Arithmetic School, a Toy by Playskool

Description:

In the early 1960s, the Chicago firm of Playskool introduced this educational toy for children three to six years old, seeking to give them an early familiarity with numbers. It has two rows of relatively large rotating wooden rectangular blocks, each with a row of square rotating wooden blocks below. The larger blocks have problems in simple addition written on them, the smaller ones answers. The problems and correct answers are written in the same color of paint. The blocks move on metal rods that are attached at top and bottom to a frame. The frame is supported at the back by a collapsible metal stand. The frame is painted with a pattern of bricks on the side and a roof at the top.

A contemporary advertisement indicates that the toy cost $3.19.

Reference:

Jordan Marsh Company , [Advertisement], The Boston Globe, November 4, 1962, p. E5.

Date Made: ca 1962

Maker: Playskool

Location: Currently not on view

Place Made: United States: Illinois, Chicago

Subject: Mathematics

Subject:

See more items in: Medicine and Science: Mathematics, Science & Mathematics, Arithmetic Teaching

Exhibition:

Exhibition Location:

Credit Line: Gift of Sherman L. and Marjorie A. Naidorf

Data Source: National Museum of American History

Id Number: 2005.0055.03Catalog Number: 2005.0055.03Accession Number: 2005.0055

Object Name: toy

Physical Description: wood (frame, blocks material)metal (rods, support material)Measurements: overall: 27.5 cm x 35.8 cm x 13.3 cm; 10 13/16 in x 14 3/32 in x 5 1/4 in

Guid: http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746ab-bfb9-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa

Record Id: nmah_1292826

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