 host of experiences, more or less important and not at all con- 
 
The Materials and Activities Listed and Described 27 
 
 nected one with another. With each exercise is offered a text. 
 Thus, after a description of how one is to go about assembling, 
 testing and using the wet cell, there are found some paragraphs 
 headed, "How The Wet Cell Works," "Chemical Action of the 
 Wet Cell," "Local Action and How to Prevent It," and "Polariza- 
 tion." To the directions for Electrotyping are appended para- 
 graphs on "What it is," "How It Worked," and "Chemical Ex- 
 planation." "Testing for Acids and Bases" is a presentation of 
 the chemical differences between these two types of substances, 
 interspersed with a manipulation or two, somewhat after the 
 fashion of a high school chemistry text. And so on throughout 
 the manual. As if realizing that this descriptive matter made 
 rather "deep and heavy" reading for most boys, Gilbert has 
 scattered throughout a trick stunt or two, to relieve the tension. 
 
 "To make chemical soap bubbles," "To insert an tgg into a 
 bottle," and "Lovers' Ink" are a few typical instances. Occasion- 
 ally Gilbert forsakes the definite effort to "teach" and launches 
 forth into a series of experiments that differ very little from the 
 usual type of recipe book. Taken altogether the manual is a 
 conglomerate mass, now simulating a logical presentation, now 
 making a play for the interest of the boy — and not succeeding 
 entirely in either attempt. 
 
 Nevertheless, the manual presents and makes possible a set of 
 novel activities, isolated though they be, that are important in the 
 boy's environment. How he takes advantage of these possibilities 
 and how he reacts to the organization or lack of organization of 
 the manual will be described in a later chapter. 
 
 The Gilbert Chemistry Outfit was not long in the market before 
 three or four competitors appeared. One of these, by dint of 
 better advertising, more liberal allowance of chemicals, better 
 organization of materials, and more workable experiments has 
 become the most popular toy of its type. 
 
 History and Development 
 
 That the Porter Set had its inspiration in the Gilbert set there 
 is no doubt. The manual begins in an almost identical strain 
 with the Gilbert manual, extolling the marvels of chemical science 
 and dwelling upon its importance in our everyday life. "The 
 whole great universe about us from its uppermost heights to its 
 
28 After-School Material in Science 
 
 lowest depths is built up of chemicals and chemical compounds. 
 Earth, sky and water are all passing through constant chemical 
 changes. Deep down in the ground coal is being formed from the 
 remains of prehistoric forests. Precious metals and ores are 
 being smelted under the heat and pressure of millions of tons of 
 earth and rock. On the surface of the earth, air and water are 
 constantly producing chemical changes in everything they touch. 
 All nature is but a series of wonderful chemical reactions ; plants, 
 forests, birds, animals and people are all complex chemical engines. 
 Chemistry is more closely interwoven with the industries of the 
 world than any other science. . . . Surely a population edu- 
 cated in the science of Chemistry is the greatest asset your country 
 can have." 
 
 H. M. Porter, professor of chemistry in a small western college 
 is responsible for the working out and arranging of the materials. 
 His son, also a chemist, is responsible for the promotion of the 
 scheme as a commercial undertaking, and is at present the leading 
 spirit in the movement. The company at the present time sells 
 four Chemcraft Outfits ranging in price from $1.50 to $11.00. 
 The more expensive sets are just as popular as the less expensive 
 ones. 
 
 EduccUional Aims 
 In the words of the manual, "no matter what profession a man 
 follows, he is greatly handicapped without a knowledge of chem- 
 istry. The manufacturer, the farmer, the tradesman, the profes- 
 sional man, the scientist, all have constant need of chemical 
 knowledge. In the home the housewife who knows nothing of 
 the chemistry of the food she prepares or of the materials which 
 she daily uses is seriously handicapped. In Chemcraft the 
 various phases of chemistry have been combined into a series of 
 fascinating experiments which will furnish amusement for the 
 young people during many profitable hours; and as the experi- 
 menter gains in skill and knowledge he can by means of the 
 number three and four Chemcraft extend still further his intimacy 
 with this most fascinating science." The aim of the Porter set 
 then is similar to that of the Gilbert set in that the same two ideas 
 are stressed : fun for the boy and time ^'profitably" (educationally) 
 spent. The Porter differs from the Gilbert in attempting to grade 
 its experiments so that as the boy becomes older and more familiar 
 
The Materials and Activities Listed and Described 29 
 
 with chemical experiences he will be more and more introduced 
 to larger laws, principles and concepts. The Porter set, too, lays 
 far greater stress on the organizing of small boy laboratories. 
 More will be said later on the question of the laboratory in the 
 home. 
 
 Materials, Activities, and Methods of Chemcraft 
 
 In a box 12" x 18" x 3>^", (the No. 4 Set), are supplied 60 
 different chemicals and 15 different pieces of equipment. The 
 chemicals and equipment differ very little from the list previously 
 given for the Gilbert set and are just as frequently a major part 
 of the regular high school stock of chemicals. The manual offers 
 607 different experiments, though that by no means exhausts the 
 possibilities of the outfit. For purposes of definiteness and future 
 reference excerpts from the Table of Contents are here g^ven : 
 
 PART I 
 
 Chemistry and Its Application to the Industries 
 How Chemistry Grew From Alchemy 
 
 Chemical Elements ~r 
 
 Experiment 
 
 (1) Combination of Zinc and Sulphur 
 
 (2) Combination of Iron and Sulphur 
 
 (3) Combination of Zinc and Oxygen 
 
 (4) Combination of Magnesium and Oxygen 
 
 (5) The Decomposition of Sodium Thiosulphate 
 
 (6) Breaking up Ammonium Nitrate 
 
 (7) The Decomposition of Sugar 
 
 (8) An Exchange of Elements — Ferric Ammonium Sulphate 
 and Calcium Oxide 
 
 (9) Displacement — Copper Sulphate and Iron 
 
 (10) Displacement — Copper Sulphate and Zinc 
 
 (11) Displacement — Copper Sulphate and Magnesium 
 
 Acids, Alkalies and Salts 
 
 (12) Forming a Base 
 
 (13) Forming Carbonic Acid 
 
30 After-School Material in Science 
 
 (14) Forming Sulphurous Acid 
 
 (15) Forming a Salt 
 
 (16) Neutralizing a Base with an Acid 
 
 (17) Making an Acid 
 
 (18) Double Decomposition of Two Salts 
 
 (19) Reaction of Calcium Chloride and Sodium (Carbonate 
 
 (20) Making a Base 
 
 Indicators 
 (23 experiments) 
 
 Air — Oxygen 
 (14 experiments) 
 
 Hydrogen 
 (4 experiments) 
 
 Water 
 (35 experiments) 
 
 Testing Water 
 (13 experiments) 
 
 Nitrogen 
 
 (111) Separating Nitrogen from the Air 
 
 (112) The Properties of Nitrogen 
 
 Compounds of Nitrogen 
 (13 experiments) 
 
 The Halogen Group 
 
 Carbon — Combustion 
 
The Materials and Activities Listed and Described 31 
 
 Compounds of Carbon 
 
 Carbonates 
 
 Sulphur 
 
 Compounds of Sulphur 
 Sulphates 
 
 Sulphides 
 
 Silicon and Silicates 
 
 Glass 
 
 Boron and Borates 
 
 Phosphates 
 
 Hydroxides 
 
 Sodium and Soda Industries 
 
 Potassium and the Potash Industries 
 
 Calcium and Calcium Compounds 
 
 Strontium and the Fireworks Industry 
 
 Compounds of Aluminum 
 
 Magnesium 
 
 Oxidation and Reduction of Metals 
 
 Testing Metals 
 
 Alloys 
 
 Paints and Pigments 
 
 Ink Industry 
 
32 After-School Material in Science 
 
 Textiles and Dyes 
 
 Soup and Glycerine 
 
 Tanning 
 
 Paper Making 
 
 Glues — Adhesives and Gums 
 
 Fermentation 
 
 Starch and Sugar 
 
 Perfumes and Flower Oils 
 
 Electro Chemistry 
 
 Artificial Gems 
 
 Household Chemistry 
 
 The Chemistry of Farming 
 
 Chemistry of Foods 
 
 PART II 
 
 Chemical Magic, or Magic Inks and Papers 
 
 Sympathetic Inks 
 
 Magic Changes 
 
 Magic Colors 
 Magic Liquids 
 
The Materials and Activities Listed and Described 33 
 Chemical Flags 
 
 Chemical Sorcery- 
 Chemical Colors 
 Chemical Smells 
 Indicator Tricks 
 Miscellaneous 
 
 Sets 1, 2 and 3 differ from Set 4 in that fewer experiments 
 are offered under each of such categories as "Chemical Ele- 
 ments," "Acids, Alkalies, and Salts," etc.; and sometimes whole 
 groups of experiments are omitted. Thus, Set No. 1 offers 50 
 experiments. Set No. 2 offers 128, Set No. 3 offers 256, and Set 
 No. 4 offers 607. Apparently Chemcraft carries out its aim of 
 gradually leading the experimenter on to greater understanding 
 of the laws of chemistry, by increasing the quantity of materials. 
 There is no marked gradation in the difficulty of the experiments 
 or in the type of thinking required as one goes from Set No. 1 
 to Set No. 4. In fact. Set No. 4, because it contains a greater 
 number of exercises and illustrations for each law or principle, 
 is a much more effective presentation — easier to understand and 
 pedagogically more sound. So that the beginner has a more dif- 
 ficult time than the boy who is more advanced. From the point 
 of view of organization, the Porter set swings to the opposite 
 extreme. As can be seen from the Table of Contents, there is a 
 very definite marshalling of materials into groups; generally 
 speaking, a logical ordering of topics. The procedure from 
 "chemical elements" to "composition of elements," to "decompo- 
 sition," "exchange of elements" and "displacement" reminds one 
 of the average standard text in elementary chemistry. So does 
 the treatment of "Acids, Alkalies and Salts," "Air and Oxygen," 
 "Hydrogen," "Water," "The Halogen Group," etc., etc. Very 
 clearly, then, Porter has the conviction that the conglomerate 
 mass of the Gilbert Set is a mistake. And because his set has 
 
34 After-School Material in Science 
 
 outsold the Gilbert, he has maintained and proposes to maintain 
 his present organization. It has been the observation of the 
 writer that the business man, when spurred on by competition, is 
 apt to be extremely conservative when once he has found that 
 his product is an advance over others in the market. It is "sound 
 business" to exploit a "paying proposition" quickly and inten- 
 sively. Further improvements only interest the average business 
 man when sales are on the decline. It is exceptional to find a 
 manufacturer striving to reach ultimate perfection of his product 
 when the product that he has is sufficiently good to beat its com- 
 petitors. This purely materialistic criterion is, of course, unac- 
 ceptable to the educator. Though the business man's criterion 
 indicates tendencies, it would be dangerous to limit progress by 
 means of it. 
 
 In the case of Chemcraft the educator is interested in an 
 organization of materials that will be psychological; that is, an 
 ordering of materials that will start with the interest of the child 
 and work gradually toward a scientific organization of the knowl- 
 edge involved. Not that there is an a priori assurance that such 
 a presentation will be more successful either as a producer of 
 sales or as an educational instrument; but that such a trial is 
 necessary before final conclusions are drawn. The situation, how- 
 ever, took quite a diflferent turn. A perusal of the following 
 Table of Contents from the latest Gilbert Chemistry Outfit — 
 brought forth to bolster up the sales of the Gilbert product — 
 will make it quite evident that they have no desire to experi- 
 ment very much further with the make-up of the Porter Set. 
 
 This, of course, may be regarded as "safe and sane" business 
 policy. But it is hard to see how the policy can further educa- 
 tional ends. 
 
 PART I 
 
 Inorganic Chemistry and Its Commercial Application to 
 THE Industries 
 
 Matter in Chemistry 
 Kinds of Matter 
 The Three Forms of Matter 
 Division of Matter 
 
The Materials and Activities Listed and Described 35 
 
 Experiment 
 
 (1) Division of Matter 
 
 (2) Division of Matter 
 
 (3) Division of Matter 
 
 Molecules are Small Particles of Matter 
 Difference Between Solids, Liquids and Gases 
 Properties of Matter 
 Impenetrability 
 
 (4) Impenetrability of Matter 
 Malleability 
 
 Ductility 
 
 Brittleness 
 
 Elasticity 
 
 Flexibility 
 
 Hardness 
 
 Indestructibility of Matter 
 
 Changes in Matter 
 
 (5) A Chemical Change and What It Means 
 
 Elements ^_ 
 
 Direct Union of Elements 
 
 (6) Union of Zinc with Sulphur 
 
 (7) Union of Magnesium with Oxygen 
 
 Decomposition or Breaking Up of a Chemical Compound 
 
 (8) Decomposition of Sodium Thiosulphate 
 
 (9) Decomposition of Sugar 
 
 Double Decomposition or the Exchange of Elements 
 
 (10) Action of Ferric Ammonium Sulphate on Calcium Oxide 
 
 (11) Action of Aluminum Sulphate on Strontium Nitrate 
 Substitution or the Displacement of One Element by 
 Another 
 
 (12) Action of Iron on Copper Sulphate 
 
 (13) Action of Zinc on Copper Sulphate 
 
 (14) Action of Magnesium on Copper Sulphate 
 
 (15) Action of Zinc on Hydrochloric Acid 
 
 Air — Oxygen 
 
36 After-School Material in Science 
 
 Hydrogen 
 
 Water and Water-of-Crystallization 
 
 Testing Water 
 
 Acids, Bases and Salts — Indicators 
 
 Nitrogen and Ammonia — Ammonium Hydroxide 
 
 Sulphur and Hydrogen Sulphide 
 
 Oxides and Oxygen Acids of Sulphur 
 
 The Insoluble Sulphates 
 
 The Halogens — The Chlorine Family 
 
 Poisonous War Gases — The Gas Mask 
 
 Carbon — Carbonic Acid — Carbonates — Combustion 
 
 Explanation of the Hand Fire Extinguisher 
 
 Baking Powder in Bread Making 
 
 Silicon and Silicates 
 
 Glass Making 
 Hydraulic Cements 
 Ordinary Clay 
 Porcelain Clay 
 
 Boron and Borates 
 
 Phosphorus and Phosphates 
 
 The Alkali Metals — Sodium and Potassium 
 
 The Alkaline Earth Metals — Calcium, Barium, Strontium 
 
The Materials and Activities Listed and Described 37 
 Strontium and the Manufacture of Fireworks 
 
 Aluminum — Zinc — Magnesium 
 
 Testing Metals by Their Flame Colors 
 
 Alloys 
 
 PART II 
 
 Organic Chemistry and Its Commercial Application to 
 THE Industries 
 
 The Soap and Glycerine Industry 
 
 The Ink Industry 
 
 The Paper Industry 
 
 The Manufacturing of Gums, Adhesives and Glues 
 
 The Tanning or Leather Industry 
 
 Fermentation and Ferments 
 
 The Manufacture of Paints and Water Colors 
 
 The Starch and Sugar Industry 
 
 The Dyeing and Textile Industry 
 
 The Manufacture of Essential Oils and Perfumes 
 
 The Chemistry of Foods 
 
 Testing Foods for Proteins 
 
 Testing Milk 
 
38 After-School Material in Science 
 
 Testing Baking Powders 
 
 The Chemistry of the Body 
 
 Chemistry in the Home 
 
 Removing Stains from Clothing 
 
 The Chemistry of FertiHzers — Farming 
 
 PART III 
 
 Electro-Chemistry and Its Commercial Applications 
 
 The Dry Cell and How it is Made 
 
 How the Dry Cell Works — Chemical Explanation 
 
 The Wet Cell 
 
 The Storage Battery 
 
 Electrolysis 
 
 List of Chemicals, Formulae and Apparatus 
 
 List of the More Common Elements with Their Symbols, 
 Atomic Weights and Valences 
 
 To return now to the Porter Chemcraft, it must also be pointed 
 out that the material is a good deal more readable than the early 
 Gilbert set. The manual contains considerable descriptive and 
 historical matter that helps the boy to appreciate the significance 
 of what he is doing. The following quotations are typical of the 
 manner of treatment — especially in the earHer portions of the 
 manual : 
 
 "Let us go back to the olden days when the human race was still in a 
 semi-savage state and civilization was just beginning to dawn upon the 
 world. Man lived in a primitive manner, taking little notice of his sur- 
 roundings, intent only upon obtaining food and protecting himself from 
 others. But as his intelligence developed ... it was not long until he 
 began to experiment with the materials around him." 
 
The Materials and Activities Listed and Described 39 
 
 "In the olden days people were very superstitious ; and so the alchemists 
 who had learned to bring about such wonderful changes in materials, 
 came to be regarded as wizards or magicians, who could do almost any- 
 thing. Now the great desire and ambition of these mediaeval people was 
 to become as rich as Solomon and to live to be as old as Methuselah. It 
 was quite natural, therefore, that the efforts of the alchemists were de- 
 voted to fruitless attempts to change the baser metals such as iron, copper 
 and lead into gold, and also to produce the 'elixir of life,' a mythical sub- 
 stance which would prolong their lives. 
 
 "About the time that Columbus discovered America the alchemists gave 
 up their search for the 'elixir of life' and abandoned their attempts to 
 change the baser materials into gold, and began to devote their eflforts to 
 learning about the materials which were used in the daily life of the peo- 
 ple and to make use of their knowledge to improve the products of the 
 industries and develop new materials." 
 
 Unfortunately, materials of this type does not pertain through- 
 out the Chemcraft Manual. The high standard of the first 25 
 pages — in the matter of simplicity of style and interest — is not 
 adhered to in 150 pages or so that follow. Nor is there the same 
 care of presentation or of detailed directions. The author of 
 the manual has apparently experienced what so many writers of 
 texts experience: that the last chapter of a book needs just as 
 much care and planning as the first. And not being able to give 
 this time — due to business stress — there has resulted a hasty com- 
 pilation of materials of rather inferior quality. 
 
 The most recent Gilbert Chemistry Outfit of which the Table 
 of Contents has already been given, is of course modeled very 
 closely after the Porter set. The 453 experiments are set in a 
 frame-work of laws and principles and the arrangement is even 
 more logical than in the Porter set. Before being permitted to 
 experiment the boy is introduced to 27 terms and their definitions. 
 The Hst of these definitions which is here given is a rather 
 formidable array — definitions that every high school teacher of 
 chemistry can teach successfully only in a year's course and with 
 liberal drill: 
 
 Acids Chemical Change 
 
 Atom Chemical Compound 
 
 Atomic Weight Chemical Equation 
 
 Base Chemical Affinity 
 
 Chemistry Decolorize 
 
40 After-School Material m Science 
 
 Deodorize Mixture 
 
 Dissociate Molecule 
 
 Electrolysis Physical Change 
 
 Element n - u ^ 
 
 ^ Precipitate 
 
 Evaporate 
 
 Immerse ^^^*^ 
 
 l0n Solution 
 
 Law of Conservation of Matter Symbol 
 Law of Definite Proportions Valence 
 
 These definitions are followed by some General Directions 
 which are more or less practical aids to the would-be experimenter, 
 and which cover such topics as measuring chemicals; dissolving 
 chemicals ; heating liquids or solids in test tubes ; use of the test 
 tube rack, stirring-rod, test tube holder, test tube brush, and gas- 
 delivery tube; filtering; gas-generating; measuring liquids or 
 solutions ; grinding or mixing substances ; and some general notes 
 on apparatus. 
 
 Another innovation of the new Gilbert Chemistry Outfit is the 
 chapter on "Matter in Chemistry" which serves as a preface to 
 the study of chemistry proper. 
 
 The whole question of organization of materials; manner of 
 presentation and sj>ecial teaching devices would be of great im- 
 portance and deserve more space than has been devoted to it, if 
 organization and presentation functioned in any large way in the 
 activity of the boy. But it does not. As will be shown later, 
 . only 10% of the boys that the writer has had an opportunity to 
 observe follow the manual in a connected way. The other 90% 
 are practically oblivious of the elaborate effort of the manuals to 
 erect a logical structure. 
 
 A third type of chemical outfit that deserves to be ranked with 
 the two already described is St. John*s Fun with Chemistry. The 
 peculiar significance of this toy lies rather in its failure as a 
 commercial undertaking than in any marked contribution to this 
 field of educational endeavor. St John was a pioneer in the 
 movement for educational toys. As far back as 1900 or 1901 
 he put out a complete series of outfits on scientific subjects, basing 
 his materials on his experiences with boys at the Browning School 
 
The Materials and Activities Listed and Described 41 
 
 — a private institution in which he served as instructor. In this 
 respect the origin of the *'Fun With" sets was rather unique, 
 
 The following is a list of the St. John toys : 
 
 Fun With Magnetism. 
 Fun With Electricity. 
 Fun With Puzzles. 
 Fun With Soap Bubbles. 
 Fun With Shadows. 
 Fun With Photography. 
 Fun With Chemistry. 
 Fun With Telegraphy. 
 
 As nearly as one can make out, there were two important 
 reasons for the financial failure of the toy : poor advertising and 
 cheapness of the product. Toy manufacturers twenty years ago 
 suffered from the conviction that a toy must necessarily be a 
 flimsy, breakable, temporary affair. Thus it was that the entire 
 St. John series could be bought for $3.00; which even when we 
 consider the greater purchasing power of the dollar at that time 
 hardly makes possible the quality and workableness demanded by 
 the boy. 
 
 In spite of these drawbacks there is very little in these outfits 
 that is inferior to the present-day outfit — when we consider the 
 aim of the author, the type of materials and their organization. 
 In fact there is much that is superior; especially from the point 
 of view of meeting the boy's needs in a boy way. It is strange 
 that the teacher should be the one to ignore completely the ''dignity 
 of education." St. John isn't at all anxious to point out at every 
 step the educational possibilities of his experiments; nor to insert 
 his exercises into the logical frame-work of a science. In his 
 rather unpretentious introduction he points out that "Chemistry is 
 one of the most practical of all the sciences," and that "the simple 
 experiments contained in this little book will serve as a start, and 
 the boys and girls who perform them will soon see that they can 
 have Fun with Chemistry and at the same time learn a great deal 
 about combustion, which is one branch of cheipistry." 
 
42 After-School Material in Science 
 
 His outfit consisted of the following articles : One Book of 
 Instructions, called "Fun with Chemistry;" 1 Adjustable Ring- 
 stand, including Base, Rod Slide with Set-screw, and Wire Ring; 
 1 Wire Arm ; 1 Large Candle ; 1 Small Candle ; 1 Metal Box with 
 Cover ; 1 Test-tube Wire ; 2 Test-tubes ; 1 Glass Tube ; Red Litmus 
 Paper; Blue Litmus Paper; 1 Package of Sawdust (No. L) ; 1 
 Box of Wood Ashes (No. 2) ; 1 Package of Filter Paper; 1 Paper 
 Funnel; 1 Box of ParafiBn (No. 3) ; 1 Box of Slaked Lime (No. 
 4) ; 1 Box of Sal Ammoniac (No. 5). 
 
 The following is his Table of Contents : 
 
 Chemistry — The Outfit 
 Experiments 
 
 ( 1 ) From White to Black, or the Phantom Ship — Paper — 
 Carbon 
 
 (2) From Black to White— Ashes 
 
 (3) Yellow Tears from Paper — Vapors — Creosote from Paper — 
 Lamp-lighters 
 
 (4) Smoke Pearls — Soluble Smoke 
 
 (5) An ocean of smoke — heavy gases 
 
 (6) A tiny whirlwind 
 
 (7) A cascade of smoke 
 
 (8) Liquid smoke — condensation of vapors 
 
 (9) Boiling hot — ^the water bath 
 
 (10) From liquid to solid vapor — carbon from liquids 
 
 (11) An explosion in a teacup 
 
 (12) A tiny explosion in your hand 
 
 (13) A Gas factory in a test-tube — ^Gas 
 
 (14) Making charcoal — Charcoal 
 
 (15) Minerals in Paper — Chemical action 
 
 ( 16) Flame goes over a bridge 
 
 (17) A toboggan slide of smoke — The candle as a Gas Factory 
 
 (18) Fire Goes Through a Tube 
 
 (19) Fountains of Flame — Expansion of Heated Gases 
 
 (20) Testing for an Acid — Acids — Litmus Paper 
 
 (21) Making an Acid from Wood — ^Wood-acid 
 
 (22) Testing for an Alkali—Alkalies 
 
The Materials and Activities Listed and Described 43 
 
 (23) Making Alkali from Wood Ashes — Filtering — Alkali in 
 Ashes — Lye 
 
 (24) A Chemical Fight 
 
 (25) Through Wall of Flame— Hollow Flames 
 
 (26) An Artificial Gas Well— The Candle Flame 
 
 (27) Liquid Paraffin 
 
 (28) A Candle Without a Wick— Paraffin 
 
 (29) Cooled Flames 
 
 (30) A Lampblack Factory — Carbon in Flame 
 
 (31) Steam from a Flame — Products of Combustion — Water 
 from Combustion 
 
 (32) The Death of a Flame— Carbonic Acid Gas 
 
 (33) The Flame that Committed Suicide — Air Currents 
 
 (34) Chemical Soup — Lime — Chemical Action. 
 
 (35) Making Limewater — Milk of Lime — Limewater 
 
 (36) A Baby Skating-rink — Limestone Ice 
 
 (37) Magic Milk — A Magic Milk-shake — Carbon Dioxide and 
 Limewater 
 
 (38) The Wizard's Breath— Animal Heat 
 
 (39) A Chemical Curtain 
 
 (40) Tiny Explosions Produce Gas — Effects of Explosions 
 
 (41) Scrambled Chemicals — Chemical Action Between Solids 
 
 All of his experiments are marked by a high degree of simplicity 
 and workableness. The picturesque titles neither enhance nor 
 detract from the appeal that they make to boys. And the direc- 
 tions are not only clear but they show the teachers' insight into 
 the capabilities of young folks. The exercises themselves are 
 ingenious bits of experimentation. It is a pity that these sets are 
 not now being manufactured; so that they could compete upon 
 a fair basis with Gilbert's and Porter's."^ At their most popular 
 stage, St. John sets were adopted by the New York City Board of 
 Education as standard pieces of school equipment and received 
 the Board's recommendation as an educational toy. 
 
 All efforts by the writer to learn more about the strange history 
 of these outfits have thus far been met with failure. No one 
 seems to know the whereabouts of St. John nor to know much 
 
 *The author has just learned that these sets have again been put on the 
 market. 
 
44 After-School Material in Science 
 
 about his aims, ideals, and methods of work except that the 
 Browning School was founded on the idea that there never should 
 be more than five pupils to a class. His contribution does not, 
 however, affect our problem in any large way, since he has left 
 the field clear to others. And it is the materials and activities 
 that function at the present time that is the purpose of this study. 
 
 Next in order of importance and popularity among boys are the 
 Magnetism and Electricity Outfits. In this field Gilbert is prac- 
 tically supreme. The Meccano Company is at the present time 
 developing its own Electric Outfit and of course St- John's Fun 
 With Magnetism and Fun With Electricity are efforts along the 
 same line; but the Gilbert business machinery has swept its own 
 product into the field so completely that it is practically the only 
 one worth considering. 
 
 Cooperating with Mr. Gilbert in the organization of the mag- 
 netic and electrical sets is Hugo Kloysbrunn, PhD, University of 
 Vienna. The manual divides the work into four divisions : Static 
 Electricity, Magnetism, Current Electricity, and Induction Elec- 
 tricity. The boy is introduced to the study by a paragraph on 
 "What is Electricity?" (The answer is, ''We do not know. We 
 cannot define the idea electricity but we can turn to advantage 
 the phenomena of electricity. We can produce it and use it and 
 master this mighty force." In characteristic Gilbert style the boy 
 is told at the outset that "to understand the fundamentals of elec- 
 tricity, you must start with the first elements and advance step by 
 step." There are, however, two departures from the usual 
 Gilbert product. First, the emphasis is decidedly upon the "fun- 
 damentals of electricity," that is, upon the building up of sound 
 concepts of the science of electricity rather than upon "fun." 
 And secondly, the usual care has not been taken to provide in the 
 outfit all the materials necessary to perform the experiments 
 successfully. The boy is asked to make use of a great many 
 materials that Gilbert assumes are always available. This assump- 
 tion is not warranted. 
 
 Three grades of Electrical Outfits are sold. One for $2.50, 
 one for $7.50 and one for $10.00; with a corresponding gradation 
 in the amount of materials supplied and number of experiments 
 possible. The major portion of the materials is in each grade or 
 set devoted to the parts of a dissected electric motor. 
 
The Materials and Activities Listed and Described 45 
 
 The following lists of experiments will serve to show both the 
 content and method of treatment in Gilbert's text-book; for that 
 is what it virtually is : 
 
 I. Frictional Electricity 
 
 1. Hard Rubber Electricity 
 
 2. Glass Electricity 
 
 (explanation of above experiments and some historical mate- 
 rial in reference to early discovery of frictional electricity) 
 
 3. Law of Attraction 
 
 4. Paper Electricity 
 
 5. Law of Repulsion 
 
 6. The Carbon Pendulum 
 
 7. Charging by Contact 
 
 8. Carbon "Flies'* 
 
 9. Electric Spider 
 
 10. Unlike Electricities 
 
 (Development of idea "positive and negative" and a recapitula- 
 tion of the three fundamental laws, which are stated thus; 
 
 1. Charges of the same kind of electricity repel each other 
 
 2. Charges of unlike kinds of electricity attract each other 
 
 3. Either kind of electricity attracts, and is attracted by a 
 neutral body.) 
 
 11. Conductors and Insulators 
 
 12. Potential of Electricity (E.M.F.) 
 13u The Electrophorus 
 
 14. How to Use the Electrophorus 
 
 15. Equal Potentials 
 
 16. Disruptive Charges 
 
 17. Silent Discharging 
 
 18. Electric Clapper 
 
 19. Electric Density 
 
 IL Electrification by Induction 
 
 20. Polarization by Induction 
 
 21. Theory of Neutrality 
 
 22. Theory of Induction 
 
 22). Bound and Free Electricity 
 
 24. Charging by Induction 
 
 25. Dielectrics 
 
 26. Theory of the Electrophorus 
 
 27. Conductive Bodies 
 
 28. Condenser 
 
 29. Theory of Condensers 
 
 30. Discharging the Condenser 
 
 31. Discharges 
 
 32. The Leyden Jar 
 
46 After-School Material in Science 
 
 ZZ. Electroscope 
 
 34. Gold-Leaf Electroscope 
 
 35. Proof Plane 
 
 Z6. Determining the Electric Charge 
 
 27. Electric Machines 
 
 ZS>. How the Plate Machine Works 
 
 39. Insulating Stool 
 
 40. Summary of Electrostatic effects 
 
 (a) Mechanical effects 
 
 (b) Chemical effects 
 
 (c) Heating effects 
 
 (d) Optical effects 
 
 (e) Physiological effects 
 III. Atmospheric Electricity 
 
 41. Benjamin Franklin's Experiment 
 
 42. Potential of Lightning 
 
 43. Thunder 
 
 44. Luminous Phenomena 
 
 (a) Heat Lightning 
 
 (b) St. Elmo's Fire 
 (p) The Aurora 
 
 45. Lightning Rods 
 
 The last five experiments are not experiments that the boy can 
 do himself. They are descriptive statements. The whole 45 
 experiments are interspersed with a liberal amount of descriptive 
 matter ; some of it taken almost bodily from physics text books. 
 
 The section on Magnetism is rather meagerly treated. This 
 defect has been recognized by Gilbert ; and he has quite recently 
 produced a further development of this subject, which will be 
 described briefly later on. 
 
 The materials supplied consist of a few bar-magnets, horse- 
 shoe magnets, iron filings, wire, a compass and some needles. 
 
 In much the same manner the manual develops the concepts and 
 laws of Current Electricity. Practically no attention is given to 
 detailed directions for performing experiments. 
 
 CURRENT ELECTRICITY 
 
 1. Flowing Electricity or "Current" Explained 
 
 2. Volts, Amperes, Ohms 
 
 3. Units of Measurement Defined 
 
 4. How Current is Generated 
 
 (a) Chemically 
 
 (b) Mechanically 
 
 (c) Thermally 
 
The Materials and Activities Listed and Described 47 
 
 5. Galvani's Frog Experiment 
 
 6. The Voltaic Pile 
 
 7. Simple Voltaic Cell 
 
 8. Galvanic Battery 
 
 9. Chemical Action Explained 
 
 10. Polarization Explained 
 
 11. Kinds of Cells 
 
 12. Forms of Cells 
 
 13. The Dry Cell 
 
 14. About Dry Cells 
 
 15. Ohm's Law 
 
 16. Internal Resistance 
 
 17. Connecting in Series 
 
 18. Connecting in Parallel 
 
 19. Keys and Push Buttons 
 
 20. Switches 
 
 21. Conductors and Insulators 
 
 22. A List of Conductors 
 
 23. Insulators 
 
 24. Divided Circuits 
 
 25. Laws of Resistance 
 
 26. Rheostat 
 
 27. Effects of the Current 
 
 (a) Thermal Effects 
 
 (b) Chemical Effects 
 
 (c) Physiological Effects 
 
 (d) Magnetic Effects 
 
 28. Electric Light 
 
 29. The Carbon Lamp 
 
 30. Metal Filament Lamp 
 
 31. Nitrogen Lamps 
 
 32. The Electric Arc 
 
 33. Fuses 
 
 34. Replacing Fuses 
 
 35. Systems of Electric Lighting 
 
 36. Wire Connections 
 Z7. Different Splices 
 
 38. Experiments With Your Lighting Outfit 
 
 39. Chemical Effects 
 
 40. Decomposition of Water 
 
 41. Anode: Kathode 
 
 42. Electroplating 
 
 43. Physiological Effects 
 
 44. Lines of Force 
 
 45. Deflection of the Magnetic Needle 
 
 46. The Hand Rule 
 
48 After-School Material in Science 
 
 47. Galvanometer 
 
 48. Astatic Galvanometer 
 
 49. Apparatus For Electric Measurement 
 
 50. The Solenoid 
 
 51. The Electromagnet 
 
 52. The Electro Horseshoe Magnet 
 
 53. Lifting Magnet 
 
 54. The Electric Bell 
 
 55. How the Bell Works 
 
 56. Wiring of Bells 
 
 57. Telegraphy 
 
 58. Morse's Invention 
 
 59. The Telegraphic Code 
 
 60. Electric Accidents 
 
 61. What To Do For Electric Shocks 
 
 62. Treatment After Respiration Begins 
 
 ELECTRO-MAGNETIC INDUCTION 
 
 63. Theory of Induction 
 
 64. Faraday's Discovery 
 
 65. Induction Through Magnets 
 
 66. Induction Through Currents 
 
 67. Alternating Currents 
 
 6S. Primary and Secondary Coils and Currents 
 
 69. Theory of Induction 
 
 70. Ruhmkoff's Induction Coils 
 
 71. How to Build a Ruhmkoff Coil 
 
 72. How the Induction Coil Works 
 
 73. Experiments With Induction Coils 
 
 74. Wireless Telegraphy 
 
 75. X-Rays 
 
 76. Telephony 
 
 77. Transmission of Electrical Current 
 
 78. Transformer 
 
 79. The Gilbert Transformer 
 
 80. Distribution of Current 
 
 81. The Dynamo 
 
 82. Power Stations 
 
 83. The Gilbert Generator 
 
 84. Simple Electric Motors 
 
 85. Theory of the Electric Motor 
 
 86. The Electric Motor 
 
 87. The Field Magnet 
 
 88. The Armature 
 
 89. How to Assemble the Motor 
 
 90. The Power of the Motor 
 
 91. Reverse Switch 
 
The Materials and Activities Listed and Described 49 
 
 92. How to Connect the Reverse Switch 
 
 93. Uses of the Electric Motor 
 
 94. Gear Box 
 
 95. How to Use the Gearing 
 
 In practically two-thirds of the 95 sections above listed, the 
 boy needs the use of special pieces of apparatus which the outfit 
 does not supply. These the Gilbert Company will sell as acces- 
 sories. Examples of this type of equipment are the motors, gen- 
 erators, bells, transformers, and rheostats, all of which the com- 
 pany manufactures so that they can be adapted to the large vari- 
 ety of Gilbert toys. 
 
