Mr. Wizard Papers
name: label: Creator
content: Herbert, Don (Donald Jeffry), 1917-2007
label: Names
content: Mr. Wizard
label: Donor
content: Mr. Wizard Studios (Firm)
topic: label: Topic
content: Television personalities
label: Topic
content: Television -- educational shows
label: Topic
content: Science -- Study and teaching
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: The collection was donated by Mr. Wizard Studios, through Thomas E. Nikosey, President, and Kristen K. Nikosey, Vice President, in 2014.
creator: label: Creator
content: Herbert, Don (Donald Jeffry), 1917-2007
setName: label: See more items in
content: Mr. Wizard Papers
abstract: label: Summary
content: The collection documents, through printed materials, photographs, audio and moving image, Don Herbert's career as a science educator under the persona of "Mr. Wizard"  from 1951 until the 1990s.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Donald Herbert Kemske (1917-2007) was the creator and host of Watch Mr. Wizard (1951–1965), Mr. Wizard (1971–1972), Mr. Wizard's World (1983–1990), and other educational television programs for children devoted to science and technology. He also produced many short video programs about science and authored several popular books about science for children.  So important was Mr. Wizard to scientific education on television that author Marcel LaFollette featured his photo on the cover of her book, Science on American Television: A History, University of Chicago Press, 2013.  

Don Herbert was born Donald Herbert Kemske in Waconia, Minnesota on July 10, 1917. He was one of three children (sisters Betty and Dorothy) born to Herbert Kemske and Lydia Kemske (nee Poeppel). He officially changed his name in 1940 to Donald Jeffry Herbert. Herbert graduated from LaCrosse State Normal College in 1940 with a Bachelor of Science degree. In 1942, Herbert volunteered for the U.S. Army Air Corps and in 1943 began training as an aviation cadet and then pilot. During World War II, Herbert served in the 461 Bomb Group and 767 Bomb Squadron in Europe.  He was discharged from the military service on July 29, 1945 as a captain and had earned the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal.  After the war, Herbert worked at a radio station in Chicago and acted in children's programs, including It's Your Life (1949). During this time Herbert developed the idea of Mr. Wizard.  In 1939, Herbert married Maraleita Dutton (1923-1995) and the couple adopted three children: Jeffrey (1954); Jay (1955); and Jill (1960).  He later divorced Maraleita Dutton and married Norma Nix Kasell (1918-2010) in 1972. 

Premiering on March 3, 1951 on WNBQ, a 14-station network in Chicago, Herbert's Watch Mr. Wizard differed considerably from earlier attempts at scientific education on television.  Those shows were either very technical, like the Johns Hopkins Science Review, or used magic tricks and comedy to hold viewers' attention, like ABC's Science Circus and CBS' Mr. I. Magination.  From the beginning, Herbert planned a serious, informative show for children, rather than their parents.  Even though he had only minimal scientific training in college—he had been an English major at La Crosse State Normal College in Wisconsin—in his persona as Mr. Wizard, Herbert conveyed a sense of authority and expertise.  

The show, broadcast live, was carefully scripted, meticulously researched, and smooth-flowing.  Each week, Mr. Wizard—described by LaFollette as a "nonthreatening, easygoing, intelligent man with a smiling face" in shirtsleeves and tie (and the occasional lab coat)—carefully guided his youthful assistants through simple experiments.  Using ordinary household items such as eggs, balloons, milk bottles, coffee cans, and knitting needles, Herbert explained larger scientific principles like gravity, magnetism, and oxidation.  Although seemingly complex, the experiments actually were simple enough to be re-created by his young viewers in the classroom or at home. 

Herbert's winning combination of personality, grasp of science, and use of ordinary objects made Mr. Wizard a hit with viewers and made a lasting impression on science education in America.  As LaFollette writes, the program "enjoyed consistent praise, awards, and high ratings throughout its history. At its peak, Watch Mr. Wizard drew audiences in the millions, but its impact was far wider. By 1956, it had prompted the establishment of more than five thousand Mr. Wizard science clubs, with an estimated membership greater than one hundred thousand."   After over 500 shows over fourteen and a half years, NBC abruptly canceled Watch Mr. Wizard in 1965.  The last program under contract with NBC aired on June 27, 1965. 

