Erector Set facts for kids
The Erector Set was a popular brand of metal construction sets, like a super cool building toy! It was first invented by Alfred Carlton Gilbert and sold by his company, Mysto Manufacturing Company, in 1913. This company was located in New Haven, Connecticut.
A few years later, in 1916, Gilbert's company changed its name to the A.C. Gilbert Company. Erector Sets continued to be made and sold by different companies over the years. In 2000, another famous toy company called Meccano bought the Erector brand. Now, Erector Sets are often sold as "Erector by Meccano" around the world.
Erector Sets were special because they had metal beams with holes in them. You could connect these beams using small nuts and bolts. A clever part of the design was that you could make a strong, but light, hollow beam by joining four flat metal pieces together. You could also add flat or curved metal pieces of different shapes and colors to your creations.
Unlike some older wooden building toys, Erector Sets let you build both still structures (like buildings) and moving machines. You could create things with mechanical linkages, like parts that move together. Since the parts were standard and modular, you could build a model, take it apart, and then build something completely new!
Later Erector Sets even came with electric motors. These motors could be powered by AC (from a wall outlet) or DC (from batteries). They usually had gears to make them stronger, helping them move heavier things. Some sets also included tiny light bulbs and simple switches, so you could add lights to your models.
Erector Sets are still very versatile. You can build almost any mechanical device with them! People have made everything from simple structures to complex working cranes, automatic gearboxes, or even clocks. They are often used to test out new ideas and inventions. The only limit to what you can build with an Erector Set is your own imagination!
What Can You Build with Erector Sets?
Over the years, Erector Sets have been used to create many amazing things. Here are a few examples:
- In 1949, two doctors, William Sewell and Dr. William Glenn, from Yale School of Medicine, used an Erector Set to build an early version of an artificial heart. This pump helped a dog's heart work for over an hour!
- In the 1970s, a smart scientist named Claude Shannon, who studied how information works, built a machine that could juggle balls using an Erector Set.
- In the late 1990s, an engineer named Mark Sumner used Erector parts to make a working model for "Soarin’." This is a popular ride at Disney’s California Adventure and Walt Disney World's Epcot, where you feel like you're flying!
In 1990, the Meccano company built a giant Ferris wheel in France using Erector parts. It was designed to look like the very first Ferris Wheel from 1893. This huge model was brought to the United States to help promote "Erector by Meccano." It was shown in New York City and then bought by Ripley's Believe It or Not! museum in St. Augustine, Florida.
This amazing model was about 6.5 meters (21 feet) tall and weighed 544 kilograms (1,200 pounds)! It was made from 19,507 pieces and used 50,560 nuts and bolts. It took 1,239 hours to build. Because it was so big and heavy, some parts that weren't strictly Erector pieces had to be used to make sure it wouldn't fall apart.
Images for kids
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Exhibit in the Museum of the City of New York