 The appeal of Gilbert's Electrical Outfit is decidedly an appeal 
 to the older and the more capable boy. The average boy finds 
 himself handicapped at every turn; and as a rule is hopelessly 
 discouraged. St. John's sets, on the other hand, are everything 
 which the Gilbert sets are not. Fun With Magnetism and Fun 
 With Electricity are a collection of 120 experiments using the 
 simplest pieces of apparatus, and described so clearly that boys 
 of 10 have been able to follow them with ease. St. John pos- 
 sessed a decided genius for presenting a subject simply and 
 entertainingly. His subjects for experiments are quite as pic- 
 t\iresque as are his chemical experiments. The "fun" element is 
 the predominating mood of all of St. John's materials. Again, 
 one has a feeling of disappointment that the St. John outfit is not 
 once more launched to compete with the Gilbert. The two oppos- 
 ing points of view could then receive a conclusive test. 
 
 The development of the Meccano Electro Outfit is proceeding 
 along different lines. The aim is to "electrify" Meccano, by add- 
 ing new standard and interchangeable parts that can be absorbed 
 by the present highly developed mechanical set. 
 
 In addition to Mechanical, Electrical, and Chemical Outfits, a 
 few other types of outfits are worthy of mention. These are 
 usually designed to satisfy one type of interest and do not pos- 
 sess the characteristic of almost infinite flexibility and possibilit>' 
 that the other three types possess. The more important sets of 
 this type are: 
 
 1. The Telegraph Set 
 
 2. The Phono-Set 
 
 3. The Wireless Set 
 
50 After-School Material in Science 
 
 4. The Railroad Set 
 
 5. The Weather Bureau Outfit 
 
 6. The Hydraulic and Pneumatic Engineering Set 
 
 7. The Light Experiments Engineering Set 
 
 8. The Sound Experiments Set 
 
 9. The Heat Experiments Set 
 
 10. The Civil Engineering Set 
 
 11. The Microscopy Set 
 
 12. The Photography Set 
 
 13. The Mineralogy Set 
 
 14. The Miniature Machinery Outfit 
 
 15. The Glass Blowing Outfit 
 
 Although some of these sets lack the wide range of activity 
 that is characteristic of the more successful "outfits," they meet 
 the need in a remarkable way of the individual who is given to 
 "hobbies" and to concentration on one line of work. 
 
 The Telegraph Set consists of a box of simple materials (cost- 
 ing $2.00) that the boy can put together and operate as a tele- 
 graph. The manual that goes with the set is a 24-page booklet 
 wTitten by J. S. Newman, author of "Applied Science and 
 Mechanics for Boys." The following are some of the topics 
 treated : 
 
 1. History and Development of the Telegraph 
 
 2. The Morse Code 
 
 3. Technique of the Telegraph Operator 
 
 4. Wiring Diagrams of Telegraph Connections 
 
 5. Operating the Telegraph 
 
 6. Commercial Telegraphy 
 
 7. Batteries 
 
 The Phono Set is a $5.00 outfit organized and developed by 
 J. S. Newman for the Gilbert Company. The feature of this set 
 is the very clear and well-written manual. The reeciver, the 
 transmitter, the underlying principles in sound and electricity, are 
 all explained in a simple way and with a great many striking dia- 
 grams. The following is an outline of what the set covers : 
 
 1. Historical sketch of A. G. Bell and his invention 
 
 2. The Receiver 
 
 3. The Transmitter 
 
 4. Sound 
 
The Materials and Activities Listed and Described 51 
 
 5. The Simple Telephone 
 
 6. How the telephone operates 
 
 7. The commercial telephone 
 
 8. How to assemble the phono-set 
 
 9. Making Connections 
 
 10. Hints 
 
 11. Ringing Systems and long distance lines 
 
 12. Outdoor lines-^splices 
 
 The Wireless Set is one of the most popular science toys ; and 
 chiefly because it makes possible the sending and receiving of 
 actual messages. But it requires an equipment that is above the 
 average in cost and an ability on the part of the boy that borders 
 on the exceptional. Hundreds of wireless clubs have been 
 formed by teachers, due to the enthusiasm of a few able indi- 
 viduals who have created a seeming demand for it. The initial 
 interest is in most cases present — they all want the experience of 
 catching a message from a ship at sea — ^but the equipment and 
 ability exist with the few. The result in nine cases out of ten 
 is a gradual decrease of interest and final failure. The individuals 
 who were the leading spirits go right on, of course, and develop 
 a surprising efficiency. There exist at the present time several 
 leagues or associations of amateur radio experimenters. During 
 the war their activities were prohibited ; but in the last two years 
 their number has been continually on the increase. Especially 
 with the coming of the cheap audion bulb which makes possible 
 radio telephony over long distances, has activity with "wireless" 
 been very great. But always this activity is of the concentrated 
 kind — where a boy devotes all his play time to it and adopts it as 
 a hobby which often lasts for six years or more. 
 
 The Wireless Outfit is, of course, among the Gilbert products. 
 For $5.00 or $10.00 Gilbert attempts to furnish a complete send- 
 ing or a complete receiving set of instruments. Unfortunately, 
 his outfit is of low quality and has been proved, in the main, 
 unworkable. Whether his latest improvement will solve the 
 problem or not of furnishing a comparatively inexpensive set 
 that will work remains to be seen.* Until then boys will con- 
 
 *The present Gilbert Wireless Sets are more expensive pieces of appa- 
 ratus, costing anywhere from $15 to $48 per set. 
 
52 After-School Material in Science 
 
 tinue as in the past, to buy their wireless parts one by one in 
 various stores, often picking up second-hand commercial pieces 
 of apparatus that satisfy their needs to perfection. 
 
 The Gilbert Wireless Manual, written by an expert radio engi- 
 neer, is a small text-book on ''wireless." The treatment of the 
 subject is not simple enough for the junior high school boy, but 
 extremely helpful to high school seniors and college freshmen. 
 As with others of Gilbert's text manuals, the primary reaction of 
 the boy is to ignore the text and strive for practical results. If 
 he is successful to some degree, thereby maintaining his interest, 
 he does, as he gets older, react more definitely to the theoretical 
 principles of radio engineering. In the case of the Gilbert Set, 
 the unworkable features of the apparatus have made the text 
 worse than useless. 
 
 The Railroad Outfit is usually sold in two forms : the "spring" 
 engine and the "electric" engine. The latter type is not only 
 more popular, but better educationally. The track for the rail- 
 road is supplied in segments, the boy being able to extend his 
 line indefinitely and around as many curves and turns as he 
 chooses. Miniature railway switches are supplied; and with 
 these he can switch the train at will. Reversing switches permit 
 of turning the train back on its path, and small block signals can 
 be wired to add a final realistic touch to the toy. The chief fea- 
 ture of the outfit is its close parallel to the subways and trolley 
 lines of modern life. Though the number of experimental pos- 
 sibilities with the railroad is not very large in comparison with 
 other "outfits," it cannot be classed as a "specific" toy. The 
 boy's chief source of interest in the railroad is to experiment 
 with various speeds, various loads, various curves and various 
 grades of incline. The problem in wiring, though not always an 
 easy one, especially in the matter of installing the reverse-switch 
 and the system of signals, is productive of a great deal of eflfort, 
 study, application and enthusiasm. The outfit, too, is rich in 
 physical and mechanical experiences, such as the eflfect of fric- 
 tion, overcoming inertia, centrifugal force, principle of work, 
 etc., etc. 
 
 The most recent development in science outfits for hoys have 
 been in the market for but one year. In many cases they repre- 
 sent the final result of the years of experimenting; but many of 
 
The Materials and Actiznties Listed and Described 53 
 
 the sets are new ventures in the field. Though the experimental 
 phase of this study does not deal directly with these newer sets 
 (not having been sold in sufficient quantities for my boys to 
 have them), it will be worth while to devote some space in brief 
 description. 
 
 MAGNETIC FUN AND FACTS 
 
 The materials supplied are in two sets: one selHng for $3.75 
 and another for $10.00. As shown in the accompanying illustra- 
 tion, the equipment consists of the usual apparatus used to illus- 
 trate the fundamental principles of magnetism. With the set 
 goes a well-written and scientifically accurate manual possessing 
 also these characteristics in addition: 
 
 (a) Clearness and simplicity of exposition 
 
 (b) Wealth of illustration 
 
 (c) Historical description 
 
 (d) Workable experiments 
 
 (e) Careful gradation from simple to more complex 
 
 In a word, this manual is one of the best pieces of work yet 
 done by Gilbert. The following is the Table of Contents: 
 
 CHAPTER I. A SEA FOG 
 
 The compass — Polarity— Where magnetism is — Kinds 
 of magnets — Magnetic induction — Terrestrial induc- 
 tion — Methods of making magnets — Heat and magne- 
 tism 
 
 CHAPTER II. ELECTRO-MAGNETISM 
 
 Magnetic force about a wire — Force in the easiest 
 magnetic path — Magnetic motor 
 
 CHAPTER HI. ELECTRO-MAGNETIC INDUCTION 
 Magnetic saturation 
 
 CHAPTER IV. MAGNETIC TOYS AND TRICKS 
 
 Magnet tight-rope walker — Magic pencil — Magnetic 
 navy — Magnetic jack-straws — Magic cork — Magnetic 
 vibration — Recorder — Magnetic top — Sliding trick- 
 Wireless pup — Small motor — Magnetic gun — ^A regis- 
 tering wind — Vane — Hanging a ring or a key on a 
 picture — Magnetic fingers — ^How to de-magnetize your 
 watch 
 
54 • After-School Material in Science 
 
 CHAPTER V. HOW TO MAKE MAGNETS 
 
 Permanent magnets — Horseshoe magnets — Electro- 
 magnet design— Electric units— Units of power— Short- 
 circuits — Ground — General instructions for connec- 
 tions — Design of an electro-magnet — Moving core 
 magnets. 
 
 LIGHT EXPERIMENTS 
 
 The aim of this set is expressed in the following excerpt from 
 the Introduction: "What is light? Where does it come from? 
 Where does it go to ? What does it mean to us ? Those are the 
 questions which would stump you if you had to answer them. 
 You probably don't know because you never thought much about 
 it. But you, as well as every other boy, should understand more 
 about light. You should know how it affects our everyday life. 
 . , . And then this set will tell you how to give shadow shows 
 and exhibitions that will amuse your friends. While you play 
 with this outfit, you will learn about the telescope, opera-glasses, 
 microscope, moving pictures and many other important instru- 
 ments. You will learn, too, why eye-glasses improve the sight 
 . . . and there's a pile of fun in every experiment of the out- 
 fit." 
 
 The set sells for $15.00, and furnishes material which makes 
 possible about 132 experiments and stunts. The manual is 
 arranged by C. J. Lynde, Ph.D., Professor of Physics, MacDon- 
 ald College, Quebec, and author of "Lynde's Household Physics." 
 As was the case with Magnetic Fun and Facts, the organization 
 of the manual is psychological and pedagogical. The procedure 
 is not only from the simple to the complex ; but there is a definite 
 preparation made for each large law of the science of light before 
 it is presented to the boy. The wealth of experiment, developed 
 in an appealing manner, gives the boy certain experiences with 
 natural phenomena which he never could obtain in the average 
 laboratory course and which make him far better able to grasp 
 and appreciate the laws of light. For future reference, portions 
 of this type of development of subject miatter will here be 
 recorded : 
 
The Materials and Activities Listed and Described 55 
 
 1. Fun with bright sunlight 
 
 2. To make your dark-room 
 
 3. To make a dark box 
 
 4. Something about light 
 
 5. Fun at night 
 
 6. Intensity of light 
 
 7. Shadows — Shadow entertainments 
 
 8. Reflection of Light 
 
 9. Fun with Sunlight 
 
 10. Fun by day or night with one mirror 
 
 11. Why the image is as far behind the mirror as the object is in front 
 
 12. Experimental Magic 
 
 13. The "why" of the Periscope 
 
 14. Illusions 
 
 15. Fun with the curved mirror 
 
 16. The "why" of the curved mirror 
 
 17. Refraction of light 
 
 18. More fun with sunlight 
 
 19. Refraction of spherical waves 
 
 20. More fun by day or night 
 
 21. Atmospheric Refraction — Mirages 
 
 22. Still more fun with sunlight 
 
 23. Why objects are colored 
 
 24. Complementary colors — Mixing paints 
 
 25. What is in the sun and stars 
 
 26. The spectroscope 
 
 27. The "why" of it, etc., etc., etc. 
 
 SOUND EXPERIMENTS 
 
 "My sole aim in getting out this set," says Gilbert, "is to bring 
 the Science of Sound down to your understanding and have the 
 kind of fun I liked when I was a boy. It may not make you 
 the smartest boy in your class; but it will teach you a lot of 
 things that perhaps the smartest boy in school does not know." 
 
 The set sells for $7.50, and furnishes material for 42 experi- 
 ments. The organization of the manual attempts to follow the 
 two previously described, but does not quite reach their degree 
 of excellence. 
 
 HYDRAULIC ENGINEERING 
 
 In this set there are about two dozen different trinkets — all 
 simple, inexpensive and easily replaceable. Though the cost is 
 $10.00, a goodly portion must be for the manual, which is the 
 
56 After-School Material in Science 
 
 largest and finest compilation of experiments with water and air 
 ever made. From the accompanying list of experiments, it will 
 be seen that the manual is virtually a combination of laboratory 
 guide and text-book. 
 
 1. Water Supply 
 
 Experiments, such as 
 
 (a) Making and operating a city water supply system 
 
 (b) Showing how water is brought from a well, etc. 
 Game No. 1— A Naval Battle 
 
 2. Pneumatic Tank System of Water Supply 
 
 Two experiments, and 
 Game No. 2 — Rapid Fire Water Gun 
 
 3. Water and Air 
 
 Two experiments 
 Game No. 3 — Trench Gun 
 Game No. 4— rHeight and Distance Contest 
 Game No. 5 — Pop Gun 
 
 4. The Siphon 
 
 — How the siphon is used in water supply systems 
 
 — How to start a large siphon 
 
 — ^^Other uses of the siphon 
 
 — Velocity of flow 
 
 — Other siphons 
 
 — How to start a small siphon 
 
 — An enclosed fountain 
 
 5. Atmospheric Pressure 
 
 6. The "Why" of the Siphon 
 
 — Pumps 
 
 —Game No. 6— Water Gun Shooting 
 
 —Game No. 7— Big Gun Battle 
 
 —Game No. 8— Machine Gun Battle 
 
 —Game No. 9— The Diablo Whistle 
 
 — rLift Pump 
 
 — Force Pump Contest — Game No. 10 
 
 7. Hydraulic Appliances 
 
 — Pascal's Law 
 
 — Hydraulic Press 
 
 — Hydraulic Elevator 
 
 — Canal Locks 
 
 — Pressure exerted by water 
 
 — Hydrostatic paradox 
 
 — Explanation and calculations 
 
The Materials and Activities Listed and Described 57 
 
 8. Pressure Under Water 
 
 — Depth Bomb, Torpedo, Submarine 
 
 — Buoyancy 
 
 — Law of Archimedes 
 
 — Raising Sunken Ships 
 
 — Floating Dry Dock 
 
 9. Running Water 
 
 — Friction 
 
 — Nozzles 
 
 — Velocity of Flow 
 
 — Air locks 
 
 PNEUMATIC ENGINEERING 
 
 1. Atmospheric Pressure 
 
 — Barometer 
 
 — How airmen know their altitude 
 
 — Altitude Gauge 
 
 — Water Barometer (5 experiments) 
 
 — Air Lift-Pumps 
 
 — Laws of Pascal and Archimedes 
 
 — Balloons 
 
 2. Compressed and Expanded Gases 
 
 — Boyle's Law 
 
 — Air Brake 
 
 — Flame Thrower 
 
 — Fire Extinguisher 
 
 — Air Pump 
 
 — Bicycle Pump 
 
 — Air Compressor 
 
 — Sand Blast 
 
 — Pneumatic Paint Brush 
 
 —Diving Bell 
 
 — Pneumatic Caissons 
 
 WEATHER BUREAU OUTFIT. This set develops the sci- 
 ence of meteorology in a series of experiments that the boy can 
 easily perform with the material supplied him. The various in- 
 struments used in making weather forecasts, the making of 
 weather maps, and a general study of atmospheric conditions and 
 the laws according to which these conditions change, are the fea- 
 tures of this set. 
 
 In this outfit and in those that follow it, as also in some of 
 those already described, Gilbert shows an increasing tendency to 
 omit the appeal to "magic," "fun" and "sport." Although he 
 introduces a great many sources of entertainment, this entertain- 
 ment comes from what might be called "purposeful activity." 
 
58 After-School Material in Science 
 
 MINERALOGY OUTFIT. This set represents a new line 
 of advance in the field of science toys. William J. Horn is 
 responsible for the working out of this outfit, which, according 
 to the manual, deals with the following: 
 
 I. Chemical Properties of Minerals 
 II. Physical Properties of Minerals 
 III. Description of Minerals and Means of Identification 
 
 (a) Minerals of Economic Importance 
 
 (b) Important Rock Making Materials 
 
 Eighteen different minerals are supplied with the outfit, and 
 the boy is directed to experiment with and learn to recognize 
 each one. 
 
 In a similar manner sets and manuals have been worked out 
 on the following subjects: 
 
 Heat Experiments 
 
 Surveying 
 
 Machine Design 
 
 Glass Blowing 
 
 Through the Telescope 
 
 Through the Microscope 
 
 Signal Engineering 
 
 Soldering 
 
 Tin Can Toys 
 
 Carpentry 
 
 and The Magic Series 
 
 II. (b) SPECIFIC TOYS differ from the outfits in that 
 they are built for one purpose only. In almost every case they 
 permit of no other use than the one they are made for: taxing 
 the ingenuity of the boy to adapt them to his ever-changing needs, 
 and ending in either total ruin or disuse. The place of these 
 toys in the play life of the boy is discussed in a subsequent chap- 
 ter. With the exception of the camera, electric motor, batteries 
 and magic lantern, they provide for very transient interests and 
 no far-reaching activity. A partial list of such toys is here given : 
 
 1. Steam Engine 
 
 2. Fire Engine 
 
 3. Electric Motor 
 
 4. Dynamo 
 
The Materials and Activities Listed and Described 59 
 
 5. 
 
 Magic T,antem 
 
 6. 
 
 Moving Picture Machine 
 
 7. 
 
 Spring Motor Toys 
 
 8. 
 
 "Tank" 
 
 9. 
 
 Shocking Machine 
 
 10. 
 
 Aeroplane 
 
 11. 
 
 Submarine 
 
 12. 
 
 Phonograph 
 
 13. 
 
 Batteries 
 
 14. 
 
 Camera 
 
 15. 
 
 Rubberband Motors 
 
 16. 
 
 Battleship 
 
 17. 
 
 Piedometer, etc., etc. 
 
 11. SCIENCE READING MATERIALS 
 (a) Popular Science Books 
 
 There is a type of science book which boys read as they do 
 novels. Such books were very much more in vogue a few gen- 
 erations ago than they are today; and the better ones are still to 
 this day among the most popular. Jules Verne is an example 
 of the highly imaginative type of science story writer, and Sir 
 E. Ray Lankester's "Science From an Easy Chair" is an example 
 of the "science reader" type of book. In recent years there have 
 been many attempts along this line. Very few of the books, 
 however, possess, in addition to their wealth of science material, 
 the literary merit which marks a book as being popular after- 
 school material, read for its own sake. In the following list the 
 needs of the boy interested in science are met; not as a school 
 assignment, but as an extra-curricular activity. There may be 
 other books than are here listed; and each month a new book 
 appears. The ones listed are the ones that comprise the Science 
 Club library* and have been studied by the writer : 
 
 Book Author Publisher 
 
 1. Wonder Book of Light E. J. Houston F. A. Stokes & Co. 
 
 2. Wonder Book of Magnetism E. J. Houston F. A. Stokes & Co. 
 
 3. Wonder Book of the Atmosphere E. J. Houston F. A Stokes & Co. 
 
 4. How It Works A. Williams T. Nelson & Sons 
 
 5. How It Is Made A. Williams T. Nelson & Sons 
 
 6. How It Is Done A. Williams T. Nelson & Sons 
 
 ♦The Science Club is described in Chapter 9. 
 
Author 
 
 Publisher 
 
 
 Lippincott 
 
 
 Funk & Wagnalls 
 
 Maule 
 
 Doubleday-Page 
 
 Clarke 
 
 F. A. Stokes & Co. 
 
 Pepper 
 
 E. P. Button & Co. 
 
 F. A. Talbot 
 
 Heinemann 
 
 
 Heinemann 
 
 Baker 
 
 McClure 
 
 Baker 
 
 McClure 
 
 Morgan 
 
 Allyn Bacon 
 
 Goldsmith 
 
 Sully 
 
 Adams 
 
 Harpers 
 
 Shafer 
 
 Harpers 
 
 F. A. Collins 
 
 
 60 After-School Material in Science 
 
 Book 
 
 7. The Romance Series (12 books) 
 
 8. The "All About" Series (6 books) 
 
 9. Boys' Book of New Inventions 
 
 10. Boys' Book of Modern Marvels 
 
 11. Boys' Play Book of Science 
 
 12. Submarines 
 
 13. Modern Chemistry & Its Wonders 
 
 14. Boys' First Book of Inventions 
 
 15. Boys' Second Book of Inventions 
 
 16. The Boy Electrician 
 
 17. "I Wonder Why?" 
 
 18. Harpers' Electricity Book for Boys 
 
 19. Harpers' Everyday Electricity 
 
 20. Books by 
 
 The greatest amount of after-school reading is done in con- 
 nection with experiments and other practical work. 
 
 (b) Popular Science Magazines 
 
 The following is a list of the more popular boy magazines that 
 feature science: 
 
 1. Popular Science Monthly 
 
 2. Popular Mechanics 
 
 3. Science and Invention 
 
 4. Illustrated World 
 
 5. Scientific American 
 
 6. Every-day Engineering 
 
 7. Boys* Life 
 
 8. The American Boy 
 
 9. Saint Nicholas 
 
 10. Youth's Companion 
 
 Many of these magazines encourage boy correspondents, 
 answer questions, suggest experiments and carry on competitions. 
 The magazines are practically the only extra-curricular activity 
 that have thus far been applied to or correlated with curricular 
 work. The Popular Science Monthly was the first to recognize 
 the use to which these magazines could be put in the school sci- 
 ence work and has been publishing for the last five years a Teach- 
 ers* Service Sheet to go with each month's issue. During the 
 last year the writer has been editing these Sheets for the Popu- 
 lar Science Monthly. There are in all about 10,000 teachers who 
 
The Materials and Activities Listed and Described 61 
 
 subscribe to the Service Sheets and make use of them either as 
 a direct aid in developing their course of study in general sci- 
 ence, physics, chemistry or biology or as a means of stimulating, 
 guiding, and controlling the after-school reading of their pupils. 
 It is the aim of the writer to develop these Sheets according to 
 the type of demand which exists for popular science reading 
 material. To this end questionnaires were distributed among the 
 subscribers and their reactions to the Sheets were obtained. 
 Although full figures are not yet available, there is a general con- 
 sensus of opinion that the use of science magazines is chiefly for 
 extra-curricular time. Where a rigid course of study is in force, 
 as is the case in the senior high school sciences, the magazines 
 have no place at all. There is no time. In the junior high 
 school and in the elementary or general science course, these 
 magazines are most valuable assets in arousing interest, supply- 
 ing readable information, and suggesting experiments with tools 
 and apparatus. It is also one of the large aims of the Service 
 Sheet to discriminate and lead the pupil to discriminate between 
 the worthwhile and the purely puerile and vacuous matter with 
 which the magazines unfortunately abound. It is the feeling of 
 the writer that to develop power of discrimination is more valu- 
 able than to eliminate the magazines because of their faults. 
 
 III. EDUCATIONAL AGENCIES INVOLVING SCI- 
 ENCE MATERIALS 
 
 There are three forces in the after-school life of the boy that 
 are rich in science stimulation. These are in connection with 
 the popularization of science on the moving picture screen, the 
 science lecture, and the Boy Scouts of America. 
 
 It is not necessary in the present study to list the hundreds of 
 science films that have flooded the market, nor to describe the 
 activity of producers and visual educators in this field. It is 
 also true that the present stage of motion picture education does 
 not warrant any large assumptions as to "value." But a number 
 of the better films, especially one on the automobile which is 
 being treated experimentally by the writer according to the same 
 procedure as was used to measure the activities and materials of 
 
62 After-School Material in Science 
 
 this study, shows a very favorable comparison between what 
 pupils can get from a period of instruction and from an equal 
 period of just seeing a movie. 
 
 As for the program of the Boy Scouts of America, nearly two- 
 thirds of it is activity which can legitimately be classified in the 
 field of science. That Scouting is a potent force is generally rec- 
 ognized. That its aims and ideals as well as its social, moral, 
 and ethical programs are intimately bound up with their content 
 material is not so generally understood. In England the Meccano 
 Guild program (described fully in Chapter 3) is being accepted 
 by the Boy Scout organization. In America it is already pos- 
 sible for Scouts to attain their higher degrees and win their merit 
 badges for showing certain scientific knowledge and skills. All 
 the propaganda of toy manufacturers designed to monopolize the 
 play time of the boy for their particular toy — their Gilbert Insti- 
 tutes and Meccano Societies — their engineering degrees and their 
 prizes and awards — should be controlled by a movement such as 
 is the Boy Scouts of America. Otherwise the taint of commer- 
 cialism endangers the whole future of the boy science movement 
 in this country. 
 
 IV. THE SCIENCE CLUB as that particular type of organ- 
 ization which the teacher can use to guide and control after- 
 school activities in science will be described fully in Chapter 9. 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 EDUCATIONAL PROPAGANDA OF THE MANUFAC- 
 TURERS OF AFTER-SCHOOL MATERIALS 
 IN SCIENCE 
 
 The advertising methods of the producers of the materials 
 described in the previous chapter are the finest illustration that 
 we have of the importance for the welfare of the boy of time 
 spent outside the classroom. When a parent buys a child one 
 of these toys, he at the same time puts the child at the mercy of 
 the sales manager of the company. The boy gets more than the 
 toy and the manual. He gets literature of many different kinds ; 
 he is told in a very entertaining manner of hundreds of other 
 boys; and in many ways his emotions are played upon by those 
 in charge of this phase of the toy business. Generally speaking, 
 the men who head these departments show a profound under- 
 standing of boy psychology. They seem to be attuned to the 
 spirit of boyhood. They know what the boy likes ; what he will 
 work for ; what he will fight for ; what he will dream about ; what 
 he will worship ; and what he will save and spend his money for. 
 These men are among the highest paid employees ; they are men 
 who would undoubtedly have made splendid teachers. 
 
 There is considerable difference in the methods employed by 
 the different companies. In general, there are four types of 
 propaganda used to grip the interest of the boy and weave around 
 and into his life an element possessing large educational possi- 
 bilities. Each of the four methods will be treated in turn. 
 
 The Magazine and Booklets 
 
 Every boy who owns a Gilbert Set can subscribe to "Toy Tips," 
 "the official organ of the company." Every boy who owns a 
 Meccano Set can receive regularly the "Meccano Magazine." 
 Every boy who owns a Chemcraft Outfit can subscribe to the 
 "Chemcraft Chemist." And so on. The important aim and 
 function of the magazine is to keep in touch with the boy cus- 
 tomers, keep alive their interest, and thus advertise their product. 
 
64 After-School Material in Science 
 
 That this method of advertisement pays is indicated by the fact 
 that more and more effort and money are being spent upon these 
 magazines. It is interesting to see that these magazines are de- 
 veloping along lines rather remote from pure advertising. Origi- 
 nally, literature of this type was published by the companies at 
 irregular intervals in order to announce some new toy or part of 
 a toy — a new price or a new store where their materials could be 
 bought. Gradually material that was but indirect advertisement 
 was interspersed. Then letters written by boys were published 
 andi "boy stories" very remotely related to their product, but full 
 of the enthusiasm for experimentation, began to appear. Soon 
 question departments were started and boys were encouraged to 
 correspond with the editor. At the present time there is barely 
 a page in any one issue devoted to direct advertisement. A special 
 editorial staff is provided to do this work; and in nearly every 
 case the director of the company himself employs this means of 
 guiding the fortunes of his product and of keeping in close touch 
 with his boys. T!ic average publication is a bi-monthly issue ; 
 and has a circulation equal to one-half of its annual sales. In 
 recent years the quality of paper, print, and photography has been 
 of the very highest. A wealth of illustration and entertaining 
 readable matter is quite the rule. In short, the magazine, itself 
 interesting, and centered around a concrete activity that is highly 
 significant in the life of the boy, finds it very easy to tie thousands 
 of boys together, giving them a common interest and develop a 
 "Gilbert Spirit" or a "Meccano Spirit" or a "Chemcraft Spirit." 
 This "spirit" furnishes but another outlet for the "gang" instinct 
 or tendency among boys of a certain age. 
 
 Some of the methods used to build up this spirit are both inter- 
 esting and significant. First, a prominent place is given to 
 pictures of models built by boys ; descriptions of how they work ; 
 how they came to be built ; and pictures of the builders themselves. 
 Periodically the name and address of each subscriber is published. 
 All types of boy contributions are encouraged. Then the maga- 
 zines are full of stories of great inventions and inventors. They 
 compare some particularly able boy with Edison or with Franklin 
 and stimulate both his imagination and his ambition. Boys will 
 put forth tremendous efforts to get their model, their picture, and 
 their story into print. A third method is the use of fiction and 
 
Educational Propaganda, Etc. 65 
 
 poetry based on some scientific idea or plot. Though never of 
 the calibre of a Jules Verne story, that type of story always has 
 an appeal. The magazines have always been ready to print our 
 Horace Mann Science Club News. It has proved a great incen- 
 tive and a valuable aid in stimulating our activity. 
 
 Competitions 
 
 The vice-president of the Meccano Company in discussing with 
 the writer the various reactions of boys to these after-school 
 materials, expressed himself in somewhat the following manner: 
 
 'There are four stages in the boy's reaction to Meccano. In 
 the early days of his play, he is bent on getting the mere experi- 
 ence of manipulating real and workable things. In the second 
 stage he is essentially imitative, duplicating what he sees in the 
 manual. In the third stage he tends to be original, to invent, and 
 to innovate. And in the fourth stage he emulates the accomplish- 
 ments of others. Furthermore, there is no fourth stage unless 
 there is something he can compare himself with, something he 
 can strive for." 
 
 All of the manufacturers have recognized to some degree the 
 above analysis ; and we find especially in the fourth stage of the 
 boy's reaction, that they all arrange for elaborate competitions. 
 
 There is no better way of describing the appeal that is made 
 to boys to enter these competitions than by quoting from "Toy 
 Tips," from "Meccano Magazine," and from "Chemcraft 
 Chemist." 
 
 "Big Toy Engineering Prize Contest ! 
 
 "Think of This ! 
 
 "$1500 in prizes for you ! 
 
 "Remember this big contest is always running and any boy can com- 
 pete. 
 
 "Prizes are awarded once a year. 
 
 "This contest is to encourage leadership in boys in building original 
 models; new models; imitations of great engineering feats, etc. 
 
 "Think of it, boys — 500 fine prizes! A real boy's automobile or Shet- 
 land pony! 
 
 "You can enter models built from Erector, or any other Gilbert toy. 
 
 "We do not want to have you send in models. Send in drawings, sketches 
 or photographs of the model, giving us a complete description. 
 
 "No restriction is placed upon the material out of which you make your 
 model. 
 
66 After-School Material in Science 
 
 "You can submit as many designs as you wish. 
 
 "The names of the winners will be published in Toy Tips.* 
 
 "Copies will be mailed to every competitor. 
 
 "Every boy who wins a prize will be awarded an honorary Diploma in 
 the Gilbert Engineering Institute for Boys." 
 
 "Meccano boys are keen, inventive boys, and every year thousands of 
 them design new models, entirely different from those in our big Manual 
 of Instructions, and both they and their friends get a lot of pleasure from 
 them. We want to know all about these good models, so that we may 
 bring them out of their obscurity and publish them for the benefit of all 
 our Meccano boys, many thousands of whom reside in far-away countries 
 and are glad to see what American boys can do. Don't forget that we 
 collect their models also, from Europe, Asia, Africa, and in fact from 
 every civilized and uncivilized country in the world, and bring their 
 novel ideas over here for the American boy to enjoy. Moreover, we want 
 to encourage the Meccano boy to invent. It is the thinkers and inventors 
 who have placed this great country in the front rank among nations, and 
 in Meccano, the American boy has the finest possible means of developing 
 his inventive and thinking facilities. 
 
 "Competitors may be of any age or sex, and there are no restrictions 
 or entrance fees. The ingenuity and originality shown will guide the 
 judges in their decision, and no preference will be given to large, elaborate 
 or complicated models. A small model well constructed, and demonstrat- 
 ing an ingenious idea, stands just as good a chance of winning a prize as 
 a large and intricate one. 
 
 "In making the awards, the judges will pay special attention to the fol- 
 lowing points: — 
 
 "ORIGINALITY. — Special points will be given to those models which 
 show initiative and originality and are not simply variations of those 
 already published. 
 
 "CORRECT CONSTRUCTION.— Models which in their details are 
 constructed on correct mechanical and engineering principles will 
 receive higher marks than those which are built incorrectly or care- 
 lessly. No special knowledge is necessary. 
 
 "GENERAL INTEREST.— Preference will be given to those models 
 which are likely to prove most interesting to build and demon- 
 strate. We shall publish the best models in all civilized countries. 
 
 "This year our big Contest is divided into sections as follows: — 
 "Section A. — For Comx)etitors under 10 years of age on May 1st, 1921. 
 "Section B. — For Competitors over 10 years and under 14 years of age 
 
 on May 1st, 1921. 
 "Section C. — For Competitors over 14 years of age on May 1st, 1921. 
 "A competitor may enter any number of models for competition, but 
 only in the Section for which he is eligible. 
 
Educational Propaganda^ Etc. 67 
 
 "Entries must be in the form of Sketches or Photographs which should 
 show clearly how the model is constructed. Written instructions for 
 building need not be attached unless they are necessary to explain the 
 working of the model. ACTUAL MODELS MUST NOT BE SENT IN. 
 The Photographs or the Sketches need not be the work of the competitor. 
 
 "There is no restriction as to the number of parts or make of toy which 
 may be used in the construction of a model for the competition. 
 
 "The judge will be Frank Hornby, the inventor of Meccano, and his 
 decision will be final. 
 
 "Competitors must enter with the distinct understanding that the sole 
 copyright of the photos, sketches ot models which win prizes, is vested in 
 Meccano Company, Inc. 
 
 "If considered necessary, winners of prizes may be called upon to fur- 
 nish proof that they have complied with the conditions. 
 
 "The results of the competition will be annnounced about June 30th, 1921, 
 or as soon after as possible. 
 
