Show'N Tell facts for kids
The Show 'N Tell was a super cool toy from the 1960s. It was like a mix of a record player and a mini movie projector, all in one! General Electric made these toys from 1964 into the 1970s.
Contents
What Was the Show 'N Tell?
The Show 'N Tell looked a bit like a small TV set. But instead of watching regular shows, you could play special records and watch pictures at the same time. It had a record player on top where you'd put the records.
How Did It Work?
To use it, you needed special "Picturesound programs." These were sets that came with a record and a long, flat plastic strip. This strip was about 11 inches long and had tiny color pictures on it, like a mini film.
You would put the record on the player and slide the picture strip into a slot on top. As the record played a story or music, the pictures on the strip would automatically change on a small screen. It was a neat way to see a story come to life!
The pictures changed using a simple mechanical system. It was connected to the record player's spinning part. You sometimes had to spin the record a few times by hand to get it started properly.
How Much Did It Cost?
When the Show 'N Tell first came out, it cost about $29.95. The special "Picturesound programs" were 99 cents each. You could also buy a set of five programs for $4.95.
Stories and Programs
There were many different stories and educational programs available for the Show 'N Tell. When it first launched, there were 35 programs grouped into seven main types:
- Fairy Tales and Cartoons
- Children's Favorite Classics I
- Children's Favorite Classics II
- History
- Science and Space
- The World We Live In
- Steps to Knowledge
Popular Characters and Learning
Many programs featured popular characters that kids loved. You could find stories with Disney characters or even ones from Sesame Street. Some advertisements mentioned famous tales like Pinocchio, Peter Pan, and the Wizard of Oz.
There were also educational programs made by World Book Encyclopedia. By 1965, there were about 140 different programs available. Each program usually had 15 color pictures and lasted for about 4 minutes.
Playing Regular Records
Besides the special programs, the Show 'N Tell could also work as a normal record player. It could play different types of records, including 16, 33⅓, 45, and 78 RPM speeds, through its built-in speaker.
Later Versions of Show 'N Tell
In 1966, General Electric released a smaller, "compact" version of the Show 'N Tell. This model was called the A605 and cost a bit less, around $19.95.
Later, in the early 1980s, the toy was sold again by CBS Toys. It was called the "Show 'n Tell Phono-Viewer" under the "Child Guidance" brand. These newer versions looked very different from the original. They could only play two record speeds (33⅓ and 45 RPM) and couldn't play large 12-inch records. However, a cool new feature was that the Phono-Viewer could project the pictures onto a wall or another surface, not just its small screen.
