Solar-powered Energy Kit: Museum Object and Cultural History
Solar-powered Energy Kit: date made: 1995. Object Name: educational toy. Object Name: solar toy.
The object in the museum catalogue
Companies began selling solar-powered toys for fun and education in the early 1960s. This kit features an inexpensive solar cell that can operate either in sunlight or under artificial light to perform a variety of tasks such as running a small fan. Science educator Bill Nye licensed several solar-powered toys like this unit. A model helicopter and a model biplane are also in the Smithsonian collections.
Materials, dates and provenance
- date made: 1995
- Object Name: educational toy
- Object Name: solar toy
- Measurements: solar panel: 1/2 in x 4 in x 5 1/2 in; 1.27 cm x 10.16 cm x 13.97 cm
- Measurements: windmill: 5 1/4 in x 2 1/2 in x 3 in; 13.335 cm x 6.35 cm x 7.62 cm
- Measurements: box: 9 in x 11 in x 2 1/2 in; 22.86 cm x 27.94 cm x 6.35 cm
- ID Number: 2016.0178.01
- accession number: 2016.0178
- catalog number: 2016.0178.01
- Credit Line: from Bill Nye
- Data Source: National Museum of American History
Sources and reuse
Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of American History through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed.
Sources
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