 "A specially printed list of prize winners will be sent to each competitor, 
 or to any address on application. 
 
 GRAND PRIZE CONTEST 
 
 '^Open to all members of The Chemcraft Club, Junior Members and 
 All Boy Chemists. 
 
 "The Chief Chemist is glad to announce the second grand prize contest. 
 The prize contest last year was a great success, and more than 500 experi- 
 ments were entered. This year we expect several times that many. So 
 all you Chemcraft Chemists get busy. 
 
 RULES 
 
 "1. Experiments can be performed with any of the chemicals listed in 
 the Hand Book and Catalog, or furnished with any CHEMCRAFT 
 Outfit, or any other chemicals, provided no dangerous, poisonous 
 or explosive substances are used. 
 
 "2. The experiment must be original with the amateur chemist who 
 sends it in. Stock experiments copied from books or magazines 
 will not be accepted. 
 
 "3. A Contestant can enter any number of experiments he desires. 
 
 MASTER CHEMISTS 
 
 "The degree of 'Master Chemist' will be awarded by the Chief Chemist 
 to all whose experiments are exceptionally good. A list of those receiving 
 the degree of Master Chemist will be published in the Chemcraft Chemist 
 Magazine as soon as possible after the contest closes." 
 
 The extent to which prize competitions are in vogue as a means 
 for advertisement is not realized by many teachers. The method 
 is not at all new in school activities ; but it has in recent years been 
 severely criticized from an educational point of view. Whether 
 
68 After-School Material in Science 
 
 such stimulants to industry and aplication on the part of the pupil 
 is worth while or not does not matter much. For when our boys 
 leave our classrooms they are attracted by these competitions and 
 yield in a very human way to these dazzling prizes. On the 
 average, 20% or 30% of my boys are at all times planning or 
 preparing some sort of an entry for a prize. These competitions 
 are not limited to the boy manufacturers. Practically every boys' 
 magazine or popular science magazine of any size offers prizes of 
 some sort. The Popular Science Monthly for example gave away 
 $5000 in scholarships last year and about $500 more for various 
 minor competitions. 
 
 Degrees and Awards 
 
 By far the most striking and effective means employed by the 
 companies to maintain their hold on the boy are what might be 
 called the Boy Universities. It is hard for adults to appreciate 
 what the International Society of Meccano Engineers can mean 
 to a boy or to regard with a boy's mind the Gilbert Institute of 
 Engineering or the Boys' Chemcraft Chemist Club of America. 
 To receive the degree of ''Erector Master Engineer" means quite 
 as much to a boy as the LL.D. or Ph.D. will mean later on — per- 
 haps more. This is how Gilbert broaches the question to his 
 boys: 
 
 "I know that everyone of you is full of ambition — chock full of a de- 
 termination to be a 'big' man in the affairs of the world when you grow 
 up. And so, knowing this, I have decided to do another big thing for 
 you that will encourage and inspire you — that will enable you to prove to 
 your mother and father and friends that you have the 'stuff' that the real 
 mean of the world are made of. 
 
 "Listen! In addition to offering valuable prizes for the best models, I 
 am going to give boys whose models of Erector or the Erector Electrical 
 Set show that they deserve it, free membership in the Gilbert Institute of 
 Erector Engineering. What is this Institute? Well, I'll tell you. Instead 
 of awarding only prizes for the best models built by boys, the 'Board of 
 Erector Engineers,' which will meet every Thursday of each week, will 
 confer upon boys degrees just like the big colleges do. These degrees 
 will bring with them handsome diplomas, suitable for framing, and will 
 testify to your ability as a toy engineer. 
 
 "The First Degree is that of 'Erector Engineer.* 
 
 "The Second Degree is that of 'Erector Expert Engineer.* 
 
 "The Third Degree is that of 'Erector Master Engineer.' 
 
Educational Propaganda, Etc. 69 
 
 "If you succeed in winning any of these diplomas, you will be proud 
 of them all your life — because they will be issued only to boys who show 
 real ability and promise of developing into men of brains apd character." 
 
 In addition to diplomas, Gilbert also presents his "engineers" 
 with gold fraternity pins and gold enamel lapel buttons. The 
 Master Engineer also gets a gold watch, and a recommendation 
 for a position with the ''Gilgert Demonstration Department" of a 
 local store, which pays a salary of $10 a week for three weeks 
 during the Christmas Holiday Season. A boy can win the First 
 Degree by — 
 
 ( 1 ) Sending Gilbert a photograph or drawing of an acceptable 
 Erector Model. 
 
 (2) Sending Gilbert a photograph or drawing showing that you 
 know how to put together a motor. 
 
 According to Gilbert, "only a few hundred boys in the whole 
 United States win the Third Degree in any one year." 
 
 Speaking to the parents, Gilbert advises them to "interest your 
 boys in this movement, because it will afford them a great deal of 
 wholesome fun, and cannot fail to aid in making better boys of 
 them, and admirable types of men later on. Also, because Gilbert 
 Toys direct a boy's thoughts and actions along constructive lines 
 while he plays — his imagination, ingenuity and skill are encour- 
 aged — and his impressionable mind learns that real pleasure 
 comes through creating and not destroying." 
 
 Quite recently the Gilbert Company has made a few significant 
 changes in their system of awards and degrees. Instead of 
 Erector Engineer, has been substituted Gilbert Engineer. Every 
 boy upon purchasing any Gilbert toy gets a "credential of member- 
 ship" which entitles him to several privileges among which is the 
 privilege of taking examinations for higher degrees. These ex- 
 aminations may be taken in one or more subjects in the Gilbert 
 Study Series. This series comprises the following toy outfits : 
 
 1. Engineering Series. 
 — Erector (A) 
 — Civil Eigineering (A) 
 
 —Hydraulic and Pneumatic Engineering (B) 
 — Signal Engineering (C) 
 
/'O After-School Material in Science 
 
 2. Natural Science Series. 
 
 —Industrial and Recreative Chemistry (B) 
 
 — Mineralogy (A) 
 
 — Astronomy (B) 
 
 — Microscopic Research (B) 
 
 — Sound Experiments (B) 
 
 — Light Experiments 
 
 — Heat Experiments (B) 
 
 —Weather Bureau (C) 
 
 — Telescopic Research (B) 
 
 3. Electrical Series. 
 
 — Elementary Electricity (B) 
 — Magnetic Fun and Facts (B) 
 —Wireless (C) 
 — Telegraphy (C) 
 — Telephony (C) 
 
 4. Manual Training Series. 
 
 — Designer and Toymaker (A) 
 
 — Carpentry (A) 
 
 — Picture Framing (A) 
 
 — Soldering (A) 
 
 — Wheel Toy Construction (A) 
 
 — Glass Blowing 
 
 — Tin Can Toy Making (A) 
 
 — Machine Design (A) 
 
 5. Recreative Series. 
 
 — Mysto Magic (B) 
 — Chemical Magic (B) 
 — Knots and Splices 
 — Coin Tricks (B) 
 —Handkerchief Tricks (B) 
 — Photo-Phads (B) 
 —Card Tricks (B) 
 —Puzzle Parties (B) 
 —Air Kraft (A) 
 — Briklor (A) 
 
 Items marked (A) refer to constructions and models of various 
 sorts. The examination in these consists of submitting photographs 
 and other proofs. Items marked (B) refer to "researches." 
 Descriptions of inventions and new experiments must be accom- 
 panied by parent statements to be acceptable as fulfillment of the 
 examination requirements. Items marked (C) refer to "examina- 
 tions" where explanations of phenomena are required. The 
 Institute stands ready to assist the boys in their studies through 
 correspondence. 
 
Educational Propaganda^ Etc. 71 
 
 The International Society of Meccano Engineers is of course a 
 rival institution to the Gilbert Institute. This society also awards 
 three degrees : Membership, Junior Engineer, and Senior Engineer. 
 
 MEMBERSHIP. — "Send in your name and address to headquarters. 
 We will then enroll you in the Society as a member and send you a copy 
 of the next issue of the Meccano Magazine, so that you can get acquainted 
 with it and hear what other boys are doing. For six months you are to 
 continue model building and do all you can by talking about the Society 
 to increase its membership." 
 
 JUNIOR ENGINEER DEGREE.— "After you have been a member of 
 the Society for six months, you can become a Meccano Junior Engineer. 
 Write us, giving full name and address, date you were registered as a 
 member of the Society, and state what you know about Meccano and what 
 models you have built. The degree is an award for merit, that is why it is 
 so greatly prized. 
 
 "During the six months period of building you will have learned some- 
 thing of the history of Meccano and its inventor, and the names and 
 uses of Meccano parts. You will also have learned the importance of 
 the Meccano system of standardized strips and girders with holes one- 
 half inch apart. So it will be easy to write us a letter telling all you 
 know. In this letter add a list of the models you have built and any 
 you may have invented. Be sure to write clearly and use one side of 
 the paper only. As soon as you have been awarded the Engineer Degree 
 you will get a beautiful blue enamel button and a letter certifying that 
 you have been admitted to rank in the Society. 
 
 SENIOR ENGINEER DEGREE.— "After you have obtained the first 
 degree and have worn your button for six months and continued to use 
 your building Outfit, you have the opportunity of obtaining a further honor 
 called the 'Senior Engineer Degree.' You obtain a second certificate and 
 a silver bar with the word 'Senior' on it. The latter is to be worn above 
 the blue enamel button. The two have been designed to match. 
 
 "To obtain the second degree, send full name and address, date on 
 which you obtained the Junior Degree and what you have done to earn 
 the higher rank. A Senior Engineer is supposed to know how different 
 kinds of girders are built, to be acquainted with the Meccano 'standard 
 details* given at the end of the Manual, and the scientific value of Mec- 
 cano as illustrated in Manual No. 2." 
 
 A third institution of the same type is that of the Porter Com- 
 pany—the Chemcraft Chemist Club. A few quotations from the 
 Articles of Constitution will serve as a description of this organ- 
 ization : 
 
 "There are thousands of Amateur Chemists in America. In fact, almost 
 every boy and girl who has a Chemcraft Outfit is an Amateur Chemist. 
 All these boys and girls have lots of real good times, perform all kinds 
 
72 After-School Material in Science 
 
 of wonderful chemical experiments and learn a lot of the elementary 
 principles of chemistry at the same time. Many invent new experiments 
 of their own. So many have become Amateur Chemists, and so many have 
 new things to tell about that we decided to get all owTiers of Chemcraft 
 into one big happy family; so that they could all know what the other 
 fellow is doing, and each could benefit by the experiments and tricks 
 invented by all the others. So the Chemcraft Chemical Club was started. 
 
 "Another object of the club is to promote good fellowship and friend- 
 ship among all boys and girls who are interested in Chemistry and to fur- 
 ther the study of Chemistry among them. 
 
 "National Headquarters is the central place from which the activities 
 of the Club are directed. The Club is made up of boys and girls in 
 every part of America who have Chemcraft Outfits. There are no offices 
 at National Headquarters except the Chief Chemist, who directs the 
 affairs of the Club, and the Secretary, who keeps the records of member- 
 ship and such things. The entire membership is made up of boys and 
 girls. 
 
 "National Headquarters is the place where the new experiments, tricks 
 and general chemical information furnished by the members is collected, 
 classified and distributed to all members; where the charters for Local 
 Chapters are issued (I'll tell you more about them later) ; where the 
 questions relating to chemistry are answered and suggestions are furnished 
 which will help members understand the subject better. 
 
 "National Headquarters also arranges for prize contests among mem- 
 bers, furnishes the prizes, acts as judge in the contests and awards the 
 prizes to the winners. 
 
 "The official magazine of the Club is also published at National Head- 
 quarters and mailed to each member. National Headquarters also fur- 
 nishes the membership equipment which is given to each Full Member 
 when he joins. 
 
 "In fact, National Headquarters is the guiding hand that runs the Club 
 and keeps the whole organization in harmony and running smoothly. 
 
 "Any owner of the Chemcraft Outfit can join the Club upon payment of 
 the yearly dues. All members are furnished with the following equipment 
 and granted the following rights : 
 
 "(1) Membership Card 
 
 "(2) Membership Button 
 
 "(3) The Official Club Magazine 
 
 "(4) Catalogue of Supplies 
 
 "(5) The right to compete without charge in the Prize Contests. 
 
 "(6) The right to conduct correspondence with the editor and to con- 
 tribute to the magazine. 
 
 "(7) The right to apply for and receive a Charter for a Local Chapter. 
 
 "A Local Chapter is a branch of the National Club, located in any part 
 of the country and run by the Full Member who starts it, with the assist- 
 ance of the other boys he gets into his Local Chapter. 
 
Educational Propaganda, Etc. 73 
 
 "When you have joined the Club, and so become a Full Member, you 
 can make application for a Charter for a Local Chapter. This Charter 
 grants you the right to organize, supervise and conduct a Local Chapter 
 of the Chemcraft Chemical Club under your own name. Your name will 
 be written into the Charter and no other boy can use it. The Charter 
 also appoints you Chief Chemist of your Local Chapter. You can apply 
 for your Chapter at the same time you send in your Membership Applica- 
 tion so you will get all your equipment and your Charter at the same time. 
 
 "After you have received your Charter, you will then proceed to organize 
 your Local Chapter. The first thing to do is get together two or three 
 other boys and explain the scheme to them and get them to join your 
 Local Chapter. You will first need a set of by-laws that will be the guid- 
 ing rules of your Chapter. The following is an example of the best form 
 to follow:" 
 
 The Boy Departments and Letter Bureaus 
 The magazines of the various toy companies devote considerable 
 space to the answering of boys' questions, the printing of their 
 stories and communications and the encouraging of the boys to 
 correspond. In all three magazines these "boy departments" have 
 been highly developed. In a subsequent chapter will be given an 
 analysis of several hundred of such letters and their significance 
 treated fuly. 
 
 The educational propaganda described in this chapter is all the 
 development of the past four years. Obviously this is too short 
 a period to warrant any definite conclusions. The companies are 
 feeling their way, trying one device after another; but they are 
 firmly convinced that the idea is sound. Their conviction is based 
 upon more than the mere advertising value, though that is a most 
 prominent feature; for most of them as has been shown, have at 
 heart the ultimate worth of their product as educative material. 
 To bring the boys of the whole country together in this common 
 pursuit, with this common interest and in cooperative effort is an 
 ideal which can take the shape of a real boy movement in the 
 field of science. The men who are directing this propaganda 
 have already commenced to feel, just as the pioneers of the Scout- 
 ing movement felt, that there are certain very real difficulties in 
 attempting to guide boys through a program of activities at long 
 distance. However wonderful the personalities of men like Horn- 
 by, Gilbert, Porter and St. John, their influence cannot be 
 efficiently transmitted to the thousands of boys all over the country 
 through their magazines, booklets, societies, fraternities, letter 
 
74 After-School Material in Science 
 
 bureaus, and the like. Most likely, the companies will continue to 
 engage in this propaganda, so long as it remains a "paying proposi- 
 tion," and there is ever}' indication that it will do so. But it is 
 not likely that they will develop their work to a point where money 
 will be sacrificed for the sake of the ideal. One prime need, for 
 example, is for the three or four agencies working independently 
 in this field to get together. Another need is to provide for proper 
 personal leadership in the place of the leadership through printed 
 matter alone. Can anything be done in this respect? 
 
 In a later chapter, the writer will describe his experiences with 
 the Science Club — ^an organization which hke the Gilbert Institute 
 or Meccano Society guides, inspires, aids, and keeps tab of after- 
 school activities in Science; but through direct personal contact 
 between a director and a comparatively few number of boys. In 
 England, the Meccano has organized a scheme, known as the 
 Meccano Guild ; which resembles in its program and activities the 
 writer's Science Club; and which has practically monopolized the 
 science toy field. Thus we have a starting point and at least one 
 experiment by which to go. 
 
 And because the Meccano Company in America is now taking 
 the lead in developing a boy science movement, it will be of value 
 to devote some space to a description of the operation of the 
 Meccano Guild of England, after which their attempt along this 
 line will be modeled. 
 
 The Meccano Guild of Great Britain was organized in its 
 present form about two years ago. For years, boys had been 
 corresponding with the Meccano editor, telling him of Meccano 
 Clubs that they had formed on their own initiative. This became 
 so common that the company finally decided to take a hand in 
 furthering this club idea. In less than two years, there seem to 
 be 300 cities and towns in England where there is at least ond 
 Meccano Qub. The movement is steadily growing. 
 
 Before proceeding with a detailed description of the methods of 
 the Guild, it will help to keep before one's mind a few important 
 features. 
 
 1. The objects of the Meccano Guild are: 
 
 (a) "To make every boy's life brighter and happier.*' 
 
 (b) **To foster clean mindedness, truthfulness, ambition, and 
 initiative in boys." 
 
Educational Propaganda, Etc. 75 
 
 (c) "To encourage boys in the pursuit of their studies and 
 hobbies, and especially in their development of their 
 knowledge of mechanical and engineering principles." 
 
 2. The Meccano Club is a science club in everything but name. 
 
 3. Advertisement of a direct commercial character is entirely 
 absent from the movement. One need not own a Meccano 
 or limit himself to Meccano activities to be eligible for 
 membership. He can even neglect Meccano for other science 
 activities. 
 
 4. No Meccano Club can exist (officially) without an adult 
 "Leader" and a capable boy "Secretary." 
 
 5. The Guild reaches the boy through his leader and his sec- 
 retary. Special pamphlets are prepared and given to the 
 leader and to the secretary. 
 
 6. A great many Scout Masters have become Meccano Guild 
 Leaders as well. 
 
 7. A definite program of activities for the Clubs has been and 
 is being developed by the Meccano Company. Latest 
 methods and new devices are supplied to the "Leaders." 
 
 From the pamphlet, "Notes for Club Leaders:" 
 
 "Those fortunate individuals who are brought in frequent and close 
 contact with boys and youths, and who have the power, the will and the 
 ability to guide them in their work and in their play, to encourage and 
 help the lagging ones, to stimulate and encourage the ambitious and clever 
 ones, to open their minds to all that is pleasurable in life . . . are doing 
 work which^ from a moral and national point of view, is of value beyond 
 estimation. 
 
 "Meccano Limited and its officials have worked amongst boys for more 
 than twenty years. 
 
 "The number of Meccano boys at the present time runs into the millions. 
 We have corresponded with them and interviewed them on all subjects; 
 we have been the confidants of their hopes, ambitions, difficulties and fears; 
 and we have realized how much they stand in need of guidance. They 
 have formed little clubs and coteries amongst themselves, and repeatedly 
 and persistently they have asked us to found a central club to which they 
 could all look for guidance. 
 
 "Realizing the immense responsibility and work of such an organization 
 we delayed any action until we felt that the call was a clear one, and until 
 we had all the means and facilities to carry it through successfully. 
 
 "You as a Club Leader have now become an important member of the 
 Guild organization; have approved and accepted its principles, and we 
 desire to inspire you with the same ideals and aims. You have under you, 
 
76 After-School Material in Science 
 
 looking to you for guidance, a number of Meccano boys, and your influ- 
 ence among them is great. You will come to look upon your association 
 with them as the brightest and most useful part of your life. 
 
 "The Headquarters of the Guild are attached to the Meccano factories 
 in Liverpool. Their function is to co-ordinate the work of the Meccano 
 Clubs in various parts of the country; to assist officials of clubs in the 
 arrangement of the Winter's syllabus; to furnish all available information 
 and help to make each club meeting successful; to provide badges for 
 the members; and special certificates and awards for boys who show 
 special aptitude; to insure interchange of ideas between all clubs, and to 
 issue an official magazine regarding the work of the Guild. 
 
 "A Meccano Club has a Club Leader, Secretary, Committee and the 
 usual officers. It has a Guild certificate of affiliation, and each member has 
 accepted the objects of the Guild. Each club manages its own affairs 
 entirely, draws up its own rules, arranges programs, competitions, demon- 
 strations, club outings, etc. Each member wears the official badge on all 
 occasions, and undertakes to acknowledge any other member of the Guild 
 he may meet, and recognize him as a friend with interests and work in 
 common. 
 
 "The fate of a club depends wholly and absolutely upon how the 
 boys spend the 100 odd minutes of each evening they meet together. All 
 schemes and policies, or aims and ideals depend for their fruition upon 
 the success of the weekly meetings. A boy who is bored or made uncom- 
 fortable once will not allow it to happen again if he can help it. He goes 
 to a club meeting to gain knowledge, to be entertained and to enjoy him- 
 self, and if he is disappointed he will drop out. It is the work of the 
 Club Leader to make each meeting successful, and to do this, it is neces- 
 sary for him to plan out the work beforehand, and to carefully and tact- 
 fully insist upon his plans being carried out. For a sense of order and 
 method makes unruly behavior impossible, whilst something interesting 
 to do is the finest disciplinary code yet conceived." 
 
 In general the Meccano Guild suggests four types of programs : 
 
 (a) Lectures and papers by the boys themselves or by adult 
 outsiders. 
 
 (b) Working at and demonstrating Meccano inventions. 
 
 (c) Competitions among the members. 
 
 (d) Concerts and Exhibitions. 
 
 Another pamphlet is issued to the Club Secretaries. In this a 
 great many practical suggestions are set forth designed to help 
 the boy to form his club, secure a leader and a club room, and 
 stage the preliminar>^ meeting. Typical programs for the year 
 are submitted and a great many activities suggested. A wide 
 range of subjects are set down as being among the legitimate 
 
Educational Propaganda, Etc. 77 
 
 interests of a Meccano Club. Under the head of Engineering, 
 the following are listed: bridges, roads, railways, canals, cranes, 
 steam and electric locomotives, motors, ships, aeroplanes, air-ships, 
 mechanical labor-saving devices, tunneling, coal apparatus, agri- 
 culture, elevators and transportation. Under the head of Scien- 
 tific, the following subjects are listed: Electricity, electric bells, 
 lighting and wiring, electric traction, electrical heating apparatus, 
 electrical instruments, wireless, telephony, electro-plating, optics, 
 astronomy, hydraulics, photography, gardening, bee culture and 
 nature study. 
 The following is also adopted as the Guild Science Library : 
 
 Author Book 
 
 Clandy, C. H Tell me why ! Stories about 
 
 Great Discoveries. 
 
 Smiles Self Help. 
 
 Williams, A Victories of the Engineer 
 
 Romance of Modem Inventions. 
 
 How it is Made. 
 
 liow it Works. 
 
 Romance of Modern Mechanism. 
 Frith, H Triumphs of Modem Engineer- 
 ing. 
 
 Holmes, F. M Great Works of Great Men. 
 
 Doubleday, R Stories of Inventors. 
 
 Johnson, V. E Modern Inventions. 
 
 Baker, R. S Boys' Book of Inventions. 
 
 Hall, H The Young Engineer. 
 
 Adams, J. H Harper's Electrical Book for 
 
 Boys. 
 
 Onken, W. H Harper's How to Understand 
 
 Baker, I. B Electrical Works. 
 
 Bonney Electrical Experiments. 
 
 Electro-platers' Handbook. 
 In a word then, the Meccano Guild is in reality a movement for 
 the proper kind of after-school science. Though its methods, 
 organization, materials and even aims may be criticized, their 
 motives are not ulterior. They look upon the increase of Meccano 
 sales only as a remote and very indirect outcome of this propa- 
 ganda. 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 BOY REACTIONS TO AFTER SCHOOL ACTIVITIES 
 AND MATERIALS IN SCIENCE 
 
 Chapters II and III have aimed to describe certain forces in 
 the after-school time of the boy. They have not attempted to 
 indicate the potency of these forces or the various reactions that 
 they call forth. If we are to evaluate educationally the mass of 
 materials and activities hereto described, we must very definitely 
 detenr.ine what boys actually do with these materials. Not the 
 elaborate structures erected by the manufacturers, but their func- 
 tioning in the life of the boy is the important consideration of 
 this study. 
 
 In this chapter the writer will present experiences and obser- 
 vations that throw light on the question of how the boy reacts. 
 The basis for the facts presented are four years of experimen- 
 tation in the Speyer Junior High School and in the Horace Mann 
 School with about 500 boys ranging in age from nine years to 
 fifteen. Wherever possible statements will be given in quanti- 
 tative terms; the figures have been compiled from various 
 sources, such as the minutes of the five Science Clubs (both the 
 secretaries' and the writer's own), letters written by the boys, 
 compositions written as class assignments for other teachers, rec- 
 ords kept by the writer over a period of four years, and other 
 sources that will be mentioned in the course of the chapter. 
 
 The most fundamental reaction of all is the extent to which 
 boys possess these outfits. To ascertain this the following ques- 
 tionnaire was devised and distributed among 764 boys as follows : 
 
 270 — 5th and 6th grades — Horace Mann School 
 
 494 — 7th, 8th, and 9th grades — Speyer School 
 
 78 
 
Boy Reactions to After-School Actwities 79 
 
 Questionnaire 
 Name 
 Age (last birthday) Grade 
 
 If you ever had any of the following toys or have them now 
 place a check to the left of each one that you have or have had : 
 
 Meccano Set 
 
 Erector Set 
 
 Structo Set 
 
 Chemical Set 
 
 Electrical Set 
 
 Fun With Electricity 
 
 Fun With Magnetism 
 
 Wireless Set 
 
 Telegraph Set 
 
 Telephone Set 
 
 Railroad Train Set 
 
 Steam Engine 
 
 Fire Engine 
 
 Electrical Engine 
 
 Stereopticon 
 
 Magic Lantern 
 
 Moving Picture Machine 
 
 Automobile (winding) 
 
 Tank 
 
 Aeroplane 
 
 Shocking Machine 
 
 Transformer 
 
 Submarine 
 
 Phonograph 
 
 Batteries 
 
 Wet Battery 
 
 Storage Battery 
 
 Dynamo 
 
 Motor 
 
 Train (winding) 
 
 Cannon 
 
 Electric Dog and Kennel 
 
 Camera 
 
 Piedometer 
 
 Galvanometer 
 
 Rubberband Boat 
 
 Winding Boat 
 
 Sail Boat 
 
 Motor Boat 
 
 Battleship 
 
 Blinker 
 
 Recko 
 
 Tool Chest 
 
 Lathe 
 
 Pistol 
 
 Rifle 
 
 Skates 
 
 Bicycle 
 
 In the following space put down any toy which you have or 
 have had and which you cannot find in the above list. 
 
 Of the toys you have checked, put another check next to the 
 two you like or liked best. 
 
 Put a cross next to each toy in the above list that you play with 
 at the present time. 
 
 Put two crosses next to the toys you like best right now. 
 
80 After-School Material in Science 
 
 TABLE I 
 Average Number of Toys Per Boy (Horace Mann) 
 
 Number in Average number Average number 
 
 Age group of "Outfits" of specific toys 
 
 8 to 9* 21 2.Z 10.0 
 
 9 to 10 45 2.8 11.2 
 
 10 to 11 75 3.6 11.6 
 
 11 to 12 78 4.3 14.3 
 
 12 to 13 39 4.8 16.7 
 
 13 to 14 12 6.2 19.3 
 
 Totals 270 3.86** 13.27** 
 
 *By "8 to 9" is meant past the 8th birthday but not yet 9. 
 **Weighted average. 
 
 TABLE II 
 Average Number of Toys Per Boy (Speyer School) 
 
 Number in Average number Average number 
 
 Age group of "Outfits" of specific toys 
 
 10 to 11* 22 3.91 11.64 
 
 11 to 12 84 3.92 12.97 
 
 12 to 13 141 3.21 11.97 
 
 13 to 14 158 3.29 11.73 
 
 14 to 15 65 3.09 10.11 
 
 15 to 16 24 3.08 9.58 
 
 Totals 494 3.163** 11.688** 
 
 *By "10 to 11" is meant past the 10th birthday but not yet 11. 
 **Weighted average. 
 
 The ansv^ers to more than three-quarters of the questionnaires 
 were obtained during the fall of 1920, six v^eeks before the Christ- 
 mas holidays, so that the flood of presents v^hich occurs at this 
 time does not enter into the figures. The other one-quarter of 
 the ansv^ers were taken during 1918 and 1919, and also before 
 or long after the Christmas holidays. 
 
 Tables I and II indicate a few significant facts : 
 
 1. Assuming that Horace Mann parents are wealthier on 
 the whole than Speyer parents, the boy of means shows 
 a diminishing interest in toys at a later age than the boy 
 of lesser means. Or, if the gradual and slight decrease 
 
Boy Reactions to After-School Activities 81 
 
 with age in the average number of "outfits" and of "spe- 
 cific toys" in Table II cannot, in the Hght of the small 
 number of cases, be considered as being probably true, 
 the table might still be regarded as showing that parents 
 of lesser means will cease to buy additional toys sooner 
 than will more wealthy parents. Perhaps this is due to 
 the injunction of the poorer parent to his boys to con- 
 serve and take care of his toys. 
 
 2. Though Table I does not go far enough to show when, 
 if ever, the increase in the number of toys ceases, cor- 
 respondence and conversations with Horace Mann Ele- 
 mentary School graduates tend to show that 14 years is 
 the peak in the matter of number of toys. At 14 the 
 boy's interests show a decided change. This fact is clearly 
 evident in Table II. 
 
 3. This decrease in interest shows itself more markedly in 
 the case of "specific toys" than in the case of "outfits." 
 
 4. Comparing the weighted averages in the case of the two 
 schools, there seems to be a far smaller difference than 
 one might ordinarily expect between the two types in the 
 matter of what they will each do for their boys in the 
 way of toys. The difference would undoubtedly be greater 
 if amount of money, instead of number of toys, were 
 taken as the criterion. Educationally, however, the expen- 
 sive toy, as will be shown later, holds very Httle advantage 
 over the cruder and less expensive one. That the dif- 
 ference above referred to is probably very small is also 
 borne out by a great many statements of toy manufac- 
 turers at a recent convention and in hundreds of letters 
 printed in toy journals such as "Pla3rthings" and "Toys 
 and Novelties." According to the editor of the former 
 periodical, "In every economic crisis, when parents have 
 had to pinch in every way in order to provide essentials, 
 they have seldom neglected to include toys in the list of 
 essentials." It is also a matter of common experience 
 with firms like A. C. Gilbert Co. to find that "the depart- 
 ment stores that cater to the middle class and to the poor 
 show relatively as great a number of sales as in stores of 
 the John Wanamaker type." 
 
82 After-School Material in Science 
 
 TABLE III 
 
 The Twenty Most Fre(?uently Possessed Toys 
 
 Rank (order) of these toys according 
 Order of Frequency to various ages 
 
 according to boys 10 to 11 to 12 to 13 to 14 to 15 to 
 
 of all ages 11(a) 12(b) 13(c) 14(d) 15(e) 16(f) 
 
 1. Skates 1 1 1 1 1 1 
 
 2. Erector-Meccano 3 4 2.5 3 7.5 3.5 
 
 3. Rifle 10 10 6.5 2 3 9.5 
 
 4. Bicycle 16 8 4 4 2 13.5 
 
 5. Pistol 10 2 2.5 7 5 9.5 
 
 6. Camera 10 4 13.5 6 4 3.5 
 
 7. Electric Motor 5 4 6.5 10 7.5 2 
 
 8. Railroad Outfit 16 12 5 5 6 6 
 
 9. Tool Chest 10 6.5 13.5 12.5 10.5 6 
 
 10. Phonograph 5 14 11 8 13 9.5 
 
 11. Cannon 16 16 10 12.5 10.5 17 
 
 12. Steam Engine 16 6.5 8 11 14 13.5 
 
 13. Wireless 10 10 13.5 15 18 23 
 
 14. Batteries 22 19 17.5 14 16 6 
 
 15. Telegraph 10 13 9 9 10.5 9.5 
 
 16. Magic Lantern 20 16.5 16 17 18 19 
 
 17. Submarine 2 19 13.5 19 22 17 
 
 18. Chemcraft 10 10 20 20 10.5 17 
 
 19. Aeroplane 20 21 17.5 17 17.5 13.5 
 
 20. Moving Picture Machine 5 16.5 20 16 15 13.5 
 
 Table III shows a difference in the kind of toys possessed by 
 boys of different ages, but the difference is not great enough to 
 
 indicate any particular toy or particular type of toy as being 
 peculiar to any age. The actual differences that exist can be seen 
 from the following set of correlation coefficients : 
 
 p aJD 
 
 = .384 
 
 p b.c 
 
 = .664 
 
 p c.d 
 
 == .850 
 
 p d.e 
 
 = .851 
 
 i>e.f 
 
 = .602 
 
 These are Spearman coefficients, calculated from the formula- 
 
 . 6S ly 
 
 N.(NM) 
 
Boy Reactions to After-School Activities 83 
 
 It is apparent from these coefficients that the differences be- 
 tween the different ages are slight. The largest difference occurs 
 between the ages 10 to 11 and 11 to 12. That, however, is an 
 
 unreliable coefficient, due to the very small number of cases upon 
 
 which the ranks in the 10 to 11 column were based. The same 
 might be said of the ranks in column "f." 
 
 TABLE IV 
 
 Toys in the Order of Popularity 
 
 Rank (order) of these toys according 
 Order of Popularity to various ages 
 
 according to boys 10 to 11 to 12 to 13 to 14 to 15 to 
 
 of all ages 11(a) 12(b) 13(c) 14(d) 15(e) 16(i) 
 
 1. Bicycle 2.5 1 1 1 1 2 
 
 2. Skates 1 4.5 2 2 3 3.5 
 
 3. Chemcraft 2.5 2 5 4 2 1 
 
 4. Erector-Meccano 6.5 3 3 3 10 8 
 
 5. Electrical Set 6.5 8.5 4 5 4 5 
 
 6 Camera 4 6.5 6.5 6 10 3.5 
 
 7. Railroad Outfit 6.5 4.5 9 10 6.5 8 
 
 8. Wireless 6.5 11 8 9 5 8 
 
 9. Batteries 14.5 6.5 6.5 7 17 12.5 
 
 10. Dynamo 10 8.5 11 8 17 8 
 
 11. Telegraph 10 16 10 11 17 12.5 
 
 12. Magic Lantern 10 14 12 13 17 21 
 
 13. Electric Motor Engine.. .14.5 13 13.5 21.5 10 12.5 
 
 14. Phonograph 14.5 16 16 12 17 12.5 
 
 15. Steam Engine 14.5 12 13.5 17.5 35 28 
 
 16. Shocking Machine 26 28 19 21.5 17 21 
 
 17. Train (winding) 26 28 26 27. S 10 21 
 
 18. Rifle 20 28 26 27.5 10 21 
 
 19. Moving Picture Machine. 20 20 19 15.5 35 28 
 
 20. Sail Boat 26 28 19 21.5 17 21 
 
 21. Tool Chest 
 
 22. Submarine 
 
 23. Aeroplane 
 
 24. Tank 
 
 25. Pistol 
 
 26. Battleship 
 
 27. Cannon 
 
 28. Telephone 
 
 29. Motor Boat 
 
 30. Rubberband Boat 
 
TABLE V 
 
 
 For First 15 Boys 
 
 For First 20 Boys 
 
 .660 
 
 .7S2 
 
 .812 
 
 .786 
 
 .801 
 
 .702 
 
 —.421 
 
 —.375 
 
 .509 
 
 .551 
 
 84 After-School Material in Science 
 
 In order to determine the differences due to age in the popu- 
 larity of the twenty more popular toys, the Spearman coefficients 
 can again be calculated : 
 
 Coeffici£nt 
 
 p a.b 
 p b.c 
 p c.d 
 p d.e 
 /'e.f 
 
 Table V shows a surprising change in the interests of the boy 
 at 14 years of age. The order in which he likes the toys after 
 14 is not at all the order in which he prefers them before he is 
 14. Various explanations of this phenomenon are, of course, 
 possible. Perhaps the most probable explanation is the tremen- 
 dous growth and development of the boy at this age, which is at 
 the very beginning of the adolescent period. Toy manufacturers 
 have reached the same conclusion through bitter experience in 
 trying to sell their toys. They find that they cannot appeal to 
 the boy of 14, 15, or 16 as they can to the younger boy. This 
 has become so well established that manufacturers now speak of 
 "the toy age"; by which they mean "anywhere from 4 to 14 
 years." It must not be thought, however, that boys of 15 and 
 16 cease their activity with this type of material. They do not. 
 They usually find a special interest which becomes all absorbing, 
 and they adapt the materials they can buy to their particular 
 interests. In general, it is true, that at 15 and 16 only those "toy 
 materials" which he can make do a useful thing will interest him. 
 
