Science Saturday
First published in 1955 by Boston-based textbook publisher Allyn & Bacon, Exploring Science was a six-book series written by Walter A. Thurber and edited by Paul E. Smith. The series was geared toward early elementary school students and each book covers a wide range of concepts, from natural sciences to physics and chemistry. The series was reprinted and revised many times between 1955 and its final publication in 1975.
Shown above (image 1 and 2) is the front, spine, and back covers of the 1957 edition of book six, and the front cover of the 1962 edition of the same. Illustrations by Philip B. Parsons and Charles E. B. Bernard are found in each printing, with illustrations for the new chapters in the 1962 edition, “Electromagnets” and “Jets In Action,” provided by Albert and Violet Jousset, George Hardy, and Robert Candy. Here in Special Collections, we have exemplars from all six books in the series as part of our Historical Curriculum Collection, but book six is the one we have in multiple editions. It’s interesting to see the changes, both in design and content, between the two books.
Find more Science Saturday posts here.
And more posts from our Historical Curriculum Collection are found here.
-Olivia, Special Collections Graduate Intern