From 1954 to 1962, Herbert, appearing as Mr. Wizard, delivered "Progress Reports" during commercial breaks of the General Electric Theater.  As with most commercially-sponsored shows, the progress being reported on was almost exclusively made by General Electric.  Following the cancellation of Watch Mr. Wizard, he continued to use his Mr. Wizard persona in science education.  In 1965-1966, he produced an eight-film-series, Experiment: The Story of a Scientific Search, which was broadcast on public television, and a series of twenty-minute films, Science Twenty, designed to complement the current science curriculum in the classroom (circa 1970). 

Herbert's television show was briefly revived in 1971-1972 as Mr. Wizard, in response to protests over the cartoons and commercials that flooded children's Saturday morning prime viewing time, but it did not receive enough network support.  Herbert appeared in commercials for several companies during the 1970s and briefly lobbied Congress on behalf of General Electric in 1975.  In the early 1970s, Herbert also produced Mr. Wizard Close-Ups, thirty second spots that aired on NBC in the Saturday morning slot. In the late 1970s, he began collaborating with the National Science Foundation to create a series of short news briefs for television called How About…How About was an adult-oriented series of 80-second reports highlighting advances in science and technology. The reports were designed for insertion into existing commercial television programs.  

In the early 1980s, Herbert returned to television in Mr. Wizard's World, a faster-paced version of the original show that ran on the Nickelodeon network from 1983-1990.  After its cancellation, reruns ran until at least 2000.  During this time Herbert made numerous appearances on television news and talk shows, particularly the Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson, where he was a popular guest. In the 1990s, Herbert produced Teacher to Teacher with Mr. Wizard, a video series that debuted on September 27, 1994 on the Nickelodeon cable channel.  The innovative educational series provided a candid, close-up and in-depth visit to classrooms of outstanding teachers using hands-on, inquiry-based techniques. 

Herbert also published several books, including Mr. Wizard's Science Secrets (1952); Mr. Wizard's Experiments for Young Scientists (1959); Mr. Wizard's 400 Experiments in Science (1968); and Mr. Wizard's Supermarket Science (1980). Additionally, he designed science kits involving chemistry, crystal growing, ecology, and electronics, which were marketed by Owens-Illinois in the 1960s. 

Herbert's hands-on techniques in demonstrating scientific concepts to children were the inspiration for numerous educators who followed his lead.  As popular TV science educator Bill Nye wrote in a special to the Los Angeles Times, his "techniques and performances helped create the United States' first generation of homegrown rocket scientists just in time to respond to Sputnik.  He sent us to the moon.  He changed the world." 

Don Herbert died in 2007, shortly before his 90th birthday.  Soon after, the U.S. House of Representatives marked his passing: "Resolved, that the House of Representatives (1) expresses its appreciation for the profound public service and educational contributions of Don Jeffry Herbert, (2) recognizes the profound public impact of higher educational institutions that train teachers, (3) encourages students to honor the heritage of Don Herbert by exploring our world through science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields; and, (4) extends its condolences to the family of Don Herbert and thanks them for their strong familial support of him."  

Sources

LaFollette, Marcel. Science on American Television: A History, University of Chicago Press, 2013.  

Nye, Bill. "Teaching Science with a Big `Poof!' Los Angeles Times, June 15, 2007.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 26 Cubic feet (56 boxes, 1 oversize folder, 18 film reels)
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1906-2008
label: Date
content: bulk 1951-1995
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives Center, National Museum of American History
identifier: label: Identifier
content: NMAH.AC.1326
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Television programs
label: Type
content: Storyboards
label: Type
content: Photographs
label: Type
content: Research
label: Type
content: Books
label: Type
content: Scripts (documents)
label: Type
content: Speeches
label: Type
content: Contracts
label: Type
content: Videocassettes
label: Type
content: Dvds
label: Type
content: Slides (photographs)
label: Type
content: Notes
label: Type
content: Awards
label: Type
content: Scrapbooks
label: Type
content: Motion pictures (visual works)
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: The collection is arranged into eight series.