 In this connection it is significant to again point out the de- 
 crease after 14 of the number of "outfits" possessed by the boy 
 (Table III) and especially of the number of "specific toys." 
 Perhaps if parents consulted the boy more before purchasing his 
 toys, this decrease would be even more marked. On the other 
 hand, if a distinctly new type of toy were put in the market, 
 which toy was better adapted to the adolescent boy, this decrease 
 might not be evident at all. 
 
Boy Reactions to After-School Activities 85 
 
 Another consideration, next in importance to the number of 
 these toys possessed and played with by the boys, is the time 
 actually spent on this activity. 
 
 An examination of 92 diaries kept by as many boys over a 
 period of three weeks shows the following: 
 
 1. The fourteen hours of the average school day during which 
 a Horace Mann boy is awake is spent in five main activ- 
 ities : 
 
 (a) In the classroom, 4 hours. 
 
 (b) Exercise and athletic games, 2 hours. 
 
 (c) Doing lessons (music, etc.), 2^ hours. 
 
 (d) Time for meals and going to and from school, 2^ 
 hours. 
 
 (e) Play or free time, 3 hours. 
 
 2. On Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays outdoor games and 
 "free time" divide between them the entire day. 
 
 3. Forty-eight of the diaries expressed their greatest enthusi- 
 asm in describing activities occurring during "free time." 
 Thirty diaries centered their enthusiasm around physical 
 games and outdoor sports. The other 14 gave the most 
 prominent place to school or class work. 
 
 4. Though **free time" spent on toys is seldom a regularly 
 occurring activity, it comes in protracted periods, ranging 
 from one hour to four hours. Also there are weeks of 
 intense application and weeks of comparative neglect. 
 
 5. After a period during which little toy activity has taken 
 place, some problem or query will bring the boy back ; and 
 then one thing or another will keep him at it for several 
 days until the enthusiasm dies out. Usually the initial 
 problem that brought him back to his toys will be very 
 quickly forgotten in a host of new ones. 
 
 6. Forty-three of the diaries make mention of dreams about 
 toys. 
 
 7. Forty boys tell of how they lie in bed and think about how 
 they can make some toy work better or how they can per- 
 form some stunt with toys or what they will do with them 
 the next day. 
 
86 After-School Material in Science 
 
 8. More than a hundred times the fact is mentioned that a 
 parent has compelled the boy to leave his toys for some 
 other activity — much to the regret of the boy. 
 
 As regards these diaries, the writer feels that they are subject 
 to error in that they were kept for the "science teacher." Never- 
 theless they agree so closely with the observations of teachers 
 and of about 46 parents with whom the writer has had an oppor- 
 tunity to go into the details of these diaries, that it seems safe to 
 offer the above facts for what they are worth. All things con- 
 sidered, it appears to be true that the "free time" is the period 
 most looked forward to by the boy, the period that calls forth 
 his greatest enthusiasm, enters more than any other period into 
 his thought processes, and is the period where his initiative and 
 originality find their fullest opportunity. It is also true that 
 until he is thirteen or fourteen this so-called "free time" divides 
 itself nearly equally between physical play (sports) and "toy" 
 materials of one sort or another. 
 
 The writer was very fortunate in enlisting the aid of the 
 three largest toy producers, and has been able to get from them 
 several hundred letters written by boys. In these letters the 
 boys describe their activities and ask for help. Together with 
 many letters the writer himself has received, there are in all 432 
 letters which will be analyzed in the following paragraphs. 
 
 First, it must be remembered that these letters are encouraged 
 by the various magazines, pamphlets, and letter bureaus previ- 
 ously described; but that no definite idea is given the boy as to 
 what he is to write about. The result is that he will write when 
 he has something real to say — when he has a motive. That it is 
 practically impossible to get boys to write letters on subjects of 
 someone else's choosing was shown very clearly when the author 
 of this study published a little story in the Meccano Magazine 
 that ended in an appeal to the readers to write a letter answering 
 a few specific questions. Not more than six replies were received 
 by the editor of the magazine. The editor then told me that that 
 had been his own experience over and over again. 
 
 Second, the proportion of letters received to the number of 
 sets actually sold each year is surprisingly high. In the case of 
 the Porter Company, for example, 68,202 sets of all types were 
 
Boy (Reactions to After-School Activities 87 
 
 sold during the year 1920 and a total of nearly 14,000 communi- 
 cations received. A. C. Gilbert Co, reports an average of 2,500 
 letters a day during November, December, and January and an 
 average of 200 a day throughout the year. (The Gilbert "Boy 
 Letter" office holds a prominent place in the plant.) The Mec- 
 cano Company offers the only evidence at all contradictory to the 
 above. Their vice-president makes the statement that the Eng- 
 lish boy is a real letter-writer — ^that he will "talk his little heart 
 out and explain his little difficulties. Not so the American boy. 
 The American boy cannot and does not write letters." The dif- 
 ficulty of the Meccano Company in getting as large a correspond- 
 ence in America as they do in England may be due to an entirely 
 different cause or set of causes. For one thing, the movement 
 has been developed in England and has been designed to meet 
 specifically the needs of the English boy. Then, too, Mr. Hornby 
 is in England. Boys must send their letters there if they wish 
 personal attention. Mr. Gilbert and Mr. Porter are not only 
 Americans who have designed their toys from their knowledge 
 of the American boy, but they aim to answer all communications 
 personally. This means a great deal. On the average one boy in 
 about four or five who owns a set will correspond. 
 
 Third, the letters divide themselves into four classes. There 
 are letters of complaint (about 5 per cent), letters desiring infor- 
 mation as to price, etc. (about 5 per cent), letters desiring scien- 
 tific information (about 40 per cent), and letters describing new 
 activities, inventions, new experiments, and interesting occur- 
 rences (about 50 per cent). 
 
 Fourth, the set of letters which the writer is using as basis 
 for these figures are as nearly a random collection as one could 
 get. Care was taken not to choose letters that were published in 
 the magazines nor the "type" letters that manufacturers use for 
 advertising purposes. In nearly every case they came from a 
 folder out of the companies' index files. Finally, though the let- 
 ters are very crude, they are also very genuine. 
 
88 After-School Material in Science 
 
 To the question, "Just what is there in these materials and 
 activities which interests a boy?" the letters give the following 
 typical replies: 
 
 (a) "I like to do things, make experiments, 
 
 make things work and invent." 120 letters or 37% 
 
 (b) "I want to win a prize and get a Gilbert 
 
 diploma." 76 " " 23% 
 
 (c) "I want to become an engineer (an 
 
 inventor) " 64 " 
 
 (d) "I like to fool my friends and show them 
 
 magic tricks" 31 " 
 
 (e) "I want to learn how to earn money". .11 " 
 
 (f) "I want to learn how to use tools and 
 
 learn how things work" 6 " 
 
 (g) Miscellaneous specific ends 18 " 
 
 (h) Letters lacking in this information. . . . 106 
 
 3% 
 
 2% 
 6% 
 
 432 " 100% 
 
 To the following question, "What are the usual difficulties that 
 confront the boy while working with these materials ?" the letters 
 offer the following : 
 
 (a) Difficulties due to lack of knowledge 184 or 54% 
 
 (b) Difficulties due to lack of ability or technique 60 " 18% 
 
 (c) Difficulties due to "wild-cat" schemes 85 " 25% 
 
 (d) Difficulties due to pure accidents 11 " 3% 
 
 (e) Letters lacking this information 92 
 
 432 100% 
 
 To the question, "How does the boy usually overcome his diffi- 
 culties ?" the letters offer the following : 
 
 (a) By reading in books 30 or 11% 
 
 (b) Through parent or other help 21 " 8% 
 
 (c) Through hints from other boys' experiments 34 " 12% 
 
 (d) By "perseverance and experimenting" 91 " 33% 
 
 (e) Failures 101 " 36% 
 
 (f ) Letters lacking this information 155 
 
 432 100% 
 
Boy Reactions to After-School Activities 89 
 
 In corroboration of the figures above, let us see how the 500 
 boys with whom the writer has had close contact, divide as to the 
 three points for which the letters were analyzed : 
 
 First, as to type of motive or interest : 
 
 (a) Number who just liked to handle things and 
 
 make things work 227 or 55% 
 
 (b) Number whose chief motive was some defi- 
 
 nite reward such as the Science Club medal, 
 parent approbation, or Gilbert or Meccano 
 prize 74 " 18% 
 
 (c) Number whose chief motive was some large 
 
 ultimate end ; such as becoming an engineer, 
 
 an inventor, learning a good trade, etc. ... 66 " 16% 
 
 (d) Number whose chief urge was a very im- 
 
 mediate end; such as mystifying their 
 
 friends with some stunt, etc 45 " 11% 
 
 412 100% 
 
 Item (a) above is similar to item (a) in the analysis for the 
 letters and the percentages in the two cases are 55 and 37. In 
 each case this motive is the most frequent one. 
 
 Item (b) above is similar to item (b) in the first analysis and 
 the percentages are 18 and 23. Item (c) above can be compared 
 to items (c), (e) and (f). The percentages in each case are 
 16 and 25. Item (d) above shows a percentage of 11 as compared 
 with 15 per cent for items (d) and (g) in the case of the letters. 
 
 Second, as to the type of difficulty: 
 
 From the minutes of four science clubs and from records of 
 conferences with boys, the difficulties that boys usually encounter 
 group themselves as follows : 
 
 (a) Difficulties due to lack of knowledge 177 or 62% 
 
 (b) Difficulties due to lack of ability or technique 66 " 23% 
 
 (c) Difficulties due to "wild-cat" schemes 37 " 13% 
 
 (d) Difficulties due to pure accidents 6 " 2% 
 
 286 100% 
 
90 After-School Material in Science 
 
 Again it is interesting to note that more than half the difficuhies 
 that boys encounter in carrying out some of their projects are due 
 to lack of knowledge or information. Lack of ability or lack of 
 technique (it is hard to determine which it is in most cases) 
 accounts for about one-fifth or one-quarter of the difficulties. 
 About an equal portion is due to the highly imaginative type of 
 boy whose wild, impractical schemes involve him in all sorts of 
 difficulties that eventually discourage him, in 99 cases out of every 
 100. There was not included in this class of difficulties the type 
 that confronts the very exceptional boy (the near-genius or 
 genius) which difficulty may be caused by a problem which though 
 essentially sound, is far beyond his present comprehension or his 
 available means. 
 
 Third, as to how these difficulties are overcome : 
 
 (a) Needed information supplied through reading 41 or 15% 
 
 (b) Needed information supplied by parent, 
 
 teacher, etc 28 " 10% 
 
 (c) Inspiration from other experiments, such as 
 
 teacher, friend, the book, etc 52 " 19% 
 
 (d) Success through repeated experimenting. ... 85 " 31% 
 
 (e) Failures 69 " 25% 
 
 275 100% 
 Note that three-quarters of the cases recorded here, and two- 
 thirds in the case of the letters, were cases of successful solu- 
 tions to difficulties; successful, that is, in the eyes of the boys 
 themselves ; and in the sense that the boy felt that he had accom- 
 plished what he had set out to do. The figures also point to the 
 large possibilities for the influencing of reading and of thinking 
 which are offered by these self -initiated problems. 
 
 One other thing comes out very strikingly in a large proportion 
 of the letters and also in the problems that the writer has recorded. 
 Every time the boy solves a problem successfully he almost always 
 has a new problem to tackle. Statements such as this occur very 
 frequently. ''Having made my motor operate my small crane and 
 my grindstone, I am now going to turn my mother's sewing 
 machine with it." Or, "Yesterday I tried out the suggestion you 
 sent me about boiling the soap chemicals a long time, and it 
 
Boy Reactions to After-School Activities 91 
 
 worked fine. Now I am going to make perfumed soap," etc., etc. 
 When the boy is successful he not only enjoys himself thoroughly 
 but keeps right on seeking new activities. When he fails, he is 
 discouraged and his interest lags. To keep him interested and 
 with their "long distance" method of reaching him, the companies 
 have but one recourse, to make things so simple and so workable 
 that even the less capable boy will feel that he is successful. The 
 companies have as yet not developed any means of utilizing for 
 educational purposes the many situations in which the boy is con- 
 fronted by a very great or insurmountable difficulty. Perhaps 
 that should not be expected of a commercial undertaking; and 
 yet these situations offer just as great possibiHties for the progress 
 of the boy as his successes. 
 
 In addition to the major reactions hereto described, the writer 
 wishes to list a great many minor reactions which are nevertheless 
 quite important. 
 
 (1) According to the records kept, 212 boys performed the 
 Chemcraft experiments in a random order, picking experi- 
 ments from the last few pages before attempting to do 
 the earlier experiments, and skipping around wherever their 
 fancy led them. Only 32 boys were recorded as giving 
 evidence that they were doing the experiments as listed in 
 the manual. The large majority were oblivious of the 
 effort of the manual to teach them the principles of 
 chemistry. 
 
 (2) Quite a large number of boys tire very easily of the too- 
 overt effort of the manuals to teach. This is true of all 
 the manuals that are logically organized and that lay stress 
 on the laws ''which must be remembered." This does not 
 interfere very long with their activity, however, for they 
 soon learn that they can ignore the organization and do 
 what they choose. Mr. A. C. Gilbert and men of his type 
 are continually on the horns of a dilemma. Shall they 
 make their appeal to the vast majority of their customers — 
 the boys — who care only for workable experiments that 
 they can enjoy? Or shall they surround their experiments 
 and models with textual material (which will be read only 
 by adults), thereby adding "dignity" to the outfit, and giv- 
 ing it an educational flavor? 
 
92 After-School Material in Science 
 
 (3) That the manuals do not function as they are intended to 
 by the companies is strikingly illustrated in the Erector 
 Manual, where it is quite essential for proper construction 
 of the four-sided girder (the most important construction 
 element in Erector) to follow instructions carefully. Mr. 
 Gilbert complains bitterly that his boys are losing the real 
 value of Erector by failing to learn from his directions 
 how to construct a four-sided girder. With this type of 
 girder he feels he can compete successfully with the 
 Meccano. 
 
 (4) The average standing in the Science Club Point scheme (to 
 be described later) of the 212 boys who did not follow the 
 organization of the manuals was considerably higher than 
 the standing of the 32 careful boys who rigidly observed 
 instructions in the manuals. The average score for the 
 former was 102 points and for the latter 76 points. The 
 former were also richer in "inventions" and original ex- 
 periments. The latter excelled to some degree in class 
 assignments and written tests on class work. 
 
 (5) There are a considerable number of boys who find a new 
 kind of interest in their outfit (particularly the Chemical 
 and the Electrical) after they have played with it for six 
 months or a year. By that time the alluring, sensational 
 experiment has not its old appeal and there commences to 
 develop a sounder interest in the whys and wherefores of 
 phenomena. New relationships between experiments and 
 phenomena to which he was oblivious during his early ac- 
 tivity begin to appear; and he enjoys this newer knowledge 
 quite as much as he did the old. Unfortunately the number 
 of such boys is not large in comparison with the number 
 who fail completely to react to the organization of the 
 manual. But proper guidance at critical periods goes a 
 long way to increasing the number who really develop an 
 appreciation and understanding of the larger principles of 
 science. 
 
 (6) The most popular type of construction for Meccano and 
 Erector is an electrically operated derrick that can also 
 ride on wheels. The element of motion has perhaps the 
 greatest appeal to boys up to the age of 12. The whole 
 
Boy Reactions to After-School Actnnties 93 
 
 toy industry has up to a few years ago been built up on 
 this psychological reaction of children to motion and to 
 color. At the last annual Toy Fair held in New York 
 City, 536 of the 1,000 companies exhibiting sold a product 
 that sought to attract children by mere moving of wheels, 
 etc., or by brightly painted objects. At the Toy Fair a 
 year previous to the last one, there were more than 650 
 of such products out of an exhibit of about 900. It is 
 encouraging to note from the above figures, and also from 
 a perusal of toy trade journals, that manufacturers are 
 beginning to apply this sensational appeal to "meaningful 
 toys" instead of exploiting this reaction so peculiar to 
 childhood. The movement toward science toys has per- 
 haps been the greatest factor in this newer tendency. It 
 was the most enlightening thing to toy manufacture to 
 discover that although the rainbow colored pin-wheel was 
 a great "seller" during the first few months of its business 
 career, it was apt to "peter out" very soon, whereas the 
 Gilbert type of toy, though it needed greater advertisement 
 and a more educated buying public, tended to create a 
 steady, stable, and permanent market — something that these 
 manufacturers had never enjoyed. It became a paying 
 proposition, then, to educate the public up to their product. 
 As for the boy, he would much rather have a toy that will 
 move something than one that will just move. He likes 
 to take things apart, but enjoys a thousand times more to 
 put them together again so that they work. 
 
 The topic of all-absorbing interest in all toy trade 
 journals is the remarkable demand for mechanical and 
 educational toys. Their conception of "educational" leaves 
 a great deal to be desired, and a good deal of what is said 
 is just advertisement talk; but a decided swing in the direc- 
 tion of toys with a meaning certainly exists. To a ques- 
 tionnaire sent out to toy dealers by one trade journal, more 
 than 60 per cent, of the letters that came in reply contained 
 some statement such as this : "There was a great demand 
 for mechanical toys and parents show considerable interest 
 in practical educational toys." More than half of the ex- 
 hibitors at the last annual Toy Fair showed what might 
 
94 After-School Material in Science 
 
 be classed as "scientific toys"; and more than half of the 
 advertisements in the two leading toy journals are of toys 
 based on a law or principle of science. 
 
 (7) In this connection it might be worth while to devote some 
 space to recent developments in the toy industry in America. 
 With the coming of the World War, German competition 
 in this country was entirely removed. In 1913 toys were 
 our second largest German import. After 1913, American 
 manufacturers had practically a free field in which to de- 
 velop. The same was true in England, France, Japan, 
 Switzerland, and Italy. In every country of the world the 
 opportunity was welcomed (in some cases by the govern- 
 ment itself) to develop an industry which would not be 
 dependent on Germany. To use the words of the brief 
 filed with the United States Senate Committee by the Toy 
 Manufacturers' Association in their plea for a high tariff 
 rate on toys, 'Tn closing, we ask you to put aside the 
 volume of production, the invested capital, the number of 
 employees, and to turn to the real reason for protecting 
 American toys — their place in American homes, and their 
 effect during the impressionable years on growing children. 
 Toys are more than gifts for Christmas and birthdays. 
 Childhood is impossible without play. Under modern con- 
 ditions toys have become the means for play to most chil- 
 dren. American toys must stay in American homes. There 
 they will teach American ideals from the earliest years." 
 In presenting the argument for American toys, the toy 
 manufacturers point to their greatest value in contrast with 
 the German toys. "Our most successful manufacturer to- 
 day makes it a rule never to produce a toy which is only 
 a *jim-crack' and attracts because of its novelty. He re- 
 quires that every toy he turns out shall bring joy to the 
 kiddies who play with it and also leave upon the impres- 
 sionable mind of the child something greater than the 
 pleasure of the moment." The brief unfortunately does 
 not tell what that "something greater" is, but it certainly 
 leaves no doubt as to the difference in type of toy. In 
 the last two years it seems that Germany has been flooding 
 American markets with toys manufactured before the war. 
 
Boy Reactions to After-School Activities 95 
 
 which have been lying on wharves and in the holds of 
 ships. American toy buyers have been taking the goods, 
 much to the consternation of our manufacturers who are 
 endeavoring to secure tariff legislation. No congressional 
 action has as yet been taken, but already there are signs 
 that the American boy has been educated away from the 
 flimsy toy, and that high duties may not be needed to 
 protect the American product. As far as can be discove^-ed 
 by the writer, there is no German toy that is analogous 
 to the materials described in Chapter II, with the exception 
 of a series of physics experiments, a description of which 
 will be utilized to point out another very interesting reac- 
 tion to these materials. 
 (8) It was mentioned before, in discussing Tables I and II, 
 that the boy tires very quickly of a "specific toy" such as 
 the fire engine, the "tank," or the battleship. They offer 
 very little for the initiative of the boy, and very often 
 cannot even be put together again if taken apart. They 
 offer a very limited scope for the "original" activity of 
 the boy ; and although some are better than others, they do 
 not compare with the "outfits" in the enthusiasm, effort, 
 and thought they call forth, or the time spent on them. 
 Furthermore, a good many of them, like the steam-engine, 
 the battleship, and the phonograph, are rather expensive — 
 especially the more workable kinds. Two notable excep- 
 tions to this reaction, both in the matter of expense and 
 possibilities for activity are the camera and the electric 
 battery, which rank very high in the estimation of the 
 average boy. 
 
 Now the German physics experiment as a toy is similar 
 to the "specific" toy of the American type. About 16 sets 
 have been examined and tried out by the writer. Each 
 set is contained in a box of ten compartments, with a little 
 trinket in each compartment. With the set goes a manual, 
 which describes in great detail just what the boy is to do 
 with each trinket. There are sets on Light, on Sound, on 
 Electrostatics, on Electric Induction, on Magnetism, on 
 Hydraulics, etc., etc. Some subjects require two or more 
 boxes of ten compartments each. The material is so de- 
 
96 After-School Material in Science 
 
 signed that it is almost impossible for the boy to do very 
 much else than what has been detailed out for him in the 
 manual. The apparatus is very ingenious from the point 
 of view of reducing school science apparatus to a miniature 
 size, but it is extremely frail and breakable. It is also 
 entirely lacking in the "fun" element. The German boy 
 must be a much more serious animal than the American, 
 because the writer has failed completely in getting his 
 boys to "play" with it, even when the fact that they are 
 German toys is kept a closely guarded secret. They are 
 a source of amusement and keen interest when the teacher 
 demonstrates the workings of the miniature apparatus, but 
 the materials in themselves possess very little power to 
 draw the boy or to make him handle them for any length 
 of time. In fact, boys tend to class this type of apparatus 
 with the steam-engine, the fire-engine, and the battleship, 
 as being very "nice and interesting for a little while." 
 
 (9) The most popular type of chemistry experiment is that 
 which has to do with gunpowder, flash-powder, and colored 
 lights. The companies are making a concerted effort to 
 discourage the boy from this type of activity, fearing that 
 one fatality might ruin their business. Their efforts, how- 
 ever, have been unsuccessful. As yet no case approaching 
 seriousness has been recorded. Page upon page of the 
 Chemcraft Manual is devoted to subjects like Food Analy- 
 sis, but boys will "pass them up" and concentrate on ex- 
 periments with "sparklers," "explosions," and other start- 
 ling effects. As nearly as the writer has been able to 
 estimate, 60 per cent, of Chemcraft experimenters will 
 react in this manner; the other 40 per cent, will show 
 varying degrees of interest in Food Analysis, Paint Indus- 
 try, Glass Manufacture, etc., etc., and varying degrees of 
 lack of interest in "fireworks." It must also be pointed 
 out that of the 60 per cent, there are a considerable number 
 who eventually tire of this sensational type of experiment ; 
 and if they then do not leave Chemcraft entirely, they 
 begin to show an increasing interest in other parts of the 
 manual. Even if they desert Chemcraft, about half of 
 
Boy Reactions to After-School Activities 97 
 
 them return to it later on, with a much heahhier interest 
 in the toy. 
 (10) A most interesting toy reaction to some of the more re- 
 cently developed sets and outfits of the Gilbert Co. is the 
 readiness of the boy to criticize the impractical and un- 
 workable features of the toy. In order to seize the market 
 and be the pioneer in the movement, Gilbert put out in 
 very rapid succession a whole array of new science sets 
 that were not fully worked out; did not supply the boy 
 with a full equipment and were not designed to meet con- 
 ditions that confront the boy. The result has been a flood 
 of complaints and what almost amounted to a boycott. The 
 Gilbert Co. has recently appropriated $100,000 with which 
 to improve their new products, but are finding it hard to 
 overcome the prejudice against the few outfits which had 
 been hastily developed. Thus the boys' reaction acts auto- 
 matically to further continual improvement. Unfortunately 
 there is as yet no control, automatic or otherwise, on the 
 improvement of the strictly educational features. 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 THE PROBLEM ANALYZED 
 
 The great boom in mechanical and scientific toys which came 
 in this country as one phase of the development of the toy indus- 
 try, in the absence of German competition, brought with it a 
 good deal of talk and literature on the subject of ''Educational 
 value." It was and is the chief "selling point" of every new 
 development of the last five years. And it has proven to be a 
 most lucrative method of advertisement. Men like Hornby and 
 Gilbert have worked themselves into a frame of mind where they 
 see in their products a great *'boy movement" of untold educa- 
 tional possibilities. In Chapter II we quoted rather fully from 
 the aims and ideals of Meccano, Erector, and Chemcraft. In 
 each case the material was presented as a vehicle for educative 
 entertainment. It is inherent in the nature of commercial adver- 
 tisement to over-state, exaggerate, and make extravagant claims. 
 It is unfortunately only too true that an unthinking public will 
 accept these over-statements and exaggerations. 
 
 It is the purpose of this chapter to establish certain principles 
 or criteria according to which these educational values can first 
 be analyzed, and then measured. 
 
 First, let us see what the manufacturers feel to be the value 
 of their toys — ^not the value of their product over that of some- 
 one else, but the intrinsic value of this material. Two types of 
 statements are usually forthcoming; one emblazoned in their ad- 
 vertising circulars to parents and adults, and one to teachers, 
 educators, and the sharply inquiring individual. "Meccano," says 
 Hornby in one of his magazines, "is valuable because a knowledge 
 of mechanical principles gained early in life is an asset that will 
 count strongly in favor of the boy when he rubs against the real 
 problems of later life." And again, "No boy can play with Mec- 
 cano without being trained in the principles of mechanics and 
 engineering." But talk to Hornby or his representative and ask 
 him what he feels to be the value of his toy and he will tell you 
 that he does not know whether all boys can learn the principles 
 of mechanics, or whether all the principles of mechanics are in- 
 
 98 
 
The Problem Analyzed 99 
 
 volved, or how many boys actually learn some of these principles, 
 or even whether they learn any at all. He will talk very assuredly 
 about some things, and will preface most of his statements with 
 "It is my profound belief," or "It is my positive conviction," etc. 
 From the concrete evidence and personal experience which he 
 does possess, he has ventured one positive statement : "The boy 
 is interested, he is enthusiastic, and he is getting real experiences 
 with things." 
 
 Gilbert is even more non-committal on the value of this type 
 of toy. To a convention of toy buyers and manufacturers he 
 will point, among other things, to the following basic ideals of 
 his product : 
 
 (a) To instill into boys the spirit of leadership. 
 
 (b) To bring science down to a boys' understanding. 
 
 But Gilbert in a private conference will hasten to confess that 
 he does not know what the real values of his toys are. He "feels" 
 that they are worth while. He enjoys helping his boy correspon- 
 dents. It keeps them out of mischief. They and also he are 
 having lots of fun. And he proposes to go right on perfecting 
 his toys, making them still more popular and in still greater 
 demand. 
 
 Perhaps the most definite statement yet made as to educational 
 value was made by H. M. Porter. In answer to a very direct 
 question he says: "I believe that the principal educational value 
 of Chemcraft lies in the fact that it makes chemistry interesting 
 instead of a dry text book subject. It connects chemistry with 
 tangible things which the boy and girl use and see every day of 
 their lives. It tells them how to make many things ; and by get- 
 ting them thoroughly interested, they go ahead of their own accord 
 and dig out the reason. A boy or girl who has used a Chemcraft 
 outfit wall take up a high school or college chemistry course from 
 an entirely different standpoint than the boy or girl who knows 
 nothing about the subject." 
 
 Without going into further details, it is clear that parents are 
 being flooded with vague, exaggerated, and baseless claims for 
 values that may or may not exist, or values that may or may not 
 be values. It must be very emphatically pointed out that we have 
 not yet been educated to the point where we will look upon the 
 
100 After-School Material in Science 
 
 activities of the child when he is out of school with as critical a 
 mind as we regard what he does while within the school walls. 
 Furthermore, it is not quite clear how the various studies and 
 researches which have developed our conception of curricular 
 values can be applied to extra-curricular activities. So that even 
 the parent who keenly awakes to the need of marshalling proper 
 influences around the child at all times, has no criteria by which 
 to judge or control the type of materials which are here considered. 
 It is not uncommon to find the chief value of a toy to be the fact 
 that it "helps keeps my boy out of mischief," or that it is "the 
 safest and sanest thing I have yet bought," or "It is very inexpen- 
 sive and absolutely noiseless." These expressions do not always 
 bespeak unintelligence or lack of parental interest in the welfare 
 of the child. It is a far greater indication of the failure to utilize 
 for the development of the child certain forces that are as impor- 
 tant as its "schooling.*' 
 
 Play, as a factor in education, is of course not new. Some of 
 our leading educators throughout the ages have given it special 
 thought. Plato was the first to give it prominence. And since 
 Froebel wrote his "Occupations" we have had a long list of ex- 
 perimenters and writers on the subject. Sj>encer found as the 
 chief function of play the fact that it furnished an outlet for the 
 "surplus energy" of the human organism. Groos and Fiske looked 
 upon play as "nature's method of education," as activity peculiar 
 to "infancy" and of value in preparing for adult life. Later the 
 above theories gave way to G. Stanley Hall's "race recapitulation" 
 theory, and even this theory has been successfully attacked by 
 writings of men like Dewey, who look upon play as being just 
 one phase of the normal life of the child — important in its own 
 right and worthy of being an end in itself. As Merriam puts 
 it in his book on Child Life and Curriculum, "Education through 
 play is a misconception and an abuse of play Play through edu- 
 cation is a more valuable concept." 
 
 The tendency then among educational thinkers is to establish 
 values for play activities that are in a different sphere or on a 
 distinctly separate plane from curricular values. This may ulti- 
 mately be developed in as detailed and thoroughly applicable a 
 set of criteria as we have for curricular studies, but in the absence 
 of these newer standards there can be no more valuable evalua- 
 
The Problem Analyzed 101 
 
 tion of the materials, activities, and reactions of Chapters II, III 
 and IV than to compare and contrast them with activities of the 
 classroom. Whatever the standards are that we apply to school 
 work, how will the Meccano boy and the Gilbert boy measure 
 when the same standards are applied to them? Obviously an 
 answer to this question will orientate our problem, and is the very 
 first question to settle, because it will determine to a large extent 
 whatever else may follow. 
 
 The science activity that most nearly parallels play with science 
 toys, especially for the boy of the age that we are considering, is 
 the course in elementary or general science. A close study of 
 the recent trend toward a first course in science brings to light 
 one large aim from which the values of the study are to be de- 
 rived. There has been considerable discussion and in many cases 
 even bitter disagreement as to choice of content, its organization 
 and method of instruction, but there has now evolved almost 
 unanimous agreement that General Science or Elementary Science 
 or the First Course in Science should aim to acquaint pupils with 
 their environment. Other aims and especially their relative im- 
 portance and desirable emphasis are still very much mooted ques- 
 tions, but that environmental science is the starting point for all 
 writers of texts and framers of courses of study, there is now 
 general agreement. In substantiation of this statement we have 
 the expressed aims (as stated in their prefaces) of sixteen out of 
 twenty authors of general science texts, studies such as that of 
 Howe,* in which the opinions of teachers and educators are tabu- 
 lated, opinions of hundreds of teachers with whom the writer has 
 been in personal contact, and the recent N. E. A. Report on the 
 Reorganization of Science in Secondary Schools. The chief worth 
 of classroom science activity is the increased knowledge, appre- 
 ciation, and control of the environment that it gives the boy. En- 
 vironment is here taken in a very broad sense. The school en- 
 vironment, the home environment, the street environment, the 
 newspapers, the theatre, etc., are all analyzed for the elements of 
 science that they contain and materials and activities of the class- 
 room take their origin in them. 
 
 Next to environmental knowledge and environmental control, 
 there is greatest agreement on the proposition that we should 
 
 * Published in the General Science Quarterly for May, 1918. 
 
102 After-School Material in Science 
 
 teach science so as to enable our pupils to appreciate the method 
 of science and to use this method and the thinking procedure of 
 science in their every-day lives. Obviously there are several aims 
 involved in the proposition. Some of our leading educators in 
 science teaching, who realize the limitation of a beginner's course 
 in science, are content if this course but serves to inspire boys 
 and girls to further study of science. Eventually the value or 
 values sought are the habituation of the individual to the greater 
 use of scientific thinking and experimenting, and possibly the de- 
 velopment of those individuals who can contribute to the advance- 
 ment of science in the way of discovery and invention. 
 
 To these two groups of major aims from which evaluation pro- 
 ceeds, there are usually put forward other aims which, though 
 very important, have not received the same degree of general 
 approval. General or Elementary Science is taught for its civic 
 value, for its vocational value, for its avocational or cultural value, 
 and for the enthusiasm and interest which it arouses in a large 
 proportion of any class : civic value, because of the large number 
 of commercial, city, state, and national functions that are inti- 
 mately tied up with the practical applications of scientific laws 
 and principles ; vocational value, because of the inspiration that 
 frequently comes to a boy or girl to choose some field of science 
 as a life work due to the discovery of an ''original" talent. This 
 discovery usually comes through contact with the materials and 
 activities of the science course. Avocational value is claimed be- 
 cause of the larger applications which are made possible by a 
 study of science. The universe, the heavenly bodies, the forces 
 of nature, all offer real esthetic experiences that are heightened 
 by a keener understanding of them. And, of course, science has 
 been the source of the greatest proportion of life hobbies of the 
 more genuine kind. Finally, the mere enthusiasm evoked by well- 
 conducted courses in science is always a desirable characteristic 
 about a pupil because it furnishes a hold on him which can be 
 utilized in many ways to further the general efficiency of in- 
 struction. 
 
 Accepting the above analysis of aims and their corresponding 
 values for curricular science — especially that science which is 
 commonly given to a boy during his "toy age" — ^it is proposed to 
 
The Problem Analyzed 103 
 
 also adopt the analysis for extra-curricular science. To recapitu- 
 late, and in terms of our after-school materials, the criteria which 
 give a science activity value are these : 
 
 (a) Does it make for an effective increase in the knowledge of 
 the science of our environment and of its control? That 
 is, does playing with toys help a boy to know better — 
 
 what things are 
 why things happen 
 how things work 
 how things are made and 
 how things are used? 
 Does it also give one greater skill in — 
 using things and 
 making things? 
 
 (b) Does it increase his ability to construct? That is, does it 
 make him more adept at manipulating things, and does it 
 increase his ability to fashion raw materials into usable 
 things ? 
 
 (c) Does it make for experimentation and inventiveness? That 
 is, does it inspire the boy to experiment, to try out new 
 things, new ideas, new combinations, and to test these ideas 
 in experience ? 
 
 (d) Does it have vocational value? First, will it inspire one 
 to further study of science? And, second, will it inspire 
 one to take up a certain vocation? 
 
 (e) Does it have civic value? 
 
 (f) Does it have avocational value? 
 
 (g) Does it involve an attitude or spirit of work? That is, in 
 accord with — 
 
 (i) Dewey's "Interest and Effort" 
 (ii) Thomdike's "Mental Set or Attitude" 
 (iii) Kilpatrick's "Purposeful Activity"? 
 
 In setting up what are virtually curricular standards for extra- 
 curricular activities, we must keep in mind that we cannot expect 
 to measure all the value or values that the latter activities may 
 have. There are a whole sphere of values that we cannot begin 
 to measure with our criteria. It is also within the realms of 
 possibility that what possesses value according to one set of 
 
104 After-School Material in Science 
 
 standards is decidedly lacking in value according to the other 
 set. If a German subject in the year 1913 were measured as to 
 his qualifications for American citizenship, he would most likely 
 be scored low in some characteristics in which he scored high as 
 a German ; and he would possess some qualities in which America 
 would have no interest, and others of keen interest to her in 
 which he would be lacking. On the other hand, if the same in- 
 dividual be measured for his qualities as a ''human being," the 
 criteria set up would certainly be different, but not at all the 
 same as the German criteria set up for the same purpose. Ob- 
 viously the German concept of "human being" would be a German 
 human being, and that of the American, an American. Without 
 forcing the analogy, it must be pointed out that our evaluation 
 of the second sphere of activity in terms of the first does not 
 necessarily imply that such measurement will determine com- 
 pletely its worthwhileness or even indicate lines of improvement 
 or of development. Only in so far as both types of activity can 
 adopt similar criteria will our analysis furnish conclusive tests. 
 To what extent the criteria previously outlined satisfy this con- 
 dition it is difficult to say ; but even if their origin lies in cur- 
 ricular activity, they involve to a large extent certain general 
 forces making for the development of the boy. The analysis 
 adopted offers more promise than would a set of criteria evolving 
 from considerations of the extra-curricular level alone. 
 
 Chice having established values according to our set of measures, 
 it might then become profitable to inquire whether science play 
 materials 
 
 (a) enable boys to "play" better 
 
 (b) give him more "fun" 
 
 (c) offer him more "wholesome" activities 
 
 (d) solve successful certain home-parent problems and any 
 other criteria on this same level of evaluation. 
 
 In previous chapters were described four types of Toy "Out- 
 fits" (Mechanical, Chemical, Electrical, and Sets for Special Pur- 
 poses), Specific Toys (about seventeen), certain propaganda of 
 the manufacturers, and there were briefly mentioned, the after- 
 school activities with Reading Materials, agencies involving science 
 materials and the Science Club. In all, we have nine large types 
 
The Problem Analyzed 
 
 105 
 
 of materials or activities. In this chapter eight criteria were pro- 
 posed, which, if applied to each of the nine above mentioned, 
 would result in 72 conclusions, as numbered in the following 
 table: 
 
 ^ Environmental 
 
 
 I 
 
 V 
 
 
 § 
 
 
 Materials and 
 Knowledge (a) 
 
 
 > 
 
 L 
 
 a 
 > 
 
 B 
 u 
 
 B 
 
 u 
 X 
 
 W 
 
 3 
 > 
 
 1 
 
 s 
 
 o 
 
 > 
 
 V 
 
 o 
 
 'C 
 
 2 
 
 •a 
 
 e 
 .2 
 
 1 
 
 > 
 < 
 
 3 
 < 
 
 (a) 
 
 (b) 
 
 (c) 
 
 (d) 
 
 (e) 
 
 (f) 
 
 (g) 
 
 (h) 
 
 I. Meccano-Erector 1 
 
 10 
 
 19 
 
 28 
 
 (37) 
 
 (46) 
 
 (55) 
 
 64 
 
 II. Chemcraft, etc. . 2 
 
 11 
 
 20 
 
 29 
 
 (38) 
 
 (47) 
 
 (56) 
 
 65 
 
 III. Electrical Outfits 3 
 
 12 
 
 21 
 
 30 
 
 (39) 
 
 (48) 
 
 (57) 
 
 66 
 
 IV. Special Outfits.. 4 
 
 13 
 
 22 
 
 31 
 
 (40) 
 
 (49) 
 
 (58) 
 
 67 
 
 V. Specific Toys ... 5 
 
 14 
 
 23 
 
 32 
 
 (41) 
 
 (50) 
 
 (59) 
 
 68 
 
 VI. Propaganda 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Activities 6 
 
 15 
 
 24 
 
 33 
 
 (42) 
 
 (51) 
 
 (60) 
 
 69 
 
 VII. Reading Materials. (7) 
 
 (16) 
 
 (25) 
 
 (34) 
 
 (43) 
 
 (52) 
 
 (61) 
 
 (70) 
 
 VIII. Educational 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Agencies (8) 
 
 '(17) 
 
 (.26) 
 
 (35) 
 
 (44) 
 
 (53) 
 
 (62) 
 
 (71) 
 
 IX. Science Club .... 9 
 
 18 
 
 27 
 
 36 
 
 (45) 
 
 (54) 
 
 (63) 
 
 72 
 
 As has been mentioned before, this study has, as yet, not been 
 extended to include row VII or row VIII* ; nor has it dealt with 
 
 *As regards the value of reading materials, the writer has been able to 
 collect a large list of books that are read to a greater or less extent as 
 novels are read — after school. A rough evaluaton was found possible 
 from the judgments and experiences of about 100 teachers. In the case of 
 magazines, the writer has been editing for one of the magazines (The 
 Popular Science Monthly) a monthly Service Sheet for Teachers in which 
 sheets the science material is so organized as to be applicable to (and to 
 function in) the curricular and extra-curricular phases of the general sci- 
 ence course. 
 
 In the case of the educational agencies that involve science materials 
 and actvities, only the moving pictures were investigated to any degree. 
 And in this case a typical film was tested objectively by the procedure 
 which is described in Chapter Six. 
 
 None of this, however, is being submitted in this report. 
 
106 After-School Material in Science 
 
 the criteria of columns (e), (f), and (g). These imposed limita- 
 tions will reduce our possible conclusions to the items numbered 
 and not enclosed in parenthesis. Other limitations inherent in 
 the study concern themselves with the procedure used in applying 
 the criteria. It has not always been found possible to treat all 
 items experimentally and with objective measurements. This was 
 the case in all the items of columns (d) and (h) and in all the 
 items of row IX. The details of procedure are described fully 
 in the chapter that follows. 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 
 THE PROCEDURE USED 
 
 In the Speyer School experiment of 1916 to 1918 the science 
 teachers found themselves in the unfortunate position of having 
 to teach their subject without either laboratory facilities or equip- 
 ment of any sort. It is a fact hard to believe but only too true. 
 Not even a piece of glass tubing graced the shelves of the former 
 cooking pantry which had been turned over to the science depart- 
 ment. This almost unheard of condition necessitated heroic 
 measures. The exceptional circumstances brought about excep- 
 tional methods of procedure, with the result that all recognized 
 "curricular" principles of teaching had to be abandoned. Force 
 of circumstance focused the attention of the teachers on the 
 activity that was going on among the boys out of school. In 
 order to keep from drowning in a sea of difficulties they grasped 
 at a solution which the boys themselves offered, as for the pro- 
 verbial straw. It took two years to build an equipment and a 
 makeshift laboratory. And what an equipment it was! Dozens 
 and dozens of junk rooms were despoiled of their discards; old 
 broken toys that boys donated; crude apparatus built by pupils 
 at home out of tin cans and cigar boxes, and shelf upon shelf of 
 scientific toys and outfits, loaned to the teacher for a term or two 
 by enthusiastic and generous boys. 
 
 It was the most enlightening two years the writer has ever spent. 
 Long afternoons devoted to planning and preparing for the work 
 of the next day brought to light the inner urgings of the boy; 
 for the latter took full part in these plannings and preparations. 
 Gradually a program evolved, based on what might be termed the 
 "extra-curricular" spirit. 
 
 The method of class instruction was a form of socialized recita- 
 tion which has been described at length by the writer in articles 
 printed in the General Science Quarterly for May 1918, and May 
 1919. The content of the course was virtually the materials of 
 Chapter II. The two years were a period of enforced experi- 
 
 107 
 
108 After-School Material in Science 
 
 mentation with science activities of all types, originating in the 
 after- school interests of the boy. Though no organized effort 
 was made to measure the actual value of this activity, it was 
 carefully watched and studied. In the beginning the situation 
 compelled a liberal amount of freedom for the pupils in their 
 choice of subject matter; and as the work developed no cause 
 appeared for withdrawing this freedom in any large way. When 
 guidance and control became necessary it was found that an 
 after-school organization — a science club — was very effective. 
 The net result of the two years was a crystallization of a class 
 procedure that correlated with a program of after-school activities 
 in science, a discovery of the well-springs of the boy's enthusiasm 
 and a realization that what goes on outside of our classroom walls 
 under the guise of "play" is of tremendous significance in the 
 development (education) of the boy. 
 
 In the year which followed, this time in the Horace Mann 
 School, the experiences of the Speyer School were checked up 
 and verified. In the main the problems were the same, with the 
 "extra-curricular" activities more predominant, if anything. The 
 analysis of the foregoing chapter and the necessity for objective 
 measurement came at this stage and concerned itself with the 
 last two years in the Horace Mann School. 
 
 In measuring the extra-curricular in terms of the curricular 
 we are comparing an activity about which we know relatively 
 little with an activity about which we know a good deal. Thus, 
 in the case of class-teaching, we know accurately the amount of 
 time spent, the materials used, the nature of the reviews, the 
 questions asked, the reaction produced, the effort evoked and a 
 fairly reliable measure of accomplishment. In the case of the 
 extra-curricular we know of these things in a vague way, if at all. 
 The whole of Chapter IV was devoted to a description of the 
 variable nature of "after-school" reactions to science materials. 
 Furthermore, we have no way of knowing the extent to which 
 other factors, in addition to the boy and his materials, enter into 
 the problem. How much parent control is there? What is the 
 effect of the back and forth questioning and suggesting that may 
 go on between father and son or brother and brother? What 
 influence has the physical environment of the home? And other 
 factors of a similar nature. 
 
The Procedure Used 109 
 
 The first essential, then, was to bring this activity under as close 
 observation as was the class-work in science and yet not deaden 
 its spontaneity in any way. This was accomplished by means of 
 a well-organized science club with a program of activities that 
 brought the boys into the school for some of their "play." 
 
 A second essential was a common ground; that is, a common 
 body of content, so that the comparison would be a fair one. 
 This raised a serious problem. To teach the things that boys will 
 play with is to introduce a control on teaching that may work to 
 its disadvantage. To make boys play with the things they are 
 taught (if that were possible) would be to destroy completely 
 the "play." To solve the problem two procedures were adopted. 
 During 1919-1920 the play was permitted to go on uncontrolled, 
 as was the teaching. At the end of the year a good deal of over- 
 lapping was found to exist. Tests based on this overlapping 
 material were used as a means of measurement. During 1920- 
 1921 a series of play units were chosen on the basis of the most 
 popular toys as determined in Chapter IV, and the entire course 
 of study for the year's teaching was developed from these play 
 units. Thus the teaching was "controlled," as was also the play to 
 a lesser extent and the tests given were entirely on an identical 
 body of content. 
 
 During the two years the comparisons drawn were among four 
 groups of almost equal mental age and I. Q.* Group A in both 
 cases had not only the teaching but also the play. Group B had 
 only the teaching. Group C had only the play, and Group D had 
 neither. The last group was introduced as a control group. A 
 peculiar arrangement of the school program facilitated the selec- 
 tions of these different groups. The sixth grade boys have 
 science and industrial arts scheduled as a regular subject. About 
 half of them join the club and half of them do not. Thus Groups 
 A and B were obtained; for they both had science instruction 
 and only the one had play activities. Also, most of the 5th grade 
 boys do not have science and industrial arts scheduled regularly. 
 From those who joined the club Group C was formed and those 
 who did not, Group D. It is to be noted, also, that Groups A and B 
 
 *Groups C and D were drawn from the Sth grade, whereas Groups A 
 and B were drawn from the 6th grade. Thus the former were on the 
 
 average one year mental age younger than the latter. 
 
110 After-School Material in Science 
 
 received identical instruction, most of them coming as one class ; 
 and Groups A and C received their play together, all of them 
 attending club at the same time. 
 
 During 1920-1921 the total amount of time spent on teaching 
 was twenty periods of 30 minutes each and twenty periods of 15 
 minutes each, allowing forty-five minutes during each week of 
 the school year up till the end of March. The time allotted to 
 play was a thirty-five to forty-five minute period a week for 20 
 weeks. 
 
 The character and method of both the play and the teaching are 
 significant. First as to the play. A large chart was prepared 
 listing the club members vertically and the twenty play units 
 horizontally. By the end of March each square in the chart was 
 checked, indicating that each member of Groups A and C had 
 participated in at least these twenty units of activity. There 
 being about 50 boys in the two groups, it was impossible to permit 
 them all to work or rather play at the same time. Fifteen was 
 usually the maximum number that were present at one time in the 
 Science Play Shop. No bonus or reward was offered for this 
 activity. They came on practically every afternoon of the week 
 and of their own volition. When a boy came into the shop to 
 **play" he was asked to choose any particular unit he wished, 
 that he hadn't already played with before. The choice being 
 made, he was handed a card and a box of materials to play with. 
 Now, it was found that to throw a piece of equipment in the way 
 of a boy brings forth reactions that of course vary with the boy ; 
 but when the things ten or twenty of them will do with a given 
 toy are all listed there are always about four or five manipula- 
 tions that are common. These common manipulations or stunts — 
 the minimum number of essential reactions — were previously 
 determined by closely watching and recording what fifteen boys 
 would do with each of the 20 units. These minimums were sug- 
 gested to the boy on the card that went with his box of materials. 
 The card then served two purposes. First, it listed the materials 
 which he was to find, and second, it suggested certain possibilities 
 (without telling him how to accomplish them) and also gave him 
 a stimulus to work some original *'stunts" with the apparatus. 
 The chief function of the card was to prevent floundering and 
 waste of time. 
 
The Procedure Used 111 
 
 As regards the kind of equipment, most of it was taken from 
 the commercial toy outfits ; so as to try out the workableness of 
 the material. In a few cases commercial apparatus was used; 
 but always where there were no essential differences between the 
 apparatus used in the Play Shop and the kind bought from 
 Gilbert, for example. Also, in a few cases the apparatus was 
 "home-made." 
 
 The spirit of the play was genuine throughout. Not only 
 did the boys come of their own volition and for no further 
 rewards than the activity itself, but they would stay as long as 
 they could before being put out. 
 
 One of the greatest difficulties encountered by the instructor 
 was the tendency for the play period to become a laboratory 
 period in the high school sense. In this situation the teacher or 
 the manual issues orders and the boys follow blindly. Occasion- 
 ally they run up with a question and go back to their apparatus 
 for more study. The teacher, too, supervises very closely, criti- 
 cizing, admonishing, lecturing, and helping. In our case we can 
 not, of course, object to the laboratory method ; but if it is to be 
 play as it occurs at home, the boy must be left pretty completely 
 to his own resources. It was for this reason that the instructor 
 made no attempt to answer questions, give suggestions, or aid 
 in any way. He sat in the room, of course, and made sure that 
 the dozen boys did not interfere with each other, did not attempt 
 any dangerous procedure, and saw to it that necessary materials 
 were forthcoming. The boys understood that sometime during 
 the week they could see their instructor during recess and discuss 
 with him any of their problems and proposed projects, just as they 
 could bring to him problems and projects arising out of their 
 class work, their home study, or any other source.* This pro- 
 cedure was strange in the beginning; but the boys soon became 
 habituated to it and oblivious to any person or thing in the room 
 not connected with their immediate task. 
 
 The card became very important in the successful carrying on 
 of these play periods. It will be of interest to print some of them 
 in brief form, omitting from all except the first everything but 
 the "Things to Do." 
 
112 After-School Material in Science 
 
 PLAYING WITH BATTERIES AND LIGHTS 
 
 "You need the following list of materials. You will find them in a 
 labelled box in the large cabinet. If all the materials are not there ask 
 the sergeant-at-arms or Mr. Meister." 
 
 1. Two batteries 
 
 2. Two small bulbs 
 
 3. Two small sockets 
 
 4. A spool of wire 
 
 5. A push-button 
 
 6. A small screw-driver 
 
 7. A pair of pliers 
 
 "In the list below are some things which other boys before you have 
 done with this material. You might try to see if you too can do them. 
 But there are many other things possible than just the ones listed below. 
 If you can think up and work out some new 'stunts' or 'inventions' you will 
 be allowed to present them at the next meeting of the Club." 
 
 Things to Do : — 
 
 1. Light a bulb with the two batteries connected in series. 
 
 2. Light a bulb with the two batteries connected in parallel. 
 
 3. Light the two bulbs connected in series. 
 
 4. Light the two bulbs connected in parallel. 
 
 5. Press the button and light both lights dim. 
 
 6. Press and light them bright. 
 
 7. Connect so that pressing button makes one lamp dim and the other 
 
 bright. 
 
 8. Connect so that pressing button puts lights out. 
 
 PLAYING WITH A MOTOR 
 
 Things to Do: — 
 
 1. Run the motor, using a bar magnet. 
 
 2. Reverse the motor. 
 
 3. Take it apart and put it together again. 
 
 4. Make new brushes.* 
 
 5. Make the motor do some work. 
 
 *In the Play Shop there are always kept a number of helpful books on 
 science. When a boy is "stumped" he is encouraged to "dig out" the nec- 
 essary help from the book, if possible. 
 
 PLAYING WITH A CHEMICAL BATTERY 
 
 Things to Do : — 
 
 1. Break open an old used-up battery. (Save the zinc cup and the 
 
 carbon rod.) 
 
 2. Dissolve the sal-ammoniac in the cup and make a new battery. 
 
 3. Ring bells, light lights and run motors with the battery made. 
 
 4. If it doesn't last long, increase its length of life. 
 
 5. Bring an old battery to life. 
 
The Procedure Used 113 
 
 PLAYING WITH WIRELESS 
 Things to Do :— 
 
 \. Get sparks from the induction coil. 
 
 2. Wire up the sending set. 
 
 3. Wire up the receiving set. 
 
 4. Send code messages. 
 
 5. Let your partner put faults in the wiring and you discover them 
 
 and fix them. Do the same for your partner. 
 
 PLAYING WITH THE TELEGRAPH 
 
 Things to Do : — 
 
 1. Make the sounder work. 
 
 2. Make it work with the key. 
 
 3. Stretch the wires and connect. 
 
 4. Learn the code and send and receive messages. 
 
 5. Fix up faults that your partner puts into the connections and then 
 
 do the same for your partner. 
 
 PLAYING WITH THE DYNAMO PLANT 
 Things to Do:— 
 
 1. Generate enough current to ring a bell, and light a light. 
 
 2. Wire up a five-room house and supply it with current. 
 
 3. Short-circuit the dynamo. 
 
 4. Generate current which will turn a motor and attach belt from 
 
 motor to dynamo. 
 
 PLAYING WITH MAGNETS 
 Things to Do :— 
 
 1. Make the compass needle spin around by bringing a bar mag- 
 
 net near. 
 ♦In all cases where a boy does not know the meaning of some technical 
 term or the name of a part, he can ask the instructor. 
 
 2. Lift nails and iron filings through paper and through glass. 
 
 3. String as many nails as you can on the end of a magnet. 
 
 4. Make a needle into a magnet. 
 
 5. Make an iron nail into an electromagnet. 
 
 6. Make a floating needle compass by sticking a magnetized needle 
 
 through a piece of cork. 
 
 7. Destroy the magnetism which the needle has. 
 
 PLAYING WITH THE RAILROAD OUTFIT 
 Things to Do :— 
 
 1. Run the engine alone. 
 
 2. Reverse it. 
 
 3. Attach the cars and run the engine. 
 
 4. Reverse the engine. 
 
 5. Carry the heaviest load possible. 
 
 6. Climb the steepest hill possible. 
 
 7. Go as fast as you can around the curves, 
 
114 After-School Material in Science 
 
 PLAYING WITH THE CAMERA 
 Things to Do :— 
 
 1. Take the lenses out and put them in again. 
 
 2. Focus the room electric light on a sheet of paper with the camera 
 
 lens. 
 
 3. Take the finder apart and put it together again. 
 
 4. Take a picture of your work bench. 
 
 5. Make a pin-hole camera. 
 
 PLAYING WITH THE STEAM ENGINE 
 Things to Do :— 
 L Get up steam by using a candle flame as the source of heat. 
 
 2. Get up steam by using a bunsen burner. 
 
 3. Operate the engine. 
 
 4. Blow the steam whistle. 
 
 5. Run the drive-shaft with the engine, thereby operating a motor, 
 
 a generator, a grindstone and a pump. 
 
 PLAYING WITH A MAGIC LANTERN 
 Things to Do: — 
 
 1. Assemble the different parts of our cardboard slide-machine. 
 
 2. Operate the small post-card projector which uses a battery lamp 
 
 as the source of light. 
 
 3. Connect up the real machine. 
 
 4. Get the proper focus at different distances. 
 
 5. Show pictures as small as possible and as large as possible. 
 
 PLAYING WITH SPRING MOTOR TOYS 
 Things to Do:— 
 
 1. Operate the "Tank," the Battleship, the Motor Boat, the Automo- 
 
 bile, the Railroad Engine and the Submarine. 
 
 2. See how long each runs with one winding. 
 
 3. Try to put a brake on the different engines by holding back each 
 
 gear-wheel in turn. 
 
 4. Count the number of gears and the number of teeth in each. 
 
 PLAYING WITH MECCANO AND'ERECTOR 
 On this card the boy was told to make at least three Meccano models 
 and three Erector models. One of each he had to do in the shop; the 
 other four he could do at home and bring to club. It was not difficult to 
 get boys to construct models which involved the principles of 
 
 (a) the wheel and axle 
 
 (b) the pulley 
 
 (c) the lever 
 
 (d) the screw 
 
 (e) the crank 
 
 (f) belt drives 
 
 (g) gear arrangements for special reduction 
 
The Procedure Used 115 
 
 PLAYING WITH CHEMCRAFT 
 
 The manual served in the place of a card. Typical units were chosen 
 which in addition to being among the more popular and more workable 
 experiments were also illustrative of 
 
 (a) factual chemistry; that is, chemical knowledge and informa- 
 tion and first-hand experiences with chemical phenomena. 
 
 (b) larger principles; that is, certain relationships existing between 
 many of the phenomena and experiences that might eventuate 
 in the laws of chemical science. 
 
 In the first group, the play exercises consisted of the following : 
 
 1. Oxygen and Burning 
 
 2. Hydrogen 
 
 3. Carbon Dioxide 
 
 4. Glass 
 
 5. Soap 
 
 6. Fireworks 
 
 In the second group, the play units consisted of experiments 1 to 20, 
 in which are treated the general ideas of neutralization (acids, bases and 
 alkalis), combination of elements, decomposition and displacement of ele- 
 ments. 
 
 To recapitulate, the extra-curricular training for 1920-1921 
 consisted of the following: 
 
 1. 
 
 Batteries and Lights 
 
 2. 
 
 The Electric Motor 
 
 a 
 
 The Electric Battery 
 
 4. 
 
 Wireless 
 
 5. 
 
 The Telegraph 
 
 6. 
 
 The Electric Power Plant 
 
 7. 
 
 Magnets 
 
 8. 
 
 The Railroad Outfit 
 
 9. 
 
 The Camera 
 
 10. 
 
 The Thermometer 
 
 11. 
 
 The Steam Engine 
 
 12. 
 
 The Magic Lantern 
 
 13. 
 
 Spring Motor Toys 
 
 14. 
 
 The Phonograph 
 
 15. 
 
 The Shocking Machine 
 
 16. 
 
 Meccano and Erector 
 
 17. 
 
 Oiemcraft 
 
 18. 
 
 Chemcraft 
 
 19. 
 
 Chemcraft 
 
 20. 
 
 Chemcraft 
 
 Upon these items was based the year's course of study. Groups 
 !A and B, who received the instruction, met with their teacher 
 
116 After-School Material in Science 
 
 forty times. The organization of the material was necessarily 
 different from the list above. The material was first graded for 
 difficulty and then grouped ; so that oft-recurring principles could 
 be presented early in the course. The units, however, were not 
 merged. The sequence of topics was roughly as follows: Bat- 
 teries, magnets, the telegraph, the electric light, the motor, the 
 railroad engine, Faraday's experiment (dynamo), the shocking 
 machine, wireless, the magic lantern, the camera and photography, 
 the thermometer, the steam-engine, oxygen, hydrogen, carbon 
 dioxide, and the mechanical principles involved in Meccano and 
 Erector constructions. Each lesson was a fully developed teach- 
 ing unit, involving apparatus, demonstrations, class discussions, 
 pupil reports, home assignments, reviews, note-book work and 
 quizzes. 
 
 The class-work, in every way but one, was typical of the usual 
 curricular situation. The tendency to digress into other related 
 topics and fields of science was carefully checked so that there 
 would be time enough for all twenty units. As it was, several 
 of the play units were omitted because of lack of time. In the 
 ordinary teaching situation there would be less mechanism; that 
 is, with children of this particular age. In the case of the average 
 high school science course, however, there is just as much if 
 not greater adherence to a rigid program. It is significant to note 
 that more content was covered per unit of time by the extra- 
 curricular than by the curricular. 
 
 During the year 1919-1920 there were in all ten units of over- 
 lapping content between the curricular and the extra-curricular. 
 These ten were the telegraph, the telephone, magnets, oxygen, 
 carbon dioxide, the camera, the phonograph, the battery, pulleys 
 and gearing arrangements. At the end of the year four types 
 of uniform tests were given to Groups A, B, and C. (The sched- 
 ule did not permit of giving these tests to Group D.) There was 
 first the traditional type of test that teachers usually give to find 
 out what knowledge their pupils have carried away. Second, a 
 test was arranged in which a series of phenomena were enacted 
 before the class. Twenty phenomena were chosen (roughly 
 two from each of the ten units) which involved the essential 
 knowledge or appreciations of the overlapping- material for the 
 year. By means of apparatus the examiner performs, one after 
 
The Procedure Used 117 
 
 another, each of the twenty experiments. After each experiment 
 the class is given two minutes in which to write their expla- 
 nation and understanding of what they have seen. A third type 
 of test was a practical or manipulatory test. In this each pupil 
 is asked to do ten tasks with actual apparatus. Again, these tasks 
 were based on the ten "overlapping" units. Finally, as a measure 
 of constructive ability, the Stenquist Box Test was used both at 
 the beginning of the year and at the end. 
 
 FINAL TEST— TRADITIONAL TYPE— 1919-1920 
 
 1. Who invented the telegraph? 
 
 2. Name the important parts of the telegraph. 
 
 3. Explain how each part you have named above works. (Use a dia- 
 gram, if you wish, to help you explain.) 
 
 4. Make a diagram showing how the different parts must be connected 
 in order to send a message from one city to another. 
 
 5. Explain what is meant by using "a ground" as one of the wires. 
 
 6. Who invented the telephone? 
 
 7. Name the important parts of a simple telephone. 
 
 8. Explain how each part you have named above, works. (Use a dia- 
 gram, if you wish, to help you explain.) 
 
 9. Make a diagram showing how the different parts must be connected 
 in order that two persons may talk to each other over a short dis- 
 tance. 
 
 10. Why does the simple telephone fail over very long distances? 
 
 11. What improvement has been invented which enables us to use the 
 telephone for long distances? 
 
 12. Explain why two telephone receivers when connected together, can 
 be used as a telephone (to talk through and to listen to) over short 
 distances. 
 
 13. What is the purpose of the "receiver-hook"? 
 
 14. What is a lodestone? 
 
 15. What is the difference between a permanent magnet and a temporary 
 magnet ? 
 
 16. What is the advantage in bending magnets into a horseshoe shape ? 
 
 17. What is there in a compass which enables us to tell directions ? Ex- 
 plain. 
 
 18. Explain how you would make a magnet out of a piece of iron. 
 
 19. How would you increase the strength of a soft-iron magnet? 
 
 20. Why does it hurt a watch to keep it in the presence of strong mag- 
 nets? 
 
 21. How could you make a permanent magnet lose its magnetism? 
 
 22. What portion of the air is oxygen? 
 
 23. Where do we get our supply of oxygen? 
 
 24. Give all the reasons you can why oxygen is so important in our lives. 
 
118 After-School Material in Science 
 
 25. Describe how we made oxygen. (Make a diagram to show how we 
 collected the oxygen.) 
 
 26. What happens when a piece of wood with a glowing spark is thrust 
 into a bottle of pure oxygen? 
 
 27. What would happen to a human being if confined in a room full 
 of pure oxygen? 
 
 28. Explain what happens when a piece of iron rusts. 
 
 29. Make a drawing showing how a pin-hole camera can form a picture. 
 
 30. How can the picture made by a pin-hole camera be made larger or 
 smaller? , ; '^Jl 
 
 31. How does a lens instead of a pin-hole improve the camera? 
 
 32. What serves as the film in the case of the pin-hole camera? 
 
 33. Name the important parts of a kodak folding-camera, 
 
 34. Make a drawing showing how the "finder" works. 
 
 35. Explain the purpose of the "M-F" scale. 
 
 ^. Explain the purpose of the "25-50-100-B.T." scale. 
 
 37. Explain the purpose of the "4-8-16-32-64" scale. 
 
 38. What differences are there between the camera and the human eye? 
 
 39. Name the important parts of the phonograph. 
 
 40. Explain how a song is recorded. 
 
 41. Has every phonograph a horn? What is the purpose of the horn? 
 
 42. What furnishes the power to turn the platform? 
 
 43. What keeps the platform turning steadily? 
 
 44. Explain why it is necessary to keep the platform turning steadily. 
 
 45. Explain why long needles are called "soft needles" and short ones 
 "loud." 
 
 46. Why can Edison records not be played on all machines? 
 
 47. What do you find in a used-up battery when you break it open? 
 
 48. What differences, if any, would you find inside of a battery that is 
 not used-up ? 
 
 49. Explain how the current in a battery is made. 
 
 50. What happens inside the battery when all the current is used up? 
 
 51. What is meant by "short-circuiting" a battery? Explain what hap- 
 pens inside the battery. 
 
 52. What is the voltage of a battery? 
 
 53. How many amperes can a new battery give? 
 
 54. What are pulleys? How are they used? 
 
 55. With one pulley fixed to the ceiling and one attached to a table 
 weighing 100 pounds, how much pull will it take to keep the table 
 moving upwards? 
 
 56. With two pulleys attached to the table and two to the ceiling, what 
 would the pull be? 
 
 57. How far up would the table go in the case of the double pulleys 
 when 12 feet of rope lay coiled at your feet? 
 
The Procedure Used 119 
 
 58. How could one man by means of pulleys hold his own in a tug-of- 
 war against ten men each as strong as himself? 
 
 A and B turn together 
 A=10 teeth 
 B=36 teeth 
 C=12 teeth 
 D=40 teeth 
 
 59. If B turns around 10 times a 
 minute, how fast does C 
 turn? 
 
 60. How fast does D turn? 
 
 61. Which wheel gives the 
 greatest power? 
 
 62. How would you gear a motor that you wished to use as an electric 
 fan? 
 
 63. How would you gear a motor that you wished to turn a grind- 
 stone with? 
 
 64. What portion of the air is carbon dioxide? 
 
 65. Where does the supply of carbon dioxide come from? 
 
 66. Where does this supply go to? 
 
 67. What happens when a burning piece of wood is thrust into a bottle 
 full of carbon dioxide? 
 
 68. Describe how we made carbon dioxide. (Make a diagram to show 
 how we collected the carbon dioxide.) 
 
 69. How does the fire-extinguisher put out a fire? 
 
 70. How is this gas used in the process of making bread? 
 
 Time Allowed: 3 periods of 1 hour and 5 minutes each 
 
 An average of 3 minutes on each question 
 
 FINAL TEST— VISUAL TYPE— 1919-1920 
 
 1. A wire is wound around a large iron nail. The nail is stuck down 
 into a box of tacks. It is brought out again without any tacks stick- 
 ing to it. Then a battery is connected to the coil of wire and it ex- 
 hibits strong magnetic properties when stuck into the box of tacks. 
 
 2. A magnet is allowed to pick up a nail. To the nail another nail is 
 touched. The second nail is held fast. To the second a third is 
 attached, and so on until the magnetic induction effect becomes too 
 weak to hold any more nails. 
 
 3. Faraday's experiment, of generating electricity by moving a magnet 
 in the presence of a coil of wire. 
 
 4. A transmitter and a receiver are connected without a battery. 
 
 5. A pivoted compass needle is caused to jump away when a magnet 
 is brought near. 
 
 6. A knitting needle is rubbed on a magnet. 
 
120 After-School Material in Science 
 
 7. A burning candle, placed in a shallow pan in which there is about 
 one inch of water, is extinguished by covering it with a glass. The 
 water rises up into the glass to a higher level than in the pan. 
 
 8. A glowing ember is inserted into a bottle of oxygen. 
 
 9. The windows of the room are focussed on the wall by a large read- 
 ing glass. 
 
 10. A camera is focussed as for taking a picture. 
 
 11. While a phonograph is playing the speed of the platform is altered. 
 
 12. A phonograph record is played by inserting the sharp corner of a 
 large sheet of tin. 
 
 13. A battery is short-circuited. 
 
 14. A totally used-up battery is exhibited. 
 
 15. A pulley arrangement is shown in which one weight balances two 
 weights equal to its own weight. 
 
 16. To start the above pulley arrangement moving a small additional 
 weight is added to one side. 
 
 17. A grindstone is exhibited showing the gear arrangement. 
 
 18. A Meccano distance indicator is exhibited. 
 
 19. Carbon Dioxide gas is poured over a lighted candle. 
 
 20. Breathe into a jar of lime-water through a glass tube. 
 
 Time Allowed: One Hour. 
 
 FINAL TEST— PRACTICAL TYPE-1919-1920 
 
 1. Boy is told to repair a telegraph set which has been put out of order. 
 
 2. Ditto with a telephone system. 
 
 3. He is given two magnets, one with poles marked and one blank. 
 He is told to determine which end of the blank magnet is north 
 and which is south. 
 
 4. He is presented with five bottles containing diiferent gases : air, 
 illuminating gas, illuminating gas and air, carbon dioxide and oxygen. 
 He is to determine the contents of each bottle. 
 
 5. He is told to adjust a camera for taking a time exposure of a cer- 
 tain object. 
 
 6. He is told to put together a phonograph which has been taken 
 apart. 
 
 7. He is told to make a battery. The necessary parts are available. 
 
 8. He is told to arrange a set of pulleys so that one weight will lift 
 four times its own weight. 
 
 9. He is given the gears that control the motion of the bands of a clock 
 and told to arrange them so as to obtain the 12 to 1 ratio in speeds. 
 
 10. He is told to make a bottle of carbon dioxide. The necessary mate- 
 rials are available. 
 
 Time allowed : One hour and fifteen minutes. 
 
 During 1920-1921 similar tests were devised on the basis of 
 the larger number of units common to both the play and the 
 teaching. The number of questions per topic was reduced some- 
 
The Procedure Used 121 
 
 what in order to avoid making the written examination last too 
 long. In all there were three to five questions for each unit, 
 making in all eighty questions. Three periods were used for the 
 test, allowing, as before, two to three minutes for each question. 
 The questions were as follows : 
 
 FINAL TEST TRADITIONAL TYPE— 1920-1921 
 
 1. Make a diagram showing how you would connect six 'batteries in 
 series. Make another, connecting them in parallel. 
 
 2. How many volts would the first connection give you ? The second ? 
 
 3. Make a diagram showing how you would connect six 3-volt lamps 
 so that they burn properly on ten batteries. 
 
 4. Which wire will get hottest, a copper wire one-sixteenth inch thick 
 ■* and two feet long, or an iron wire one-sixteenth inch thick and three 
 
 feet long, or a nichrome wire one-eighth inch thick and 100 feet long? 
 
 5. On what three things does the resistance of a wire depend? 
 
 6. Describe Faraday's experiment. 
 
 7. Name the parts of a dynamo. 
 
 8. Make a drawing showing how these parts are connected. 
 
 9. What change would you make in a direct current dynamo if you 
 wished it to generate alternating current? Why? 
 
 10. What is the difference between a dynamo and a motor? 
 
 11. What would you need to do to make a motor generate electricity? 
 
 12. Why is it impossible for a motor to be driving a dynamo and the 
 current thus generated to be used to drive the motor? 
 
 13. Explain why a motor turns. 
 
 14. Make a list of all the necessary steps to be taken in making a 
 thermometer. 
 
 15. Why must the mercury or kerosene be boiled in the process? 
 
 16. 68° F. is equal to what temperature on the C. scale? 
 
 17. What do you find in a used-up battery when you break it open? 
 
 18. What differences, if any, would you find in a battery that is not 
 used up? 
 
 19. Explain how a battery is made. 
 
 20. What happens inside a battery when all its current is used up? 
 
 21. What is meant by "short-circuiting" a battery? What happens inside? 
 
 22. What is the voltage of a battery? 
 
 2Z. How many amperes can a new battery give? 
 
 24. Make a drawing showing how a pin-hole camera can form a picture. 
 
 25. How does a lens instead of a pin-hole improve the camera? 
 
 26. What serves as the film in case of the pin-hole camera? 
 
 28. Make a drawing showing how the "finder" works. 
 
 29. List all the necessary steps in snapping a picture. Give reasons for 
 each step. 
 
 30. Explain how pictures are developed. 
 
 31. How are wireless waves sent out? 
 
122 After-School Material in Science 
 
 32. How are wireless messages received? 
 
 33. Name the important parts of a telegraph system, 
 
 34. Make a diagram showing how the different parts are connected so 
 that the complete system can operate. 
 
 36. Explain what is meant by using a "ground" as one of the wires. 
 
 36. What is the difference between a temporary magnet and a permanent 
 magnet? 
 
 37. Explain how a compass operates in enabling one to tell where 
 "north" is. 
 
 38. Give two ways in which a piece of steel can be magnetized. 
 
 39. Give two ways in which a steel magnet can be destroyed. 
 
 40. Why does it hurt a watch to keep it in the presence of a strong 
 magnet ? 
 
 41. What portion of the air is oxgyen? 
 
 42. Where do we get our supply of oxygen? 
 
 43. Describe how we made oxygen. (Make a diagram to show how we 
 collected the gas.) 
 
 44. What happens when a glowing spark on a piece of wood is thrust 
 into a bottle of oxygen? 
 
 45. What would happen to a human being if confined in a room full 
 of pure oxygen? 
 
 46. Explain what happens when a piece of iron rusts. 
 
 47. Where does hydrogen come from? 
 
 48. What is it used for? 
 
 49. When will hydrogen burn? 
 
 50. What is formed when hydrogen burns? 
 
 51. How is hydrogen made? 
 
 52. What is "peroxide"? 
 
 53. Where does the supply of carbon dioxide come from? 
 
 54. How can it be made? 
 
 55. WTiat happens when a burning piece of wood is thrust into a bottle 
 of carbon dioxide? 
 
 56. How is this gas used in bread-making? 
 
 57. How is it used in vichy or other soft drinks? 
 
 58. How is it used by plants ? 
 
 59. What are pulleys? Why are they used? 
 
 60. With one pulley fixed to the ceiling and one attached to a table 
 weighing 100 lbs., how much pull will it take to keep the table mov- 
 ing upwards? 
 
 61. With two pulleys attached to the table and two to the ceiling what 
 would the pull be? 
 
 62. How far up would the table go in the case of the double pulleys 
 when twelve feet of rope lay coiled on the floor? 
 
 63. Show in a diagram how, by means of pulleys, one man can hold his 
 own in a tug-of-war against ten men each as strong as himself? 
 
 64. See questions 59 to 63, inclusive, of the 1919-1920 list. 
 
 65. See questions 59 to 63, inclusive, of the 1919-1920 list. 
 
The Procedure Used 123 
 
 66. See questions 59 to 63, inclusive, of the 1919-1920 list. 
 
 67. See questions 59 to 63, inclusive, of the 1919-1920 list. 
 
 68. See questions 59 to 63, inclusive, of the 1919-1920 list 
 
 69. Why do trains slow down when going round curves? 
 
 70. Make a diagram showing a dynamo, trolley tracks, trolley-wire, trol- 
 ley car motor, and how they are all connected. 
 
 71. Why are not birds shocked to death when they alight on the bare 
 trolley wire? 
 
 72. What supplies the energy with which a "tank" can climb a hill? 
 
 73. Why is it easy to wind up a spring-motor railroad engine with a 
 key and almost impossible to do so without it? 
 
 74. Describe briefly how steam drives the steam-engine. 
 
 75. Why must water be pumped into the boiler when the engine is oper- 
 ating ? 
 
 76. What protects the boiler against explosions? Explain. 
 
 77. How is the waste steam coming from the exhaust pipe sometimes 
 used? 
 
 78. Why are the pictures in a magic lantern inserted up-side down? 
 
 79. Why do slides show so much brighter than post-cards on the screen? 
 
 80. What is the purpose of the inside lens or set of lenses (the con- 
 denser) ? 
 
 FINAL TEST— VISUAL TYPE— 1920-1921 
 
 1. Rotating a pivoted compass needle with a magnet. 
 
 2. Stringing nails on the end of a magnet. 
 
 3. Stroking a steel needle on the end of a bar magnet. 
 
 4. Making an electromagnet. 
 
 5. Focusing the windows on the wall by means of a large reading glass. 
 
 6. Exhibiting a photographic negative. 
 
 7. Focusing a camera for taking a picture of a near object. 
 
 8. Exhibiting batteries connected in series. '* 
 
 9. Exhibiting four 3-volt bulbs connected in series. The boys are 
 asked to tell how many batteries are necessary to light them properly. 
 
 10. Exhibiting batteries connected in parallel. 
 
 11. The same question is asked of 3 similar bulbs in parallel. 
 
 12. Heating a wire to the glowing point by means of an electric current. 
 
 13. Varying the length of the above wire so as to make it glow more 
 brightly. 
 
 14. Operating a St. Louis motor; and then taking the magnets away 
 so as to make it stop turning. 
 
 15. Reversing one magnet in the above motor so as to have two north 
 poles or two south poles as a magnetic field. 
 
 16. Moving a magnet in the presence of a coil which is connected with 
 a milli-voltmeter. 
 
 17. Making a bulb grow dim and then bright by increasing th« speed 
 of a hand-turned generator. 
 
124 After-School Material in Science 
 
 18. Expanding the air in a flask by heating. The flask has its only 
 outlet submerged under water so that the bubbles of air are clearly 
 seen. 
 
 19. Allowing the air to cool and therefore contract, so that the water 
 can be seen rising in the flask. 
 
 20. By closing with one's fingers the air holes of a bunsen burner, and 
 then opening them again, the flame is turned yellow and then blue 
 again. 
 
 21. Extinguishing a candle, burning at the bottom of a pan in which 
 there is an inch of water, by covering it with a glass or jar. 
 
 22. Throwing a piece of chalk into a beaker of hydrochloric acid (so 
 labelled). 
 
 23. Breathing through a tube into a glass of lime water. 
 
 24. Exhibiting a pulley arrangement in which one weight balances two 
 weights each as heavy as itself. 
 
 25. Exhibiting the gears of a grindstone. 
 
 26. Short-circuiting a battery. 
 
 27. Exhibiting a vertical section of a dry cell. 
 
 28. Operating the "cartesian diver" experiment, using for the "diver" a 
 small inverted flask, in which the changing water level can be seen. 
 
 29. Operating an induction coil to get a large spark across the secondary 
 terminals. 
 
 30. Operating a telegraphic sounder. 
 
 31. Operating a magneto to ring a bell. 
 
 2)2. Inserting a glowing spark on a piece of wood into a bottle of oxygen. 
 
 33. Exploding a mixture of illuminating gas and air. 
 
 34. Exhibiting a floating balloon filled with hydrogen. 
 
 35. Exhibiting a hanging balloon filled with air. 
 
 Z6. Striking a tuning fork and placing its base aganst the blackboard. 
 Z7. Operating a siphon. 
 
 ^. Inverting a bottle filled with water. The mouth of the bottle is 
 covered with a piece of cheese cloth, 
 
 39. Rubbing a hard-rubber rod with a piece of fur and picking up pieces 
 of paper with the electrically charged rod. 
 
 40. Blowing into a wide glass tube while changing the length of the 
 latter by lowering it into a jar of water. 
 
 time Allowed :— 80 Minutes 
 
 "" FINAL TEST— PRACTICAL TYPE— 1920-1921 
 
 1. Comiect two bulbs so that one is on all the time and the other goes 
 on when you press the button. 
 
 2. Make the bell ring (the vibrator scfeW is t)ut out of adjustment). 
 
 3. Make the motor run (2 defective brushes are put in, which can be 
 fiied by bending them down so as to touch the commutator). 
 
 4. Make a wet battery. 
 
 5. Fix up a wireless sending and deceiving outfit. 
 
 6. Detect a fault in a telegraph system. 
 
The Procedure Used 125 
 
 7. Make a dynamo generate enough current to light a bulb. (The field 
 magnets are disconnected.) 
 
 8. Which end of a given magnet is north and which south? (He is 
 given a marked magnet and a blank one.) 
 
 9. Make an electromagnet. 
 
 10. Make the electric train run. (The tracks are short-circuited.) 
 
 11. Adjust the camera for taking a time exposure of an object in the 
 room. 
 
 12. Blow a thermometer bulb. 
 
 13. Make a drive-belt for the governor of the steam engine. 
 
 14. Connect the magic lantern and focus on the screen the picture of a 
 post card. 
 
 15. Arrange a set of pulleys so that one pound will lift about four pounds. 
 
 16. Fix up the gears controlling the hands of a clock so that the min- 
 ute hand moves twelve times as fast as the hour hand. 
 
 17. Make and collect a bottle of carbon dioxide. 
 
 18. Make and collect a bottle of hydrogen. 
 
 19. Make and collect a bottle of oxygen. 
 
 20. Collect a bottle of illuminating gas. 
 
 Time Allowed : — Two hours. 
 
 The examinations extended over a period of two weeks, the 
 Practical, Visual and Stenquist tests interspersing the periods of 
 written examinations. 
 
 In the case of the Stenquist Box Tests, an unfortunate acci- 
 dent caused the interchanging of three models between Series I 
 and Series II. In the original series the ten models of each box 
 are so grouped as to give a sequence from easiest to hardest, with 
 the average difficulty the same in the two series. Although the 
 mixed series used by the writer were grouped in a progressive 
 sequence, the following tables show how the average difficulty 
 of Series II differed from that of Series I: 
 
126 After-School Material in Science 
 
 THE CORRECT STENQUIST SERIES I 
 
 Model Difficulty 
 
 A. Cupboard Catch 462 
 
 B. Clothes Pin 523 
 
 C. Paper Clips (Hunt) 554 
 
 D. Chain 572 
 
 E. Bicycle Bell 579 
 
 F. Rubber Hose Shut-off 590 
 
 G. Wire Bottle Stopper 602 
 
 H. Push Button 608 
 
 I. Lock No. 1 ^27 
 
 J. Mouse Trap 645 
 
 Mean= .5762 
 
 (Average S. D. equivalent) (obtained from 500 6th, 7th 
 and 8th grade boys.) 
 
 THE CORRECT STENQUIST SERIES II 
 
 Model Difficulty 
 
 A. Pistol .491 
 
 B. Elbow Catch 503 
 
 C. Rope Coupling 503 
 
 D. Expansion Nut .518 
 
 E. Sash Fastener 573 
 
 F. Expansion Rubber Stopper 602 
 
 G. Calipers 610 
 
 H. Paper Clip 630 
 
 I. Double Acting Hinge 657 
 
 J. Lock No. 2 683 
 
 Mean= .5770 
 
The Procedure Used 127 
 
 SERIES I— ACTUALLY USED 
 Model Difficulty 
 
 A. Cupboard Catch 462 
 
 B. Pistol 491 
 
 C Rope Coupling 503 
 
 D. Expansion Nut 518 
 
 E. Paper Clip (Hunt) 554 
 
 F. Sash Fastener 573 
 
 G. Expansion Rubber Stopper 602 
 
 H. Lock No. 1 627 
 
 I. Paper Clip 630 
 
 J. Double Acting Hinge 657 
 
 Mean= .5617 
 
 SERIES II— ACTUALLY USED 
 
 Model Difficu'lty 
 
 A. Elbow Catch 503 
 
 B. Clothes Pin 523 
 
 C. Chain 572 
 
 D. Bicycle Bell 579 
 
 E. Rubber Hose Shut-off 590 
 
 F. Wire Bottle Stopper 602 
 
 G. Push Button 608 
 
 H. Clippers 610 
 
 I. Mouse Trap 645 
 
 J. Lock No. 2 .683 
 
 Mean= .5915 
 
 It can be seen that the difference in "mean difficulty" between 
 the series actually used is not very much greater than the cor- 
 responding difference between the two correct series as organ- 
 ized by Stenquist. It is also fortunate that the slightly more 
 difficult series was used at the end of the year. 
 
 The writer recognizes the fact that the Visual Tests and the 
 Practical Tests are not standardized. In the former type of test, 
 the writer, in order to obtain a guide for scoring the answers, 
 gave the test to children of various grades and teachers of gen- 
 eral science. This furnished for most of the phenomena listed 
 a range of answers from worst to best. Though extremely rough, 
 
128 After-School Material in Science 
 
 it facilitated the scoring and enabled two scorers to vary an aver- 
 age of seven per cent for any given paper. In the case of the 
 practical tests, any given exercise was marked either right or 
 wrong. In the written tests the best arbitrary standards in the 
 judgment of the writer were used. 
 
 The standardizing of the Visual type of test is a task which 
 lies just ahead of the writer. It promises a consistently high 
 correlation with the written test and a high degree of reliability. 
 It involves in the main inexpensive test materials that can be 
 found in the average high school laboratory; it can be given to 
 large numbers at once, and it is unique in that it does not tire 
 the class to any appreciable degree. Boys are intensely interested 
 in these phenomena that are enacted before them. The writer 
 has been able to show thirty and forty phenomena at a time 
 without noticing a diminution in the interest of those being 
 tested. 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 
 EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS AND DATA 
 
 In tables I, II, III and IV are given the results of the different 
 tests and measures for 1920-1921 that were described in Chapter 
 VI. Table I deals with the group of boys (Group A) who 
 received both types of training: the instruction and the play. 
 Table II deals with those who received but the instruction (Group 
 B). Table III deals with those who engaged in only the play 
 (Group C). Table IV deals with the controlled group (Group 
 D), who received neither form of training. 
 
 The I. Q. measurements were obtained from Dr. Chassel, psy- 
 chologist for the Horace Mann School. They were calculated 
 from the National Intelligence Tests ; and are not, of course, as 
 significant as the Terman quotients would be. Also, it has devel- 
 oped that the norms from which the "mental ages" were obtained 
 are not as reliable as they were first thought. More reliable 
 norms will soon be available, and also a table by means of which 
 the N. I. T. quotients may be transmuted into Terman quotients. 
 These corrections will be made. It must be noted, however, that 
 the indications are that the effect of these corrections will be to 
 raise I. Q.'s several points. Thus, the average Terman I. Q. for 
 the Horace Mann School is 116, whereas the average N. I. T. 
 I. Q. is about 106. There is no reason to believe that these trans- 
 mutations will act differently on each of the four groups. 
 
 The column Hsted "Chronological Age" is for ages on Febru- 
 ary 1, 1921, whereas the N. I. T. tests were given on November 
 1, 1920. This will account for the apparent discrepancy between 
 the quotient of each "mental age" divided by each "chronological 
 age" and the intelligence quotient listed. These quotients are 
 correct if three months be subtracted from each chronological 
 age listed. 
 
 In Table V the means and the variabilities of the four groups 
 are compared. 
 
 129 
 
130 
 
 After-School Material in Science 
 
 TABLE I 
 
 Individuals Age Stenquist 
 
 Group A Chron. Mental I Q. I. II. Visual Practical Written 
 
 A 12.3 127 105 60% 85% 67% 50% 50% 
 
 B 12.0 12.0 103 45 50 70 40 71 
 
 C 12.0 15.9 135 70 78 85 70 80 
 
 D 112 12.7 117 50 48 89 85 74 
 
 E 10.9 13.1 124 40 32 80 ^S 72 
 
 F 13.6 12.3 93 70 73 84 85 75 
 
 G 11.2 13.9 127 55 86 64 80 56 
 
 H 12.6 15.3 124 50 70 absent absent absent 
 
 I 11.0 11.7 109 25 43 absent 70 30 
 
 J 11.5 1125 101 35 40 55 65 52 
 
 K 11.9 10.4 90 60 72 56 70 68 
 
 L 12.5 12.3 101 50 87 77 100 49 
 
 M 12.6 122 99 40 58 37 60 49 
 
 N 13.6 11.0 83 45 48 90 80 79 
 
 O 112 11.6 106 30 49 60 80 71 
 
 P 13.7 9.3 70 65 75 82 55 64 
 
 Q 12.6 15.4 125 80 84 93 90 82 
 
 R 11.4 12.6 114 60 65 80 95 72 
 
 S 12.5 14.0 115 75 66 56 75 62 
 
 T 11.9 14.7 126 65 72 82 90 66 
 
 U 11.6 13.9 123 50 53 82 40 72 
 
 V 11.6 11.6 103 80 80 71 95 73 
 
 W ....11.9 15.7 134 40 78 58 80 64 
 
 X 12.7 15.3 123 70 80 absent 80 36 
 
 Y 13.8 10.8 80 65 60 84 75 79 
 
 Z 10.9 14.1 132 55 41 88 45 87 
 
 Mean ...12.10 12.91 110.5 55.0 64.4 73.5 73.6 65.3 
 
 S. D 88 1.75 17.1 14.7 162 14.0 16.95 14.0 
 
Experimental Results and Data 131 
 
 TABLE II 
 
 Individuals Age Stenquist 
 
 Group B Chron. Mental I Q. I. II. Visual Practical Written 
 
 A* 11.1 10.4 97 60% 83% 49% 35% 25% 
 
 B' 12.1 14.1 120 SO 75 68 40 59 
 
 C 11.8 11.4 99 40 absent absent absent absent 
 
 D' 12.3 13.6 113 70 59 65 25 61 
 
 Ei 10.5 11.6 114 20 70 51 30 54 
 
 F' ....11.0 13.75 129 25 41 49 40 32 
 
 G^ 11.8 11.4 99 50 47 65 45 64 
 
 H^ ....13.1 11.2 88 50 58 60 25 44 
 
 r 9.7 13.3 143 30 28 42 30 50 
 
 r 12.0 13.5 116 40 30 62 55 45 
 
 K'....11.2 16.0 148 100 81 91 55 65 
 
 L' 12.0 10.9 93 35 withdrew from school 
 
 M'....12.0 10.8 93 80 40 66 30 68 
 
 N' ....12.1 8.4 71 80 61 58 65 56 
 
 O^ 11.25 13.75 125 50 68 48 40 50 
 
 P^ 10.5 15.7 153 50 55 54 45 58 
 
 Q' 10.3 16.0 159 65 41 absent 40 51 
 
 R' 14.0 13.3 97 6S 62 57 80 3.1 
 
 S' 11.3 12.5 114 25 26 64 35 54 
 
 T' 11.9 11.2 94 30 19 34 25 46 
 
 U* ....11.5 12.25 110 35 40 43 20 55 
 
 V'.... 12.25 12.3 104 85 65 67 40 76 
 
 ^....12.2 11.0 93 60 44 68 20 61 
 
 XV... 11.4 1425 127 3.5 55 55 70 37 
 
 Y* 12.3 152 125 35 14 42 35 24 
 
 Mean ...11.66 12.71 112.96 51.7 50.5 57.2 40.2 50.7 
 S. D 90 1.87 14.8 20.3 18.9 12.1 15.42 13.4 
 
132 
 
 After-School Material in Science 
 
 TABLE III 
 
 Individuals Age Stenquist 
 
 Group C Chron. Mental I Q. I. II. Visual Practical Written 
 
 a 10.2 11 .0 111 15% A6% S7% 60% 46% 
 
 b 9.9 9.6 99 80 75 46 65 27 
 
 c 10.9 9.3 95 70 68 31 55 34 
 
 d 10.9 11.3 106 20 56 Z7 40 16 
 
 e 11.25 12.7 115 35 47 48 50 48 
 
 f 10.5 8.75 85 30 40 47 50 44 
 
 g 11.2 11.75 108 20 45 43 80 39 
 
 h .10.3 11.0 109 60 70 63 65 55 
 
 i 11.25 11.1 101 60 54 42 70 39 
 
 j 10.6 10.7 103 75 50 37 60 35 
 
 k 9.8 14.0 146 35 45 53 50 44 
 
 1 8.9 11.25 130 20 25 36 30 20 
 
 m 9.9 8.9 92 5 9 36 15 22 
 
 n 11.25 12.4 113 25 32 45 40 38 
 
 o 11.0 11.6 108 55 53 51 65 56 
 
 p 10.25 11.4 114 25 31 31 55 28 
 
 q 9.75 10.25 108 25 48 46 70 42 
 
 r 10.3 10.7 104 20 47 27 60 26 
 
 s 9.9 12.8 132 20 39 48 40 54 
 
 t .: 11.2 9.25 85 30 58 32 55 34 
 
 u 11.75 10.9 95 40 46 24 50 ZZ 
 
 Mean ...10.52 
 S. D 68 
 
 10.98 
 1.32 
 
 107.6 
 14.5 
 
 36.4 
 21.0 
 
 46.9 
 14.8 
 
 41.9 
 9.8 
 
 53.6 
 13.62 
 
 37.1 
 11.1 
 
Experimental Results and Data 
 
 133 
 
 TABLE IV 
 
 Individuals Age Stenquist 
 
 Group D Chron. Mental I Q. I. II. Visual Practical Written 
 
 a^ 10.4 11.1 109 40% 51% 28% 50% 9% 
 
 b' 10.1 12.0 122 45 49 46 40 20 
 
 c' 11.8 9.5 82 25 34 12 10 4 
 
 d' 10.9 9.7 91 30 61 19 15 4 
 
 e^ 10.5 14.5 141 30 51 24 5 7 
 
 r 10.8 9.2 87 20 20 32 7 
 
 ^ .... 10.25 9.9 99 50 46 31 30 3 
 
 h' 101 8.6 87 35 20 9 5 3 
 
 i^ 9.75 12.7 133 50 45 15 15 
 
 j* 9.8 10.1 105 40 48 absent absent absent 
 
 le 10.9 10.25 96 40 44 40 20 13 
 
 1* 9.9 11.9 123 45 47 25 40 10 
 
 m* .... 8.75 10.3 121 30 27 15 15 
 
 n* 10.7 10.6 102 15 13 33 20 18 
 
 o' 9.7 11.5 122 55 64 35 10 12 
 
 p^ 11.4 9.6 84 55 29 28 20 
 
 q^ 10.1 11.9 121 35 34 37 5 25 
 
 r' 10.25 10.5 105 70 45 23 20 2 
 
 s* 10.7 16.0 154 40 50 26 60 3 
 
 t* 10.4 9.2 90 25 27 23 5 3 
 
 u' 10.75 10.75 103 absent 
 
 v' 9.7 9.8 105 absent 
 
 w' 9.8 1225 128 30 36 m 30 10 
 
 X* 10.0 12.0 123 25 35 31 5 7 
 
 y^ 8.8 12.1 137 35 45 33 15 21 
 
 Mean ...10.25 11.04 110.8 37.6 36.8 27.4 19.8 8.2 
 
 S. D 68 1.67 19.09 12.6 13.2 9.3 15.53 7.11 
 
134 After-School Material in Science 
 
 TABLE V 
 
 §■ Chron. Mental Stenquist Stenquist 
 
 J Age Age I Q. I. II. Visual Practical Written 
 
 M S. D. M S. D. M S. D. M S. D. M S. D. M S. D. M S. D. M S. D. 
 
 A .12.1 .88 12.9 1.75 110.5 17.1 55 14.7 64.4 16.2 73.5 14.0 73.6 16.95 65.3 14.0 
 
 B .11.7 .90 12.7 1.87 112.96 14.8 51.7 20.3 50.5 18.9 57.2 12.1 40.2 15.42 50.7 13.4 
 
 C .10.5 .68 10.98 1.32 107.6 14.5 36.4 21.0 46.9 14.8 41.9 9.8 53.6 13.62 37.1 11.1 
 
 D .10.3 .68 11.04 1.67 110.8 19.09 37.6 12.6 36.8 13.2 27.4 9.3 19.8 15.53 8.2 7.11 
 
 It is correct to state that Groups A and C were not selected 
 groups as far as I. Q. or initial ability in Stenquist is concerned. 
 In the case of I. Q., the slight difference between A and B and 
 between C and D favors groups B and D. Also, if any compari- 
 son is to be made between the final accomplishments of those that 
 had play activities alone (C) and those that had instruction alone 
 (B), the I. Q- difference again favors group B. 
 
 It may be regarded as a strange fact that boys who join the 
 Science Club (from which Groups A and C were constructed) 
 always tend to a slightly lower intelligent quotient than do boys 
 who do not join the club. Table VI shows this for three differ- 
 ent years : 
 
Experimental Results and Data 135 
 
 
 TABLE VI 
 
 
 
 Average I. Q. of those 
 
 Average I. Q. of those 
 
 Year 
 
 that join the Club 
 
 that do not join Club 
 
 1918-1919 
 
 132.6 (Pressey) 
 
 136.2 (Pressey) 
 
 1919-1920 
 
 121.8 (Terman) 
 
 129.8 (Terman) 
 
 1920-1921 
 
 109.6 (N.I.T.) 
 
 111.9 (N.I.T.) 
 
 In this connection it is also significant to note the correlation 
 that exists between I. Q. and standing in the Science Club. (See 
 Chapter IX as to the Club Point Scheme.) Table VII shows 
 this: 
 
 TABLE VII 
 
 Corelation Coefficient between I. Q. 
 and Club Standing 
 Year For Group A For Group C 
 
 1918-1919 .11 —.25 
 
 1919-1920 .14 —.01 
 
 1920-1921 .003 —.08 
 
136 After-School Material in Science 
 
 In comparing Groups B and C, the difference in age must be 
 taken into account. Groups C and D, coming from the fifth 
 grade, as compared with Groups A and B, who come from the 
 sixth grade, are, on the average, one and a half years younger 
 (1.5) (chronological age) and 1.8 years younger (mental age). 
 In order to determme what such an age difference would mean 
 in each of the final tests given, Group B was divided into two 
 parts: one whose average age was approximately that of Group 
 C and the other whose average age was 1-5 years higher. The 
 same procedure was adopted to get the approximate equivalent 
 difference for 1.8 years of mental age. The following were the 
 results : 
 
 TABLE VIII 
 
 A difference of Is Equivalent to a Difference of 
 
 Visual Practical Written 
 
 1.5 years 
 chronological age 9.79% 2>M% A90% 
 
 1.8 years 
 mental age 2.49% 7.45% 4.45% 
 
 Thus, in Table V we note that Group B scores 15.3% higher 
 than Group C in the Visual Test. In Table VIII we note that 
 for boys in Group B to be as young as boys of Group C is to 
 score about ten per cent lower- For ^'mental age" this difference 
 is about three per cent. Hence it may be concluded that instruc- 
 tion alone was better than play alone in the case of the visual 
 test; but that this difference must be discounted to some extent 
 by the difference in age existing between the groups compared. 
 In the case of the practical test, the younger group does consid- 
 erably better than the older, in spite of the difference of age 
 which might have increased their score another 4% or 5%. (See 
 Table VIII.) In the case of the written test, we must again 
 allow about 5%, as due to the age difference. This would de- 
 crease the 13.6% difference between Groups B and C to about 
 8% or 9%. 
 
 In the case of the Stenquist Tests, Group A was a little better 
 than Group B to start with ; but Group D was better than Group 
 C to start with. Group A shows an increase of 9.4 points at the 
 
Experimental Results and Data 137 
 
 end of the year, whereas Group B suffers a drop of 1.2 points. 
 Group C goes up 10.5 points, whereas Group D drops .8 points. 
 Group C almost reaches the abihty of Group B in Stenquist Test 
 II. Clearly, then, after-school activities improved this particular 
 type of constructive ability. 
 
 It is interesting to note here that a score of 64.4 (Group A) 
 on Stenquist Series II is reached or exceeded by only 5.4% of 
 twelve-year-olds, only 11.3% of thirteen-year-olds, only 21% of 
 fourteen-year-olds, only 26.9% of fifteen-year-olds, and by only 
 41% of adult men (Army). These figures are obtained from 
 tables prepared by J. L. Stenquist from the scores of 1,361 cases 
 to whom this test was given. 
 
 In addition to noting the gross increases or decreases in aver- 
 ages from one group to another, it would be well to note certain 
 correspondences that exist between the various tests and meas- 
 ures of Tables I, II, III and IV. In Table IX are listed some 
 coefficients of correlation which the writer feels are significant. 
 
 
 TABLE IX 
 
 
 
 
 
 Correlation A 
 
 B 
 
 C 
 
 
 D 
 
 of p 
 
 P.E. 
 
 p P.E. 
 
 P 
 
 P.E. 
 
 P 
 
 P.E. 
 
 I. Q & Stenquist I . . .03 
 
 .147 
 
 ^.26 .140 
 
 .24 
 
 .145 
 
 .18 
 
 .146 
 
 I Q. & Stenquist II . .09 
 
 .146 
 
 — .013 .151 
 
 .36 
 
 .134 
 
 .51 
 
 ,111 
 
 Stenq. I & Stenq. II. .59 
 
 .096 
 
 .51 .111 
 
 .66 
 
 .087 
 
 .42 
 
 .124 
 
 Visual & Practical . . .22 
 
 .140 
 
 .19 .145 
 
 .21 
 
 .147 
 
 .24 
 
 .142 
 
 Visual & Written ... .82 
 
 .049 
 
 .68 .081 
 
 .83 
 
 .048 
 
 .77 
 
 .062 
 
 Practical i& Written .13 
 
 .145 
 
 — .09 .150 
 
 .35 
 
 .135 
 
 .092 
 
 .149 
 
 I. Q. & Practical 07 
 
 .147 
 
 .32 .135 - 
 
 -.132 
 
 .152 
 
 .27 
 
 .140 
 
 Sten. I & Practical .. .28 
 
 .136 
 
 .26 .140 
 
 .42 
 
 .126 
 
 .51 
 
 .111 
 
 To save time and because 
 
 highly accurate coefficients 
 
 were 
 
 not 
 
 needed, the formula 
 
 p_l 
 
 _ 6 :g D2 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 N. (N2-1) 
 
 
 
 
 
 was used; and the reliability coefficients calculated from 
 
 
 
 P 1^. . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Vn" 
 
 Of course, the small number of cases upon which these results 
 are based make the low coefficients very unreliable. But the 
 unreliability does in no case make doubtful the following con- 
 clusions : 
 
138 After-School Material in Science 
 
 1. The intelligence quotient and Stenquist ability show very 
 little correspondence. Stenquist himself has never been able to 
 get a higher coefficient than .4 between I. Q. and ability in his 
 test. Results of this study show even less correlation. If the 
 Stenquist test measures a desirable trait, the generally accepted 
 I. Q. is to this extent a less valuable general criterion. 
 
 2. There is just as small a correspondence between I. Q. and 
 the "practical" test. In the latter test we again have a type of 
 ability which involves what might be termed "manipulatory intel- 
 ligence." 
 
 3. There is practically no correspondence between "joining 
 the club" and I. Q., or between "standing in the club" of those 
 that join and their I. Q. (See Tables VI and VII.) 
 
 4. Stenquist ability, on the other hand, is but a slightly better 
 measure of performance in the practical tests. 
 
 5. The visual tests and the written tests show the only real 
 and reliable correlations of the entire series. 
 
 6. Both the visual and the written tests show an exceedingly 
 low correlation with the practical test. 
 
 Tables X, XI and XII give the results of the tests given to the 
 groups of 1919-1920. During that year no Group D was obtain- 
 able nor any Stenquist measures. As noted in Table VI, the 
 I. Q.'s were approximately 121.8 (Terman) for Groups A and 
 C, and 129.8 (Terman) for Group B. Again there was a differ- 
 ence of about one year in age between B and C. 
 
Experimental Results and Data 139 
 
 
 TABLE X 
 
 
 
 TABLE XI 
 
 
 
 Writ- Vis- 
 
 Prac- 
 
 
 Writ- 
 
 Vis- 
 
 Prac- 
 
 Gr.A 
 
 ten ual 
 
 tical 
 
 3r. B. 
 
 ten 
 
 ual 
 
 tical 
 
 A 
 
 . 282 85% 
 
 60% 
 
 A^ 
 
 . 135 
 
 30% 
 
 10% 
 
 B 
 
 . 180 65 
 
 70 
 
 B' 
 
 . 166 
 
 50 
 
 25 
 
 C 
 
 . 260 80 
 
 70 
 
 C^ 
 
 . 152 
 
 35 
 
 25 
 
 D 
 
 .. 140 40 
 
 70 
 
 D^ 
 
 . 90 
 
 10 
 
 5 
 
 E 
 
 . 272 75 
 
 60 
 
 E^ 
 
 . 174 
 
 45 
 
 35 
 
 F 
 
 . 192 65 
 
 50 
 
 F 
 
 . 158 
 
 55 
 
 30 
 
 G 
 
 . 184 60 
 
 40 
 
 G^ 
 
 . 202 
 
 70 
 
 75 
 
 H 
 
 . 248 80 
 
 80 
 
 H^ . . . . 
 
 .. 198 
 
 60 
 
 40 
 
 I 
 
 . 202 40 
 
 70 
 
 r 
 
 .. 92 
 
 30 
 
 20 
 
 J 
 
 . 222 85 
 
 80 
 
 r 
 
 . 202 
 
 70 
 
 30 
 
 K 
 
 . 284 75 
 
 90 
 
 K* 
 
 . 102 
 
 30 
 
 30 
 
 L 
 
 . 162 55 
 
 60 
 
 U 
 
 . 102 
 
 40 
 
 80 
 
 M 
 
 . 186 75 
 
 90 
 
 M* .... 
 
 . 112 
 
 40 
 
 40 
 
 N 
 
 . 210 70 
 
 70 
 
 N* 
 
 . 178 
 
 70 
 
 30 
 
 
 
 . 192 70 
 
 80 
 
 0* 
 
 . 140 
 
 60 
 
 50 
 
 P 
 
 . 188 60 
 
 80 
 
 P 
 
 . 214 
 
 70 
 
 30 
 
 Q 
 
 . 178 50 
 
 40 
 
 Q* 
 
 . 200 
 
 65 
 
 60 
 
 R 
 
 . 216 70 
 
 90 
 
 
 
 
 
 S 
 
 .. 228 80 
 
 90 
 
 Mean . 
 
 . 154 
 
 48.8 
 
 362 
 
 
 
 
 or 
 
 44% 
 
 
 
 Mean . . 
 
 . 212 67.4 
 
 70.5 
 
 
 
 
 
 or 
 
 60.6% 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 TABLE XII 
 
 Writ- Vis- Prac- 
 
 Gr. C ten ual tical 
 
 a 200 60% 80% 
 
 b 182 50 45 
 
 c 132 25 70 
 
 d 62 5 SO 
 
 e 98 25 60 
 
 f 188 35 45 
 
 g 120 50 35 
 
 h 100 35 70 
 
 i 146 55 80 
 
 j 128 45 10 
 
 k 68 20 30 
 
 1 84 25 20 
 
 Mean ... 126 35.4 49.6 
 or 36% 
 
140 After-School Material in Science 
 
 Table XIII shows a comparison between the means for the 
 different groups in the various tests. 
 
 TABLE XIII 
 
 Written Test Visual Test Practical Test 
 
 Group A 60.6% 67.4% 70.5% 
 
 Group B 44.0% 48.8% 36.2% 
 
 Group C 36.0% 35.4% 49.6% 
 
 Again we find the tendency of after-school play, whether con- 
 trolled (as in 1920-1921), or uncontrolled (as in 1919-1920) to 
 cause greatest improvement in practical, manipulatory tasks; but 
 with a marked improvement in other lines as well. Here, too, a 
 comparison between Groups B and C shows that play activities 
 alone are almost on a par with class activities alone when meas- 
 ured by the same tests — especially when allowance is made for 
 the difference in age between groups B and C. The most happy 
 combination of all with these groups, as with the 1920-1921 
 groups, is a type of work that combines the out-of-school work 
 with class work. 
 
 In Table XIV we have a set of correlation coefficients that sub- 
 stantiate the results of Table IX. 
 
 TABLE XIV 
 
 Written and Written and Visual and 
 
 Visual Practical Practical 
 
 Group A 7i 24 .15 
 
 Group B 86 233^ .479 
 
 Group C 77 J38 22S 
 
 In Table XIV Pearson coefficients are used 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 
 CONCLUSIONS AND DISCUSSIONS 
 
 Let us examine the data of the previous chapter in terms of 
 our analysis of Chapter V, in which were developed a set of 
 aims for judging value. In the results of the visual and written 
 tests we have a partial answer to the question of environmental 
 knowledge. In these tests the questions and phenomena were 
 so organized as to cover the whole range of the term's work, 
 rather than a more or less random selection of the term's topics, 
 as is usually the case in the recognized type of teacher's exam- 
 ination. Thus the boys had an opportunity to express them- 
 selves on practically everything that had been included in the 
 curricular work. But we cannot be sure if the material repre- 
 sented in the test comprises all that our club boys had met with 
 in their after-school play. Indeed, there is every reason to be- 
 lieve that Group C and surely Group A could have done well on 
 many other questions that could not with fairness be included, 
 because they had not come up in the class work. 
 
 The visual test is so designed that it focuses the attention of 
 those that are examined on the five queries which we adopted as 
 definitions of environmental knowledge. 
 
 What things are? 
 
 Why things happen? 
 
 How things work? 
 
 How things are made? 
 
 How things are used? 
 
 As each of the forty phenomena were presented to all four 
 groups, assembled in a large lecture room, there were some 
 striking contrasts between the reactions of the different groups. 
 Almost the first question that popped into the minds of the Group 
 D boys, and to a lesser extent in the minds of the Group B boys, 
 was, "What is it?" The question was evident in their facial 
 
 141 
 
142 After-School Material in Science 
 
 expressions and often they spontaneously gave it vocal expres- 
 sion. The club boys were, in general, never at a loss for a reply 
 as to what things were; and they showed it not only in their 
 readiness to write immediately after the phenomena were pre- 
 sented, but also in their test results. Having replied to "What is 
 it?" the next important step was to answer "Why?" or How?" 
 A good many of Groups B and D never got to that stage in their 
 replies. Let us take an illustration. With rapt attention, the 
 100 boys watch the examiner going through the motions of send- 
 ing current through a high resistance wire. He unrolls a piece 
 of the wire from a spool and stretches it horizontally between 
 two clamps. He then takes two wires that had been previously 
 connected to a source of current (and through a rheostat) and 
 brushes one wire-end on the other so as to produce a large elec- 
 tric spark, visible to all. Then he ties one wire-end to one clamp 
 and after a short pause and glance at the group touches the 
 other wire-end to the other clamp. The thin resistance wire which 
 was barely visible before becomes a glowing streak of fire. The ex- 
 aminer taps the bell as a signal for them to write. 
 
 Some typical replies : 
 Group D: 
 
 (a) "You made a fire.*' 
 
 (b) "You made a fire with electricity." 
 
 (c) "The wire got hot." 
 
 Group C: 
 
 (a) "You must have had the same kind of wire a reducer has; 
 because the reducer gets hot when I use it." 
 
 (b) "Any wire will get warm when you make a short circuit." 
 
 Group B: 
 
 (a) "The resistance of the wire was too great and it got hot." 
 
 (b) "The wire was too thin to stand the electricity. The heat 
 de|>ends on two things, the length and the thinness." 
 
 Group A: 
 
 (a) "Any thin, long wire cannot carry a lot of current without 
 getting hot; especially if the material of the wire has a 
 high resistance." 
 
Conclusions and Discussions 143 
 
 (b) 'The wire must have been nichrome wire, and very thin 
 and long. The longer and thinner, the greater the resist- 
 ance. The greater the resistance, the more heat. This is 
 how an electric bulb works." 
 
 The task of grading the answers is not a difficult one if they 
 are graded for the presence or absence of essential ideas. Thus, 
 in the above case any answer that made mention of ''Resistance'* 
 and the three things upon which "Resistance" depends, was 
 scored correct. It is conceivable that finer distinctions in answers 
 can be made; but in the absence of a standardized scale, these 
 distinctions would not be safe. 
 
 To return to our point, the visual test offers a means of dis- 
 covering certain types of information and appreciations of phe- 
 nomena. To some extent, too, it measures ability to observe 
 quickly and correctly, though only the very poor observers will 
 be affected in this respect. But primarily it demands a familiar- 
 ity with, and a recognition of, natural phenomena and an ability 
 to interpret these phenomena either in terms of their own experi- 
 ences or in generalizations of experiences that might be termed 
 the laws of science- One further question remains. Are the 
 phenomena dealt with by the test, or the course of study from 
 which they were derived, or the play activities from which the 
 course was derived, such as actually function in the environment 
 of the child? A perusal of the materials listed in Chapter II 
 permits of but one answer. These materials and activities have 
 the hold on boys that they have because they have their origin 
 in the environment. The models and mechanical arrangements 
 of Meccano and Erector are taken from life. Chemcraft experi- 
 ments, especially the more popular ones, deal with soaps, inks, 
 paints, oxygen, carbon dioxide, cleaning agents, dyeing, foods, 
 etc., etc. The electric outfits, the telephone, the telegraph, wire- 
 less, railroad systems, motors, steam engines, and the thousands 
 of experiments in sound, light, heat and with water, air, gas, and 
 minerals, represent most important phases of modem life. If 
 play activity with scientific outfits can increase our understand- 
 ing and appreciation of these elements in our everyday lives, they 
 justify themselves educationally. And, indeed, our results show 
 that not only can these play activities enhance the value of cur- 
 
144 After-School Material in Science 
 
 ricular science, but in and by themselves they compare favor- 
 ably with curricular science. 
 
 It is in our second general aim, environmental control, that the 
 value of our play materials becomes marked. In the type of abil- 
 ity represented by the "practical" test, Groups A and C are far 
 superior to the rest. In a sense, environmental control is more 
 important than mere knowledge or information, for it involves 
 the functioning of this knowledge in life situations. How often 
 do we remark upon the vast chasm that exists between being able 
 to explain to the physics teacher how an electric bell works and 
 the ability to repair the house door-bell ! The utter helplessness 
 of the average individual who is confronted with a balky vacuum 
 cleaner or an electric socket that won't work or a blown fuse or 
 a leaky water faucet is regarded by many as a sad phase of mod- 
 ern city life. We rely too much uf>on the mechanical expert 
 who weaves around himself the autocratic halo of the physician 
 and who regards poor ordinary mortals as incapable of under- 
 standing what ails them or rather their house appliances. Just 
 as in medicine, so in things mechanical and electrical we ought to 
 encourage and train individuals to care for their physical belong- 
 ings intelligently. The ounce of prevention maxim holds just as 
 truly in this field as in medicine. If the course in hygiene aims 
 to make the doctor a less necessary commodity, so after-school 
 activities in science can serve to make less necessary the plumber 
 and the electrician. The most interesting result of the practical 
 test is the small amount of carry-over or transfer which there 
 was between the class-work and the ability to do the actual tasks 
 with materials. It is clear from the tables of the previous chap- 
 ter that the curricular work did not help Group A in getting their 
 high score in this test, for Group C, without the curricular work, 
 did better than the much older boys of Group B. In this con- 
 nection we might mention again the common criticism of mod- 
 ern society as expressed in the writings of Dr. Eliot and others, 
 in which the loss from the home of opportunity for sense-experi- 
 ences is very much regretted. The writer wishes to point out 
 that this opportunity still exists, but in a different form. In a 
 sense, there are more of these experiences possible ; they are more 
 interesting, and involve a greater amount of intelligence and 
 
Conclusions and Discussions 145 
 
 knowledge. The stimulation to such experiences is furnished to 
 a great extent by after-school activities in science. 
 
 Our third general aim dealt with ability to construct — the abil- 
 ity to manipulate and to fashion out of raw materials usuable 
 things. That this ability is somewhat different from that of 
 doing well in the practical test is indicated by a low correlation 
 coefficient between the two. An explanation perhaps lies in the 
 different content with which the two tests deal. Also, it must be 
 pointed out that the Stenquist materials are more generalized 
 than the practical test materials and do not involve specific prepa- 
 ration, either curricular or extra-curricular. According to Sten- 
 quist, ability in his test is very highly correlated with the esti- 
 mates of shop-teachers of abilities in manual work. That bears 
 out the writer's own experience with Groups A and B in the shop. 
 As the year progressed the club boys became the most efficient 
 hi the use of tools of all sorts; and in adaptations of materials 
 to useful ends. The shop foremen were in nine cases out of ten 
 club boys. Groups C and D, who took shop work with another 
 teacher, showed the same influence of after-school activity. 
 Those of Group C were usually the leaders in manual, construct- 
 ive work of all kinds. 
 
 A value of after-school activities which the data of the pre- 
 vious chapter do not uncover is the extent to which these activi- 
 ties make for experimentiveness and inventiveness on the part of 
 the boy. It is in the development of this trait that our play 
 materials are in sharp contrast with curricular science. By some, 
 the only value sought in any science course is training in scien- 
 tific method — a training which will make the average individual 
 a less gullible, more inquiring, and better-reasoning citizen, and 
 a training which will discover scientific talent that might devote 
 itself to research. To that end all of our laboratory procedure 
 has been organized. It is generally recognized that only through 
 contact with materials and first-hand experiences with natural 
 phenomena can scientific methods be developed. But our curric- 
 ular attempts to achieve this end have strangely been very bar- 
 ren of accomplishment, chiefly because we have lost sight of the 
 nature of the boy of the "toy age-" No better criticism of this 
 condition has ever been written, in the judgment of the writer, 
 than G. Stanley Hall's chapter on "Adolescent Feelings Toward 
 
146 After-School Material in Science 
 
 Nature." Hall's views are significant because they have evolved 
 from an intimate knowledge of the urgings that furnish the 
 motive power of all that the adolescent boy does, and because 
 one of the strongest manifestations of early adolescence is experi- 
 mentiveness. 
 
 "Modern pedagogy of Science," says Hall, "is threatened with an aliena- 
 tion from the love of nature . . . Teachers in this field have a sense that 
 mathematics is the only proper language of physical science. The topics 
 are no doubt admirably chosen, their sequence, the best from, a logical 
 standpoint, and they are such models of condensation and enrichment 
 that it seems to the organizer and to the specialist alike almost perversion 
 that the youth pass it by. But boys of this age want more dynamics. Like 
 Maxwell, when a youth, they are chiefly interested in the 'go' of things . . . 
 The high school boy is in the stage of beginning to be a utilitarian ... He 
 would know how the trolley works, how wired and wireless telegraphy 
 work and the steam-engine, the applications of mechanics in the intricate 
 mechanisms, almost any of even the smaller straps bucklers in the complex 
 harnesses science has put upon natural force, charm him. Physics in the 
 street, the field, the shop, the factory, the great triumphs of engineering 
 skill, civil, mining, mechanical inventions in their embryo stage, processes, 
 aerial navigation, power developed from waves, vortexes, molecules, atoms, 
 all these things which make man's reaction to nature a wonder book, 
 should be open to him ... for it is the heart that opens up the way for 
 reason . . . Toy museums, exhibitions, and even congresses in Europe 
 are very instructive here. Bugs that flutter and creep, birds that fly, peck 
 and sing; monkeys, soldiers, boats, dolls, balloons, engines that move are 
 often, especially in Germany, masterpieces of mechanical simplification and 
 cheapness, illustrating fundamental principles. Many of these things 
 could be made as manual training adjuncts, and the best boys' books like 
 Cassell, Baker, Beard, Routledge, Peper, and also books on magic, like 
 Hoffman and Hopkins, would be helpful in teaching problems of the lever, 
 balance, wedge, pulley, pump, monochord, whistle, prism, small lenses 
 easily ground by boys, magic lanterns, kaleidoscopes, telegraph, etc., which 
 the normal boy will approach with a full-head pressure of interest. Glass 
 work, the equipment of which with a little stock of tubes, blow-pipes, bel- 
 lows, tools, and annealing oven, occupies no more space than a sewing 
 machine, including the making of thermometers, all this gives a manual 
 discipline for hand and eye comparable to learning the piano. Tops of 
 many kinds are an open sesame into the very heart of science and sug- 
 gest and illustrate some of the profoundest principles from ions and elec- 
 trons to stellar systems . . . Where work that the boy has made with 
 his own hands goes, there his interest follows. An inner eye opens, skill 
 with fingers is harnessed to the development of cerebral neurones, and we 
 work in the depths and not in the shadows of the soul. In Europe pho- 
 tography is often curriculized . . . Suffering as school physics is from 
 lack of concreteness, application and appeals to the motor element, and 
 
Conclusions and Discussions 147 
 
 still more maimed as manual training is for lack of intellectual ingredients, 
 the present divorce of the two is a strange and surely transient anomaly." 
 
 As Hall points out, these play materials supply an outlet for 
 the inventive genius of the boy. The writer has gathered rec- 
 ords of hundreds of toy "inventions." Some of them were 
 described in Chapter IV; but a few instances set forth in detail 
 will serve to point out the factors making for originality. 
 
 Boy inventions run the gamut from simple, naive improvisa- 
 tions to real constructions involving new applications of prin- 
 ciples. On the boy level we must think of an invention as a new 
 arrangement of parts to do a new thing or an original use of 
 some old process or mechanism. In 82 out of 126 '"inventions" 
 that the writer has recorded the invention came in response to a 
 known need. Necessity is indeed the mother of invention. Thus, 
 a cousin of one boy was blind. The unfortunate fellow would 
 walk along tapping a stick to feel his way. Once or twice the 
 point of the stick would catch in a crack and the blind boy would 
 fall. The invention consisted in splitting open the end of the 
 walking stick and inserting a small Meccano wheel on a shaft so 
 that the blind boy could roll the stick along. 
 
 Again, the water pan under the ice box overflowed in one boy's 
 house so that a good deal of damage was done. The boy thought 
 that some scheme to announce the fact that the pan was full 
 would solve the problem. An electric bell was the best announcer 
 he could think of. If only the water could be made to push a 
 button Vv'hen it got to the top ! Well, why couldn't a wooden float 
 make a contact? And there he had it! The scheme worked to 
 perfection. 
 
 Or, another boy in adjusting the gears of a Meccano model 
 was forcibly impressed with the reductions in speed obtainable 
 by various combinations. Also, his car having to move in a lim- 
 ited floor space, it was necessary to know exactly what gear 
 arrangement to use. This led him to try out various combma- 
 tions until he found that a certain wheel would turn around once 
 for every ten feet the car moved. Then the idea "struck" him! 
 A distance indicator! And it was. The very scheme our auto- 
 mobile speed indicators use. 
 
 The writer recently had the pleasure of listening to Sperry, 
 inventor of the famous gyroscope. According to the inventor, 
 
148 After-School Material in Science 
 
 tops were his hobby. He and his boy would play with hundreds 
 of different kinds. He does not know just how and when the 
 idea came; but the toy began to take on practical significances 
 until today dozens of highly valuable uses have been found by 
 his top by both his boy and himself. 
 
 Edison as a boy sat on eggs to see if he could hatch them. 
 Newton as a boy played with his own ingeniously constructed 
 toys and amused himself by running with and against the wind 
 to measure its velocity. Galileo was fascinated by a swinging 
 pendulum and he received a great deal of pleasure from dropping 
 stones and timing their fall. Faraday, Davy, Maxwell, Eli Whit- 
 ney, Watt, Fulton, Franklin, Pasteur, Stevenson, Lake, Holland, 
 Maxim, and almost every other inventor of prominence has the 
 same story to tell of his youth and early manhood. In a study 
 that the writer made some years ago* of the lives of some of 
 our great scientists and inventors, the experimenting instinct dur- 
 ing their early adolesence was found to have had many outlets 
 for development. Of course, our boys are not all Newtons ; but 
 what endowment nature has given them needs careful nurture 
 in our hands. The teacher who has watched a boy with his Mec- 
 cano and Chemcraft will be less likely to remark that only a few 
 boys ever show original thought or inventiveness. 
 
 As has been noted in Chapter IV, few boys do the outfit experi- 
 ments as they are told to by the manual. They start with the 
 picture of the derrick, let us say, and when one third of it is up, 
 an idea is sure to come which will start them on a series of 
 original changes. 
 
 ♦The Method of the Scientists, School Science and Mathematics for 
 November, 1918. 
 
 Sometimes they fail and have to go back. Sometimes a prob- 
 lem that the situation presents will urge them to seek information. 
 Sometimes they get discouraged. But in the majority of cases 
 (and here lies the great value of these materials) a successful 
 accomplishment results which brings on new problems and new 
 tasks more enjoyable than those which preceded it. 
 
 In conducting a year's work in science as the writer did during 
 1920-21, there was an opportunity to observe the difference in 
 amount and quality of the "original activity" which the work 
 inspired. We might again tabulate groups A, B, C, and D and 
 
Concltisions and Discissions 149 
 
 record the amount of inventiveness which the year's work pro- 
 duced. Unfortunately, no test is available that measures this 
 trait: But some records kept by the writer might be of value in 
 showing certain tendencies. 
 
 Thus, out of 122 conferences with boys who came after school 
 to find out about how something would work, or for help of some 
 sort 97 were with boys of Groups A and C, only 25 were with 
 boys of Groups B and D. It appeared from these conferences 
 that the after-school work in school was stimulating more thought 
 and activity than the class work, especially activity involving 
 original planning and execution. As the year progressed, a de- 
 cided change was noted in the kind of help wanted by boys. 
 Their schemes became less impractical. They began to show a 
 better appreciation of the possible and the practical. Perpetual 
 motion schemes were soon regarded with contempt by the majority 
 of the boys. A tendency for getting more "information on a sub- 
 ject" became noticeable. Little tricks and useless stunts became 
 less popular. Larger projects were attempted. A demand for 
 more and better equipment arose. A greater number of reports 
 came in of boys tinkering with the mechanics of the household. A 
 tendency arose on the part of parents to come to the writer for 
 advice as to what to do with these newly aroused interests and a 
 greater number of home play shops were installed. 
 
 It must not be thought that the boys of Groups B and D did 
 nothing along these lines, for they too possessed many of these 
 play materials; but their play was not guided and in most cases 
 was very much restricted. In trying to discover why boys of 
 Groups B and D did not join the club it was found that 
 
 18 had to practice on the piano or violin every afternoon ; 
 
 16 spent most of their free time in playing ball ; 
 
 5 had no interest in toys ; 
 
 4 did not wish to join after the club had once been organized; 
 
 6 had no particular reason to offer. 
 
 Thus, because of parent restrictions or greater interest in 
 physical activities boys of Groups B and D did not have or take 
 the opportunity to play extensively with the outfits which they 
 possessed. 
 
 To return to our discussion of inventiveness and experimenta- 
 tion as organized, encouraged, and developed by after-school 
 
150 After-School Material in Science 
 
 activities in science, let us compare these activities with the 
 laboratory methods of scientists. It should first be noted that 
 scientific reasoning or any other kind of reasoning involves an 
 attitude of mind that is typical of the scientist in his laboratory. 
 Therefore, any value that we see in a course in science for de- 
 veloping reasoning ability and inventiveness in pupils must be 
 dependent upon genuine laboratory procedure. Analysis of the 
 thinking process such as that of John Dewey have focused attention 
 on the scientist at work rather than the work of the scientist. 
 Scientific methods viewed from this standpoint becomes a vital 
 process instead of a cold and inert body of logic. Commencing 
 in a perplexity and a well-defined need, the scientist proposes a 
 solution — a hypothesis — which he then takes to the laboratory. 
 There he follows each implication of his hypothesis by arranging 
 conditions which will eliminate some of them, throw light on 
 others, perhaps cause a revision of the hypothesis in the light of 
 new facts and finally lead to adoption or rejection of the 
 hypothesis. 
 
 It is needless to dwell on differences in the above conception of 
 a laboratory and present-day curricular laboratories, but it is 
 significant to point out that the free activity which goes on with 
 science play materials has many points in common with this con- 
 ception. In particular, the spirit of ''trying things out," the 
 gaining of first-hand experiences and the arranging of conditions 
 with a vital purpose in mind are elements that parallel the genuine 
 laboratory situation. 
 
 To sum up, after-school materials in science have value in 
 developing ability to reason soundly by 
 
 1. Offering a wealth of sense-experiences and first-hand con- 
 tacts with natural phenomena which are the basis of all 
 reasoning ; 
 
 2. Inducing an activity which is whole-hearted and purposeful 
 because it takes advantage of a very strong instinct of the 
 boy of the "toy age," and which takes place according to a 
 procedure that parallels closely the scientist at work ; 
 
 3. Stimulating and habituating experimentiveness with elements 
 in the boy's environment. 
 
 Quite as great a value as there is in these after-school materials 
 of providing opportunity for embryo Newtons and Edisons is of 
 
Conclusions and Discussions 151 
 
 value that they have in furnishing real, manipulative experiences 
 for the large number of just average boys. 
 
 Chapter V went further in its analysis and pointed to other 
 broader values of the study of science. Among them were cul- 
 tural or avocational values; civic and vocational values; and an 
 attitude or spirit of work. The contribution which after-school 
 activities make to these aims is considerable. These materials 
 are inextricably bound up with efficient and proper use of leisure. 
 Dr. Eliot has pointed out how the conception of the cultivated 
 man has changed in the last century from an emphasis of the 
 literary and poetic imagination to that of the scientific. Leisure 
 time is essentially extra-curricular time, though training for leisure 
 should be a part of curricular activity. 
 
 The arousing of an attitude of work, needs perhaps a word of 
 explanation. Already we have discussed from the point of view 
 of the thinking process the attitude of experimentiveness ; and 
 from the point of view of the psychology of the adolescent, the 
 enlisting of certain instincts for whole-hearted purposeful activity. 
 From the point of view of Thorndike's psychology, these science 
 play materials create an attitude or a mental set which facilitates 
 the learning process. From the point of Interest and Effort as 
 conceived by Dewey, our materials again hold a strategic place 
 in the life of the boy. It is significant that in our experiment the 
 play activities came at the end of a busy school day, without 
 suflfering in enthusiasm or in quality. The play was an active 
 expression and not a "diversion." Finally there is the distinctly 
 adolescent attitude to natural phenomena. To quote from Hall, 
 "Phenomena are a veil to a great mystery, like a curtain to be 
 rung up. Youth feels itself moving about in a world unrealized." 
 Perhaps this feeling toward nature comes a little after the period 
 of greatest "toy activity ;" but its beginning can be seen at 1 1 and 
 12. This attitude is undoubtedly the basis for not only science, 
 but art, literature, and religion as well. 
 
 Among many significances that these conclusions have for curricular 
 science problems, two have been given application by the writer. One is 
 to be described in Chapter XI and deals with a series of exercises and 
 projects, in which the best values of the "toy" have been combined with" 
 
152 After-School Material in Science 
 
 the use of tools and the applications of science principles. The organiza- 
 tion is adapted to curricular work. The other application consists of 
 some experiments with very young children and their reactions to science 
 play materials as part of a school curriculum. The latter experiment is 
 still being carried on by the writer in the Play School of the Bureau of 
 Educational Experiments (New York City). 
 
CHAPTER IX 
 
 THE SCIENCE CLUB AND THE SCIENCE PLAY SHOP 
 
 It is a most important fact that the period in a boy's life which 
 we have designated as the "toy age" corresponds very closely with 
 the so-called "gang age." Even before Hall's epoch-making 
 book on Adolescence the gregarious instinct of youth has been 
 dwelt upon and emphasized. In recent years the tremendous 
 growth of settlements, social houses and recreation centers has 
 served to bring the "club" to the attention of the boy, the parent, 
 the teacher, and society as the safety valve for this boy tendency 
 of getting together for a common purpose. William B. Forbush 
 in his book The Boy Problem reports upon 862 boy societies 
 which he has studied, with a statement that "the period of greatest 
 activity of these societies is between 10 and 15; over 87% being 
 formed during that period." G. Stanley Hall in discussing the 
 "gang instinct" in early adolescence says that "American children 
 tend strongly to institutional activities only about 30% of all not 
 having belonged to such organizations." In Chapter 3 we saw 
 how the manufacturers of science toy materials vied with each 
 other in tying boys to their own particular products, by means of 
 an appeal to the club instinct. Their attempts are still in the 
 early stages of development ; but already they are awaking to the 
 need for a better understanding of boy nature and a more effective 
 utilization of the motives which grip the lad of 10 to 14. A 
 perusal of the quotations from the Meccano Guild handbooks 
 (Chapter 3) will make clear that Hornby appreciates the wonder- 
 ful opportunity that lies ahead of Meccano as an institutionalized 
 activity of the English boy. In a measure he has already suc- 
 ceeded. So much so that here in America a very serious attempt 
 is about to be undertaken to organize a similar Meccano Guild. 
 A. C. Gilbert and H. M. Porter regard their propaganda activities 
 as their most important asset. A. C. Gilbert states that the 
 greatest need in the field of science toys at the present time is to 
 develop a central, unified, boy movement that will utilize the 
 
 153 
 
154 After-School Material in Science 
 
 tendency of boys to "join a club" and apply it to science activities. 
 He just as frankly states that the task of getting the various 
 commercial agencies together on a unified program is nigh im- 
 possible. The great growth of the Boy Scout movement is only 
 another instance of the tremendous power that lies dormant in 
 this social instinct. But great as this growth has been we hear 
 on all sides suggestions bordering on criticism for a revision of 
 the content program of scouting which will include a large and 
 better utilization of science. Inevitably the scouting program will 
 absorb the worthwhile features of the propaganda of the manu- 
 facturers, because it offers the only way of ridding this movement 
 of commercialism. 
 
 Not only the toy producers but editors of popular science maga- 
 zines as well have been awakened by a demand for help and 
 guidance, coming from groups of boys all over the country who 
 seek to carry on joint activities in science. (In the case of the 
 Popoular Science Monthly the writer has been called in con- 
 ference on this matter, to offer suggestions as to how this help 
 which the boy science clubs are asking can best be supplied. One 
 possible development may be a change in the scope and aim of 
 the present Teachers Service Sheet which the writer edits for 
 the magazine.) 
 
 Widespread boy movements are not new in America. G. Stan- 
 ley Hall lists eleven such movements of more or less significance 
 in his chapter on Social Instincts and Institutions. Among these 
 we find the "Captains of Ten," an organization promoting a belief 
 in Christ through manual activities such as whittling, mat-weaving, 
 etc., the Catholic Total Abstinence Union, the Princely Knights 
 of Character Castle, some 3,500 Bands of Mercy, the Coming Men 
 of America, the Epworth League, and others. Our present 
 Y. M. C. A. is another instance of the utilization of the social 
 instinct during adolescence; and at the present time we have 
 organizations like the Winchester Rifle Clubs of America and the 
 salesmen clubs of the Curtis Publishing Co., who are exploiting 
 this instinct extensively for more or less altruistic purposes. G. 
 Stanley Hall lists another national boy society that has peculiar 
 significance to the problem of this study — ^the Agassiz Association, 
 founded in 1875 "to encourage personal work in natural science." 
 Writing in 1904, Hall states the membership of the Association 
 
The Science Club and the Science Play Shop 155i 
 
 to be 25,000, "with chapters distributed all over the country." 
 According to some authorities of the day, it included the largest 
 number of persons ever bound together for the purpose of mutual 
 help in the study of nature. ''It furnished practical courses of 
 study in the sciences; had local chapters in thousands of towns 
 and cities in this and other countries ; published a monthly organ, 
 The Swiss Cross, to facilitate correspondence and the exchange 
 of specimens, had, a small endowment, a badge, was incorporated, 
 of specimens had a small endowment, a badge was incorporated 
 and was animated by a spirit akin to that of University Exten- 
 sion ; and although not exclusively for young people was chiefly 
 sustained by them." Another example of a similar movement is 
 our present day Audubon Societies. 
 
 In short, the question of the club in its relation to after-school 
 activities in science holds forth great promise as an instrument 
 for education. Three, factors arise from some of the sad expe- 
 riences in this field of endeavor, which should act as a guide for 
 all further attempts : 
 
 (a) Workable Materials, 
 
 (b) A definite program, 
 
 (c) Intelligent leadership. 
 
 The purpose of this chapter is briefly to present a type of club 
 which the writer has developed in the attempt to meet the three 
 factors above mentioned*. The Science Club is the most effective 
 vehicle that he has found upon which extra-curricular materials 
 and activities can be carried ; and the Science Play Shop, whether 
 in the school or in the home, offers the best physical environment 
 for facilitating the activity. 
 
 (a) Types of Science Clubs 
 
 Almost every wide-awake teacher of science has in one form or 
 another attempted to enhance the interest in his subject by organ- 
 izing after-school special study groups of some sort. Educational 
 magazines abound in descriptions of such groups and their 
 methods. In 90 per cent, of the cases that the writer has read 
 or known about, these groups or clubs tied themselves to one 
 
 *The writer has had considerable experience in club work. He was 
 connected with a Settlement for nearly ten years, having been the director 
 of boys' club work for three years. 
 
156 After-School Material in Science 
 
 very specialized interest. Sometimes it is a Radio Club. Some- 
 times it is a Field Trip Club, or a Photography Club or an 
 Aero Club, or an Automobile Club, or a Chemistry Club; or a 
 club for the study of some other special subject. The experience 
 of these specialized clubs is almost always short-lived. The chief 
 sources of difficulty are two. First, the prime movers in the 
 group lose their influence on the majority; because they advance 
 so rapidly that the rest feel hopelessly outclassed. Second, the 
 progress of the very few leaders in the club soon exhaust the 
 knowledge, ability and equipment of the average teacher of 
 science. Where the latter is not the case the group continues ; but 
 it becomes very limited and select, establishing an ''aristocracy 
 of scientists." This of course is of immense value to the "aris- 
 tocrats," but it doesn't at all utilize the possibilities along these 
 lines that the mass of individuals possess. 
 
 In contrast to this type of club, we have the ''General" Science 
 Club, which adopts no special hobby for its exclusive program. 
 Obviously it is this type of club to which we must look for exten- 
 sive educational values; and in the organization and conduct of 
 which we can find suggestion of a "boy science movement," or 
 for the popularization of a real science interest, etc. 
 {h) The Organization of the Club 
 
 The club each year adopts a constitution. It is not exactly 
 within the sphere of this paper to dwell upon the technical point 
 of constitution- framing, but a good deal is dependent upon the 
 adoption of a document that will actually function. The consti- 
 tution must be brief, simple and both written and adopted by the 
 boys. At the first meeting of the club, it is well to point out the 
 need for a set of rules, and then with the aid of the group to 
 organize the material that that particular group wishes to put into 
 its constitution, thus: 
 
 1. What shall be the aim and purpose of the Science Club? 
 
 2. What shall be its name? 
 
 3. Membership : 
 
 (a) Who can become a member? 
 
 (b) What must a boy do to become a member ? 
 
 4. Meetings : 
 
 (a) When shall they be held? 
 
 (b) Where? 
 
The Science Club and the Science Play Shop 157( 
 
 (c) How often? 
 
 (d) Who shall call for special meetings? 
 
 5. Money : 
 
 (a) Shall we pay dues? 
 
 (b) How much? 
 
 (c) Can we levy taxes? 
 
 (d) How? How much? 
 
 (e) For what shall the money be used? 
 
 6. Expelling members : 
 
 (a) For what reason or reasons? 
 
 7. The Business Program: 
 
 (a) How long shall it last? 
 
 (b) What shall be the procedure? 
 
 8. The Science Program : 
 
 (a) How many different activities shall the club have? 
 
 (b) Who shall decide upon and arrange these programs? 
 
 9. Officers : 
 
 (a) When shall elections take place? 
 
 (b) How often? 
 
 (c) What officers shall we have? 
 
 (d) What shall be the duties of each officer? 
 
 (e) How can an officer be impeached? 
 
 (f) How can an officer resign ? 
 
 (g) Shall officers filling positions left vacant be ap- 
 pointed or elected? And how? 
 
 10. Any other regulations you think it important to put into 
 the constitution. 
 
 The outline decided upon, a committee is appointed to present 
 answers to the questions raised by the outline. In the meantime 
 a set of temporary officers are elected. At the next meeting the 
 constitution is discussed, altered and finally adopted by a majority 
 vote. It is typewritten and pasted into the secretary's book. 
 The chief value of the constitution is to create an "atmosphere." 
 Often this procedure is the first of its kind that the boy has ever 
 experienced. It appeals to him and makes for solidarity of the 
 group. 
 
 The officers of the club usually consist of a president, a vice- 
 president, a secretary, a treasurer, a sergeant-at-arms, a librarian, 
 and two scouts. Their duties are those that usually devolve upon 
 
158 After-School Material in Science 
 
 such officials. The sergeant-at-arms is custodian of apparatus, 
 arranges seats, collects and distributes materials, and in general 
 maintains order. The librarian is in charge of all books, pamph- 
 lets, magazine articles and pictures owned by or contributed to the 
 club. He organizes a system by which members can draw books, 
 etc., from the library. The scouts discover and investigate inter- 
 esting places to which the club can make excursions. The club, 
 however, has the power of decision as to whether these excursions 
 shall be arranged. The president and the director arrange the 
 science program for each week and the vice-president acts as 
 assistant to lecturers and demonstrators at the club programs. 
 
 Dues are usually five cents a week and occasionally a tax of 
 not more than ten cents is levied in order to purchase a special 
 piece of apparatus or the club insignia (buttons or arm-bands) 
 or to pay for the awards and prizes. 
 
 A business meeting of no more than fifteen minutes precedes 
 the main program, during which time the members act on the 
 reports of the scouts, the librarian, or any committee which may 
 have been appointed, and passes on the applications for member- 
 ship of new applicants. 
 
 Though qualification for membership varies with any particular 
 group, it is usual to expect every member to prove his right to 
 join by showing an ability to earn fifteen points of merit. (The 
 Point System is described below.) To remain a member in good 
 standing it behooves a boy also to score at least fifteen points each 
 semester, in addition to his initiation points. 
 
 Sometimes when the club grows too large for efficient work, as 
 in the case of the Speyer Science Club, it becomes necessary to 
 recognize two types of membership. Grade A are the very active 
 boys who give up practically all of their extra-curricular time to 
 science club activities. Grade B are the boys who because of the 
 demands made upon them by athletics, other clubs, and home 
 chores, cannot assume an equal share of the club's activities with 
 boys of Grade A. They come to the meetings, are very much in- 
 terested in its doings, and participate to the extent of their ability. 
 Sufficient admission requirements and membership standards are 
 imposed to avoid a "floating membership." In the Horace Mann 
 Science Clubs it never became necessary to adopt the two-grade 
 
The Science Club and the Science Play Shop 159 
 
 scheme, so that the data of Chapter 7 is free from the compHca- 
 tion which this would introduce. 
 
 GROWTH AND MORTALITY OF MEMBERSHIP IN THE HORACE MANN 
 
 SCIENCE CLUBS 
 
 1918-19 1919-20 1920-21 
 
 Number of members, end of October . . 16 34 45 
 
 Number of members, end of December . 28 35 50 
 
 Number of members, end of February . 30 38 49 
 
 Number of members, end of April 26 36 46 
 
 Number of withdrawals 2 1 3 
 
 Number of expulsions 3 7 3 
 
 The total number of boys to whom is open the privilege of 
 membership varies from 85 to 95. Roughly then, half the boys 
 will join a club of the type we are here describing. 
 
 Of the six boys in three years who resigned from the club, one 
 withdrew from the school, two lost interest, and three left because 
 other extra-curricular interests were making too great a demand 
 on their time. Of the thirteen boys who were expelled during 
 three years, nine failed to meet the standards, two were too far in 
 arrears in the matter of dues, and two had failed to behave on 
 some occasion as gentlemen. 
 
 The success of the club is of course more dependent upon the 
 director than upon any other one factor. The director should 
 take no active part during meetings, except where it is necessary 
 to carry the boys over what is to them an insurmountable diffi- 
 culty. As was mentioned before, the director and the president 
 confer upon and arrange each week's program. In all matters 
 he should act as adviser. His frame of mind should be that of 
 a man behind the scenes, who, having set the stage, stands by 
 watching the performance, ever ready to step into a situation and 
 set things right. The ability to do this properly comes with prac- 
 tice. It does not demand exceptional ability or personality. The 
 writer has often absented himself from meetings, arranging for 
 a student-teacher to take his place. In some cases women teachers 
 took charge of the club, but in no case did any disorder result. 
 The most necessary characteristics that the leader should possess 
 is a familiarity with the interests of the boy, a well-organized 
 
160 After-School Material in Science 
 
 program of activity, and ability to handle tools and to improvise 
 apparatus, and a good know^ledge of practical science. In other 
 words, the qualities that go to make a good teacher of science 
 are also essential for science club leadership. In some ways it 
 is even easier to lead a club than to teach. The club leader can 
 with greater safety confess ignorance on some subjects and work 
 together with his boys in the solution of a problem. A class-room 
 situation is usually not adapted to such a procedure, 
 (c) The Program of Activities 
 
 Next to efficient leadership, the successful club depends upon 
 its program. In a sense, a well-organized program can make up 
 for inexperience or poor leadership. There are in all five types of 
 activities that merit description. 
 
 1. Lectures. 
 Boys like to imitate. They like to regard themselves a body of 
 great scientists who are assembled to listen to and pass on great 
 discoveries and inventions. With great seriousness they will intro- 
 duce their speakers and sit back to listen critically to what is being 
 presented. These lectures may be given by their own members, 
 by former members who return with newer and richer expe- 
 rinces, or by adults. It is not very difficult to get science teachers, 
 professors of science, or engineers to come before the club. They 
 enjoy talking to youngsters. The Horace Mann Science Club 
 has entertained some very distinguished people at its meetings. 
 Representatives from the New York Telephone Co., from the 
 Sinclair Valentine Ink Co., from the Slawson-Decker Milk Co., 
 two Columbia professors of Physics and six science teachers are 
 some of the speakers who have come before the boys, often with 
 slides, films, and apparatus. Occasionally the director presents 
 a talk or a demonstration. More often the members themselves 
 give these lectures, and stand the fire of dozens of questions 
 which usually wind up their talks. The extent to which this 
 activity is popular will be cited later. 
 
 2. Trips. 
 
 The excursion is now a recognized form of instruction. As 
 an activity of the club it presents quite a different problem. Ex- 
 cursions too often become a pleasant means of killing time. As 
 a curricular activity it is subject to several difficulties. It cannot 
 
The Science Club and the Science Play Shop \6\ 
 
 always be arranged to meet a classroom need at a crucial time. 
 The teacher is handicapped by discipline problems, by limited 
 time, by lack of information of the plant or factory visited. The 
 engineer or person in charge is very seldom a teacher or one who 
 can patiently answer the questions that boys will ask. The 
 teacher must be ever conscious of a definite teaching unit and 
 provide for reactions when the trip is over, which make the class 
 too conscious of the fact that they are being taught. In the club, 
 the boys must decide by a two-thirds vote whether to make the trip 
 or not, and the dissenting one-third need not come. The result is 
 an attitude which automatically provides for reactions that make 
 the time spent educationally valuable. Those who have come to 
 feel that excursions are always interesting and productive of en- 
 thusiasm, will surely revise their opinions after some experience 
 with boys who are permitted to arrange their own excursions. 
 The writer does not wish to go on record as being opposed to this 
 means of instruction. The contrary is true. He does wish to 
 point out the elements which make the trip successful. When the 
 scouts interview the manager of a plant, they assume a responsi- 
 bility which insures good order and respect for the company's 
 property. Also, they seem to possess a strange faculty for dis- 
 covering men who can talk to boys. Then, too, the club leader 
 plays the role of visitor with the boys. And finally the original 
 interest which motivated the trip calls forth lasting reactions 
 that not only supply a fund of information but inspire thought. 
 It is not at all uncommon to find a good many boys making a 
 second and a third trip to the same plant, on their own hook, in 
 order to learn more about some machine or process. It is to be 
 noted that one of the secretary's duties is to write up the excur- 
 sion in full detail. This account is read at the next meeting. No 
 such account has ever gone uncorrected or unsupplemented. Often 
 the compositions throughout the school for that particular month 
 will abound in descriptions of the excursion. 
 
 3. School Assemblies, Exhibitions, Bazaars, Etc. 
 
 The social life of any school is highly important. It produces 
 that much-desired thing: "School spirit." There is no surer way 
 for a teacher and his subject to become popular and respected than 
 by entering into the social activity of the school. One of the 
 
162 After-School Material in Science 
 
 Activities of the Science Club is to arrange periodically for events 
 to which the school at large can be invited. This has in the past 
 taken many forms. Sometimes the school assembly period is 
 devoted to an exhibition of ''science magic" or a demonstration 
 of some boy inventions or the presenting of a playlet that has a 
 science plot, etc. The necessary talent is never-failing, for the 
 standards are not high. One or two experiences of this sort may 
 be valuable in pointing out what science club leaders may expect 
 in this phase of activity. 
 
 A play was to be presented at a Saturday afternoon gathering 
 of boys, girls, teachers, and parents. The plot, written by a boy, 
 was briefly as follows: The Science Club sergeant-at-arms 
 catches a small fellow tampering with the wireless aerials belong- 
 ing to the club. He hauls him before a meeting of the club, where 
 he is put on trial. It develops that the culprit had been urged by 
 mere curiosity and a deisre to understand what the thing was. 
 After some very wild suggestions by members as to punishments, 
 one boy makes a plea for the offender's life, proposing that he 
 be permitted to join the club where he could learn all about it. 
 His eloquence wins the club over and they then proceed to initiate 
 him "scientifically" into the club; after which the president ties 
 the club insignia around his arm. When the ''drama" commenced 
 some of the leading actors became stage-struck to the extent of 
 forgetting their lines. Fortunately the movement of the plot, 
 being of their own origin, was very clear in their minds. First 
 one and then another they all abandoned their memorized lines 
 and rose to the occasion spontaneously. In parts it was crude, 
 but months of rehearsing could not have produced the spirit and 
 genuineness of the acting. It was a great success. 
 
 On another occasion the club held a bazaar to raise money for 
 the Red Cross. Samples of the club work were exhibited and 
 people were urged to leave orders for any scientific toy that struck 
 their fancy. The boys were carried away by their enthusiasm and 
 obtained a great many orders for which they collected in advance. 
 At the meeting that followed, they were confronted with the 
 dilemma of either refunding some of the money or working for 
 three weeks in order to fill the orders. The lesson in responsibil- 
 ity was a good one. They met their obligations. 
 
The Science Cluh and the Science Play Shop 163' 
 
 In many other ways the Science Club can become a leader in 
 the school's activities. The school newspaper, the school library, 
 and certain parts of the school plant can all be made to function 
 in the club program. 
 
 4. The Work Period. 
 
 About every other week it is well to spend part or all of the 
 program in actual working with tools and apparatus. This at 
 once makes essential that there be not more than twelve or fifteen 
 boys at a time. In Chapter 6 we describe in detail how these work 
 periods (play periods) were conducted. During 1920-1921 these 
 periods were a major portion of the club activity because they 
 were demanded by the conditions of our experiment. In order 
 that the forty-five club members have an opportunity to work 
 (play) at least once a week, it was necessary to arrange for three 
 afternoons during the week, with another period for a general 
 meeting for all, spent in a demonstration or lecture program to 
 be described in the next paragraph. Ordinarily the work period 
 can come once a week, the boys taking their turn in this activity. 
 The purpose of this period is to give them an opportunity to try 
 out their ideas and to experiment with their toys. During the 
 demonstration programs there are many things presented that 
 stimulate them to *'try out" and to "invent." The periods are 
 designed to give outlet for these stimuli. Although, during the 
 last two years the writer refrained from entering into this activity 
 in any large way (in order to meet a condition of experiment), 
 these work periods present a golden opportunity to direct a boy's 
 thoughts into the proper channels. "Wild-cat" schemes can be 
 quickly discouraged; information can be supplied; proper books 
 put in his way, and in many other ways the boy can be helped 
 to develop in scientific concepts and methods. 
 
 5. The Demonstration Program. 
 
 This is the most popular activity of the club next to the work 
 period. The demonstrations center around a system of awards 
 known as the Point System which is printed here in full. Each 
 boy receives a copy. 
 
164 After-School Material in Science 
 
 REQUIREMENTS FOR THE PRIZE OFFERED BY THE 
 HORACE MANN SCIENCE CLUB 
 
 Points 
 (250 points which will be awarded according to the following list.) 
 
 1. For constructing a piece of apparatus or toy 10 
 
 2. For demonstrating a piece of apparatus or toy 10 
 
 3. For performing an experiment 10 
 
 4. For demonstrating a new Meccano or Erector construction 10 
 
 5. For demonstrating and explaining a Chemcraft experiment 10 
 
 6. For discovering, demonstrating and explaining a new Chemcraft 
 experiment IS 
 
 7. For demonstrating and explaining a construction or experiment 
 with an Electrical Set 10 
 
 8. For demonstrating and explaining a new Electrical Set construc- 
 tion or experiment 15 
 
 9. For making a great discovery or invention (so recognized by 
 
 the club) 25 to 50 
 
 10. For proposing an original idea in science 1 
 
 11. For working out that idea, or anyone else's idea in practice. . .5 to 50 
 
 12. For duplicating any of the experiments, devices, or phenomena 
 described in any of the Popular Science Magazines 10 
 
 13. For rendering a report or lecture to the club on some impor- 
 tant article in any of the magazines or newspapers 5 
 
 14. For keeping a well-organized Science Scrap Book. (For every 
 
 50 important magazine or newspaper articles.) 10 
 
 15. For a collection of magazine diagrams and pictures on some 
 important idea or topic in science 5 
 
 16. For entering any of the Popular Science Magazine competitions 5 
 
 17. For winning a prize 25 
 
 18. For being able to calculate the gas, water and electricity bills. . 5 
 
 19. For being able to regulate a clock 2 
 
 20. For being able to do simple wiring of bells and batteries 5 
 
 21. For being able to wire up a desk lamp 3 
 
 22. For being able to regulate and take care of a player piano or 
 victrola 2 
 
 23. For being able to replace a burnt-out electric socket 5 
 
 24. For being able to run a small electric motor 5 
 
 25. For being able to run a lantern slide machine 5 
 
 26. For being able to repair a bicycle, skates, window pulleys, win- 
 dow shades, etc 5 
 
 27. For being able to take good pictures 5 
 
 28. For being able to print and develop pictures 10 
 
 29. For being able to take apart and put together again a phono- 
 graph, vacuum cleaner, or sewing machine 10 
 
 30. For being able to measure a person's blood pressure 5 
 
 31. For being able to measure humidity 5 
 
 32. For delivering a lecture before the club 5 
 
The Science Club and the Science Play Shop 165^ 
 
 ZZ. For taking a trip to some industrial plant and reporting to the 
 
 club 5 
 
 34. For reading a book on science and reporting to the club 15 
 
 35. Ror reading a science story and telling it to the club 5 
 
 Z6. For being able to explain 10 of the things, mechanisms or proc- 
 esses listed on the club list 10 
 
 Z7. For being able to explain 10 of the phenomena listed on the club 
 list 10 
 
 38. For knowing the names of 20 great scientists 5 
 
 39. For knowing what great thing or things each is remembered for 5 
 
 40. For being able to give some important facts about the lives of 
 
 10 of them 5 
 
 41. For being an officer, scout, or librarian of the club 5 
 
 42. For helping in the Science Shop 5 
 
 43. For helping some boy in working out his project 5 
 
 44. For excellence in Shop 5 
 
 45. For excellence in class work 5 
 
 When a boy wishes to claim points he fills out a slip of paper 
 which he drops into the Program Box. The day before the meet- 
 ing, the president takes out all these applications for numbers on 
 the program and brings them to the director. Together they look 
 them over, arranging them in the best order and making a list 
 of equipment which will be necessary. It is understood that all 
 special apparatus will be supplied by the demonstrators them- 
 selves, who are also expected to prepare and set up the apparatus 
 they will need. The program consists of calling the boys up in 
 the order arranged. Each number is followed by questions and 
 discussion. One of the most interesting reactions that this activ- 
 ity produces is in connection with the presenting of so-called in- 
 ventions. The inventor, after explaining and demonstrating his 
 device must then meet a flood of questions. The originality of the 
 work is sometimes contested ; the feasibility of the scheme and its 
 practical value criticised. He is required to test the device thor- 
 oughly and often to carry on these tests over a long period of 
 time before he is granted the points. One of nearly one hundred 
 "inventions" of this kind was a wiring scheme by means of which 
 a person instead of knocking on a door could turn the knob and 
 thus close a contact which would ring a bell. Certain features 
 of the device were doubted by the members, who made the inven- 
 tor install the device in his home to see how long it would stand 
 usage. A committee was appointed to report on its practicability. 
 
166 After-School Material in Science 
 
 The club minutes are crowded with such instances. There is 
 greater difficulty in preventing the standards from becoming so 
 rigid that they discourage activity, than there is of allowing work 
 of poor quality to pass. It has been the writer's experience that 
 boys can be more severe with each other than can a teacher 
 with a boy. One of the things the director must be ever-watchful 
 for is the doing of an injustice to some boy by his fellows. In 
 this connection it is well for the director to keep for himself the 
 authority of granting or not granting the points; ahhough it 
 should be a common practice to call for a vote where there is 
 assurance that a judgment thus arrived at will be fair. 
 
 The pressure of the group can be utilized by the director in 
 various ways. In the case of the boy described in Chapter 4 
 who is interested only in the "fire-works" of his Chemcraft Out- 
 fit, the club can very easily bring about one or two results by 
 insisting each time he claims points for a new experiment on a 
 thorough explanation of what happens. Either he becomes en- 
 tirely discouraged and ceases his Chemcraft activity or he is 
 stimulated to master the ''whys'' and ''wherefores" of what he 
 is doing. The minutes of the different clubs show that in 67 cases 
 of this kind, 42 of the boys appeared at a later meeting and pre- 
 sented an explanation of the experiment that satisfied both the 
 director and the boys. In the case of 32 "inventions" that were 
 given tests of practicability, 21 were eventually perfected. Of 
 212 cases where boys were "stumped" by questions involving 
 knowledge which they did not possess, 40 tried to "bluff it out," 
 128 asked the director for help or resorted to books, and the rest 
 were never again heard from on those particular questions. It 
 is not new to those who have had intimate experience with boys 
 to say that the boys value more the respect and affection of their 
 fellows than the reward in "points." It is also to be noted that, 
 although a competitive system was set up, the competition was 
 of the individual with himself ; for each boy who scored 250 points 
 for the year received the same prize. On the average, eight or 
 ten boys reached their goal each year. 
 
 In the following table we can get an idea of the relative popu- 
 larity of the different items of the point scheme. Next to each 
 item numbered is given the total number of points scored by 
 means of it during three years. 
 
8' 
 
 a. Gas Outlets 
 
 b. Work Benches 
 
 c. Chairs 
 
 d. Drill 
 
 e. Electric Plug Outlets 
 g. Grindstone 
 
 1. Student L ockers 
 
 r. Rheostat 
 
 s. Seats 
 
 V. Metal Vice 
 
 B. Blackboard 
 
 C. Cabinets 
 
 D. Desk 
 F. Sink 
 
 L. Lecture Table 
 O. Book Case 
 R. Railroad Outfit 
 S. Storeroom 
 T. Tables 
 
 Floor ^lan Science Play Shop 
 
 J 
 
 / 
 
 ZZ 
 
 oe 
 
 
 Y 
 
 .• T 
 
 
 H 
 
 Q l_ 
 
 T V 
 
 F 
 
 20 
 
 SCALE 1-8 in. 
 
 C 
 
 ift. 
 
The Science Club and the Science Play Shop 167 
 
 Item Points Item Points 
 
 1 1260 23 84 
 
 2 2210 24 246 
 
 3 1070 25 186 
 
 4 1810 26 325 
 
 5 750 27 110 
 
 6 615 28..' 30 
 
 7 920 29 20 
 
 8 255 30 10 
 
 9 2820 31 65 
 
 10 234 32 250 
 
 11 610 33 1705 
 
 12 190 34 225 
 
 13 205 35 25 
 
 14 90 ^ .* .... 
 
 15 60 Z7 256 
 
 16 25 38 105 
 
 17 50 39 90 
 
 18 245 40 65 
 
 19 326 41 145 
 
 20 750 42 205 
 
 21 120 43 .' 65 
 
 22 302 44.. 
 
 {d) The Science Play Shop 
 
 Another essential to the success of a science club is a room 
 where these after-school activities can be carried on efficiently. 
 The Horace Mann Science Club of 1920-1921 has been the most 
 successful in the experience of the writer for one reason more 
 than any other; and that was the building of a Science Play 
 Shop. An old junk room was cleaned out for the purpose, and 
 at very little expense fitted up to meet the needs of science work. 
 Some of the experiences with this room might be of value to 
 someone else; and to this end a floor-plan and description are 
 here submitted. (See illustration and diagram.) 
 
 The arrangement of the pupils around the sides of the room 
 permits the director of the club to command a good view of the 
 whole group. It also economizes space, leaving the center of the 
 room for large apparatus demonstrations. In this way the direc- 
 tor or any boy can walk to the center, hold something up, and it 
 will be seen without the craning of necks. Going from work- 
 benches to seats is also a much simpler matter than with the 
 benches arranged in rows. An essential part of the room's equips 
 
168 After-School Material in Science 
 
 ment are the two library tables with the books and magazines. 
 Boys are encouraged to go from apparatus to book, from book 
 to apparatus, and back again. The work benches are of the 
 simple type that can be bought for $60 at Hammacher-Schlemmer 
 & Co. Usually a set of these benches are part of the equipment 
 of every school shop. It is not necessary to have individual 
 benches. A long table running around the three sides of the room 
 will quite suffice. A few vises can be provided either as part of 
 this table or attached to a separate bench. At about six or eight 
 places around the room plug-switches should be supplied. This 
 meets most of the demands for electricity that are made. There 
 should be a main switch that controls all the current in the room 
 which though visible to all should be manipulated by the director 
 or a chosen few. To minimize short-circuits, it is well to put a 
 variable rheostat in series with the main-supply, so that the boy 
 cannot get more than a given number of amperes no matter what 
 sort of connection he makes. Where alternating current is avail- 
 able instead of direct current a low-voltage transformer can be 
 used with safety. At each place, too, there should be a gas outlet 
 to which a bunsen burner can be attached. The equipment at 
 each bench should consist of the following: Back Saw, Try 
 Square, Ruler, Plane, Hammer, Brush, Bunsen Burner, Screw 
 Driver, Pliers, Knife. Other general equipment not kept at the 
 individual benches might be a set of chisels, some large rip and 
 cross-cut saws, a set of mallets, a set of files, a set of braces and 
 bits and some bench hooks. A grindstone, a hand-drill and a 
 metal vice should be kept on small movable tables so that a boy 
 can move them to convenient parts of the room. There should be 
 a movable black board that can rotate so as to present either side 
 to view. A small closet for chemicals should be placed close to 
 the sink. By using small chairs or stools fastened in rows of 
 tens and mounted in three gradually rising tiers, thirty boys can 
 be accommodated in a surprisingly small space and so seated that 
 everything that is being done at the demonstration table in front 
 of the black board is perfectly visible. Gas is obtained for the 
 demonstration table by means of a long piece of rubber tubing 
 attached to one of the wall outlets. Electricity is of course 
 brought to the table by means of wires from one of the wall 
 plugs. The controlling rheostat is close to the demonstration 
 
The Science Club and the Science Play Shop 169J 
 
 table. Other features such as a wireless and a telegraph from one 
 end of the room to the other, and a railroad system, are all very 
 easily installed as shown in the diagram and very accessible to 
 everybody in the room. Exclusive of cabinets and plumbing, the 
 science play shop here described can be installed for slightly over 
 $250. 
 
 (e) The Science Play Shop in the Home 
 
 Closely related to the question of providing adequate facilities 
 for the club in the school is the question of what should be done 
 with these activities in the average apartment house. The task 
 at the outset looks hopeless. There is no space to spare. Fur- 
 nishings can be too easily damaged. The rest and quiet of other 
 members of the family and of neighbors is too easily disturbed. 
 And there are any number of legal restrictions that interfere 
 with the ideal laboratory situation. But the need is great. In this 
 form of play we cannot fall back upon the play ground which is 
 the modern institution that has usurped many of the functions of 
 home and farm. Neither can we rely on the school or the school 
 shop until the latter are organized to provide for this type of activ- 
 ity. What is the result? The boys do the best they can under 
 the circumstances. The experimenting and manipulatory instincts 
 of early adolescence are far too strong to be inhibited by even the 
 close confines of the apartment house, whether the latter be on the 
 East Side or on Riverside Drive. Boys will invade the kitchen, 
 the bathroom, the engine room in the cellar, the elevator shaft, the 
 tank on the roof, tamper with the telephone, the light switches, 
 blow fuses and replace them, and examine critically the gas and 
 electricity meters. The gas range, the vacuum cleaner, the electric 
 fan, the electric percolator and toaster are all objects that excite 
 his curiosity, his interest and his manipulatory instinct. As a 
 general rule, the writer has found Horace Mann parents to be 
 awake to the educative possibilities of these tendencies on the part 
 of their youngsters. Only occasionally does one come across the 
 parent who discourages the boy from these activities, developing 
 in them the "Call the mechanic" habit for each small mechanical 
 emergency of life. The above being the case any suggestions that 
 might help in a difficult situation may be of value. To that end 
 the following experiences with the home-play problem are cited: 
 
170 After-School Material in Science 
 
 1. The most efficient method of storing science play materials 
 is a large and flat case, box, or trunk that can be slid under a bed 
 or sofa, or placed on a shelf. It seems a perfectly feasible thing 
 to develop a special cabinet for this purpose, which when opened 
 up will present a top on which to work, some shelves, test tube 
 rack, ring stand, and even vice. As a matter of fact Chemcraft 
 Set No. 4 and a good many of the containers of the Gilbert mate- 
 rials are already utilizing a fold device which is but a flat box 
 when closed and a type of laboratory bench when opened. The 
 ingenuity that has been applied to the building of compact travel- 
 ing trunks that contain literally hundreds of articles and clever 
 fixtures, might also be pressed into service for the boy. There are 
 signs that this development is coming. Some of the recent com- 
 petitions of the toy manufacturers and editors of science maga- 
 zines have given prizes for the most efficient and most ingenious 
 boy-home-laboratories. A study of some of the winning photo- 
 graphs leaves one with the thought that the boy himself will play 
 a great part in bringing about this development. 
 
 2. The boy is not particular as to where his "laboratory" is 
 put as long as he has accessible the three essentials to his work : 
 water, gas and electricity. The traditional nursery in the attic is 
 a failure if it hasn't these three essentials. That there are ele- 
 ments of danger in the use of gas and electricity cannot be denied 
 but that they present any more danger than does the crossing of a 
 busy New York street is also denied. In both cases, careful in- 
 structions are necessary, and complete trust given when proper 
 habits are made. A small asbestos mat will minimize greatly the 
 danger from fire. 
 
 3. In a number of cases the writer has supervised the instal- 
 lation in the homes of boys of a wiring circuit, which tapped the 
 main supply and brought current to the boy through a set of two 
 ampere fuses. This makes impossible the "blowing" of the house 
 fuses. The boy can "blow" his two ampere fuses and replace 
 them at will. Regular house current is recommended as an econ- 
 omy (batteries are expensive and easily worn out) and as a means 
 of greater experimental possibilities. Where there is alternating 
 current a low voltage transformer is an ideal piece of equipment, 
 and in all cases a "reducer" or rheostat is valuable. 
 
The Science Club and the Science Play Shop 171 
 
 4. The tools a boy will need are surprisingly few in number. 
 A saw, a plane, a hammer, a knife, a screw-driver, a pair of pliers, 
 a brace and bit, a ruler, a try-square, a chisel and a file, are almost 
 all he will ever wish to use. A metal vice is of great value. In 
 this connection the Gilbert Carpentry Outfit offers a rather inex- 
 pensive set of essential tools. 
 
 5. Out of 50 Speyer boys and 191 Horace Mann boys whom 
 the writer has spoken to on the question of a special place at home 
 where they could play with their toys, 45 of them had special 
 rooms fitted up for that purpose, 72 were permitted to fit their bed- 
 rooms up as laboratories, 32 had corners in the kitchen, 22 had 
 corners in the bathroom and 70 had no place at all for this work 
 (play). 
 
CHAPTER X 
 
 SUMMARY OF IMPORTANT FEATURES AND FIND- 
 INGS OF THE DISSERTATION. 
 
 1. An intimate description of a set of after-school materials and 
 activities in science ; involving a discussion of historical devel- 
 opment and of the aims, methods and advertising propaganda 
 adopted by the manufacturers of these materials. 
 
 2. A critical examination of the various ''manuals of instruction" 
 that go with the outfits or sets ; emphasizing methods of pres- 
 entation, logical vs. psychological organization, and the most 
 popular experiments and manuals. 
 
 3. The kind of science toys most frequently possessed by boys. 
 (See list, Chapter 4.) 
 
 4. The average number of toys per boy in the Horace Mann 
 School is 3.9 outfits and 13.3 specific toys. The average num- 
 ber per boy in the Speyer School is 3.2 outfits and 11.7 specific 
 toys. 
 
 5. The poorer parent buys his boy almost as many toys as the 
 richer parent buys his ; but the toys are not as expensive. 
 
 6. In general the very expensive toys are not more educational 
 or more fun-producing than are the less expensive ones. 
 
 7. The number of toys a boy possesses increases until he is 11 
 or 12 years of age. The number stays constant until he is 
 14; when it begins rapidly to decrease. 
 
 8. The kind of toys that are most popular. ( See list, Chapter 4. ) 
 
 9. At 14 years of age there is a marked change in the type of 
 interest that a boy has in toys. Though after-school science 
 activities do not diminish appreciably, there are no toys sold 
 which meet his needs completely. 
 
 10. The toy outfit is far more popular than the specific toy. (An 
 outfit is distinguished from a specific toy chiefly by a greater 
 wealth of experimental possibilities and original adaptations.) 
 
 172 
 
Summary of Important Features and Findings 173 
 
 11. Of the five hours of each day that the average Horace Mann 
 boy has free to do with as he chooses, roughly three hours 
 are devoted to science toy activities of various kinds; the 
 other two to athletic games. 
 
 12. Activities with science toys come at irregular intervals and 
 for long and protracted periods. They are usually accompa- 
 nied by great enthusiasm and often by dreams at night and 
 by day. 
 
 13. A large proportion of boys who own science outfits carry on 
 correspondence with the manufacturers of their toys. As 
 many as 2500 a day has been received by one firm during the 
 months of November, December and January. 
 
 14. An analysis of several hundred letters shows the chief interest 
 (37% of the boys) in these toys to be a desire to "do things, 
 make things work, make experiments and invent." The inter- 
 est that ranks next (23%) is in the winning of a prize or a 
 diploma. The interest that ranks third (20%) is in being a 
 great engineer or inventor. 
 
 15. Most of the letters are written because the boys wish help. 
 The chief source of difficulty (54% of the letters) is due to 
 lack of knowledge. The difficulty next in importance (25%) 
 is due to highly impractical schemes. Lack of ability or tech- 
 nique accounts for 18% of the difficulties. 
 
 16. As shown by the letters, two-thirds of the boys succeed in 
 overcoming their difficulties. One-third fails. Half of those 
 that succeed do so because of continual experimenting — trial 
 and error. The other half succeeds through help or hint from 
 parent, teacher, or friend. 
 
 17. The companies do practically nothing for the one-third that 
 fails. 
 
 18. The chief characteristic about a boy who succeeds in over- 
 coming a difficulty is that he almost always finds a new prob- 
 lem arising out of the old one. 
 
 19. The analysis of the letters is corroborated by the minutes 
 which were kept of the activities of hundreds of boys in after- 
 school science. 
 
174 After-School Material in Science 
 
 20. For every boy who follows the order of the experiments as 
 found in the manual, there are seven who skip around 
 throughout the manual performing experiments at random. 
 The manuals do not function as they are intended to by the 
 companies. 
 
 21. The ''random'* boys are superior to the others in inventiveness 
 and originality (as measured by their standing in the Science 
 Club). 
 
 22. Many of these "random" boys develop a steadier interest 
 in the manuals later on; that is, they pay more and more 
 attention to larger ideas and concepts as developed by the 
 manual. Guidance and control at these critical stages is of 
 course important and is furnished to some extent by the 
 Club. 
 
 23. The mechanical toy of greatest appeal is the electrically oper- 
 ated derrick that moves and Hfts. 
 
 24. There is a growing tendency among manufacturers to aban- 
 don the type of toy that appeals merely to the two elementary 
 sensations of motion and color, and to produce a toy that is 
 "meaningful." This tendency is the correlate of a great 
 demand for this sort of toy, that is world-wide. 
 
 25. The German science toy is of the specific type — not an out- 
 fit. The mainuals allow for little flexibility or originality. 
 Boys show an initial interest in them, but the interest seldom 
 lasts. As a rule the German toy is flimsy and frail. 
 
 26. A set of curricular criteria are proposed for judging the 
 value of extra-curricular activities. (See tests used and de- 
 vised.) 
 
 27. Extra-curricular activities in science make for almost as good 
 a knowledge and appreciation of environmental phenomena as 
 do curricular activities. 
 
 28. Extra-curricular activities in science make for better control 
 of the physical and chemical elements in our environment. 
 
 29. Extra-curricular activities in science make for better con- 
 structive ability ; that is ability to fashion raw materials into 
 
 30. Extra-curricular activities in science encourage and stimulate 
 activities that give the boy first-hand experiences with natu- 
 usable things. 
 
Summary of Important Features and Findings 175 
 
 ral phenomena. Their activities agree closely with the youth- 
 ful activities of great scientists, and they contain elements in 
 common with the laboratory procedure of great scientists. 
 
 31. Extra-curricular activities in science represent a type of pur- 
 poseful activity which encourages originality and inventive- 
 ness, and habituates boys to the experimental procedure. 
 
 32. Boys who participate in both curricular and extra-curricular 
 activities excell all others in the abilities mentioned in 27, 
 28, 29, 30 and 31 above. 
 
 33. The average IQ of boys who join the Science Club is always 
 slightly smaller than the IQ of those that do not join the Club. 
 
 34. There seems to be very little correlation between IQ and 
 standing in the club, or between IQ and Stenquist ability, or 
 between IQ and score in the "Practical" test. 
 
 35. Clubs and societies for boys of the ages 11, 12, 13 and 14 
 take advantage of an instinct that is very dominant during 
 those ages. The propaganda of the manufacturers, the dif- 
 ferent toy institutes, etc., utilize this instinct essentially for 
 their own purposes. 
 
 36. Experiences of large organizations of this type in the past 
 show the need of three things : workable materials, a definite 
 program, and intelligent leadership. 
 
 37. The Science Club is an organization which may serve as a 
 medium through which after-school activities in science may 
 be stimulated, guided, controlled, and developed. The organ- 
 ization found to be very workable by the writer is described ; 
 including a discussion of types of clubs, methods of organiza- 
 tion, control of membership, range of activities and programs 
 and the technique of leadership. 
 
 38. The Science Play Shop offers the proper physical facilities 
 for the efficient carrying-on of after-school activities in school, 
 
 39. The Science Play Shop in the home is described and dis- 
 cussed from the point of view of offering a way out for par- 
 ents in crowded apartment houses. 
 
 40. Another application of some of the findings of this study 
 (not yet included) is a series of exercises organized into a 
 course of study and correlating principles of science with 
 industrial arts work. 
 
VITA 
 
 The author of this dissertation was born near Bielo- 
 stok, Russia, October 20, 1895. He came to the United 
 States at the age of seven and entered the New York 
 City Elementary Schools, from which he was graduated 
 in 1909. In 1912 he completed the course in the prepara- 
 tory school of the College of the City of New York, and 
 in 1916 received from that institution the B.S. degree, 
 cum laude, and initiation into Phi Beta Kappa. In 
 1917 he was granted the M.A. degree from Columbia 
 University. 
 
 The author's professional experience consists of the 
 following: Teacher of English to Foreigners in the New 
 York City Public Schools, 1914-1918; Teacher and 
 Principal of a Sunday School, 1912-1921 ; Teacher of 
 Physics in the Stuyvesant High School, New York 
 City, 1916-1917; Assistant in Physical Science, Teachers 
 College, Columbia University, 1917-1919; Teacher of 
 Science, Speyer Junior High School, 1916-1918; Teacher 
 of Science, Horace Mann School, 1918-1921 ; Director 
 of Boys' Club Work, Recreation Rooms and Settlement, 
 1918-1921 ; Camp Director and Supervisor, summers of 
 1917, 1918, 1919; Advisor in Science, Play School of 
 the Bureau of Educational Experiments, New York 
 City, 1919-1921; Editor of Popular Science Monthly 
 Science Teachers' Service Sheets, 1920-1921; War In- 
 structor of Physics, Columbia University S. A. T. C, 
 1919; Instructor of Physical Science, Teachers College, 
 Columbia University, 1920-1921. 
 
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