Series 1: Biographical Materials, 1906-2007

Series 2: Awards, 1948-2000

Series 3: Speeches, 1966-1994

Series 4: Publications/Writings, 1966-2004

Series 5: Newspaper Articles, 1944-2007

Series 6: Educational Programs/Projects, 1951-2008

Subseries 6.1: It's a Curious Thing, 1951, 1954

Subseries 6.2: Watch Mr. Wizard, 1954-1989

Subseries 6.3: General Electric Theater, 1956-1958

Subseries 6.4: Instructor Magazine, 1964-1965

Subseries 6.5: Experiment, 1963-2003

Subseries 6.6: Silence of Science, 1966

Subseries 6.7: CBS National Science Test, 1967

Subseries 6.8: General Electric, 1974-1976

Subseries 6.9: Mr. Wizard Collection...Fun Things, circa 1975

Subseries 6.10: Mr. Wizard Close-up, 1968, 1975

Subseries 6.11: Challenge with Mr. Wizard, 1976

Subseries 6.12: Science Twenty with Mr. Wizard, 1969-1974

Subseries 6.13: How About..., 1977-1989

Subseries 6.14: Mr. Wizard's Whadda Ya Know Show, circa 1981

Subseries 6.15: Correspondent Science News, circa 1987

Subseries 6.16: Just a Minute from Wizard, 1988

Subseries 6.17: Teacher to Teacher, 1993-2004

Subseries 6.18: Mr. Wizard's World, 1971-2004

Subseries 6.19: Mr. Wizard's Studio, 1990-1992

Subseries 6.20: Mr. Wizard Institute, undated

Subseries 6.21: Fan Mail, 1952-2007

Series 7: Photographs, 1951-2001

Series 8: Audio Visual Materials, 1951-2004

Subseries 8.1: Supplemental Documentation, 1972-2004

Subseries 8.2: Moving Image, 1951-2004

Subseries 8.3: Audio, 1966, 1977
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: Collection processed by Alison Oswald, archivist, 2015.  Finding aid authored by Alison Oswald with supplemental biographical and historical information contributed by Craig Orr, archivist.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Television programs
label: Genre/Form
content: Storyboards
label: Genre/Form
content: Photographs -- Black-and-white photoprints -- 20th century
label: Genre/Form
content: Research
label: Genre/Form
content: Books -- 20th century
label: Genre/Form
content: Scripts (documents)
label: Genre/Form
content: Speeches
label: Genre/Form
content: Contracts
label: Genre/Form
content: Videocassettes
label: Genre/Form
content: DVDs
label: Genre/Form
content: Slides (photographs) -- 20th century
label: Genre/Form
content: Notes
label: Genre/Form
content: Awards
label: Genre/Form
content: Scrapbooks -- 20th century
label: Genre/Form
content: Motion pictures (visual works) -- 20th century
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The collection documents the career of science educator Don Herbert, who created and hosted child-oriented television programs on science subjects in which he assumed the persona of Mr. Wizard. In addition to a documentation about his early personal life, the collection also documents his Watch Mr. Wizard television show as well as his other television, radio, and educational activities. 

The collection includes correspondence, contracts, writings, publications, newspaper clippings, speeches; awards, photographs; episode files relating to Watch Mr. Wizard and other educational programming, moving image, and audio recordings.
relatedmaterial: label: Related Materials
content: Materials at Other Organizations

UCLA Film and Television Archives 

The collection consists of 770 moving image items in several formats: 16mm kinescopes; 1" videotapes; 2" videotapes; ¾" videotapes; and DVDs.  The collection documents Don Herbert's career as Mr. Wizard, from the early 1950's to the mid 1990's and includes such programs as Watch Mr. Wizard, Mr. Wizard's World, and How About...
separatedmaterial: label: Separated Materials
content: Materials at the National Museum of American History

Related materials were donated to the Division of Medicine and Science. See accession 2014.0141.

2014.0141.01, Mr. Wizard's Experiments in Ecology, Series One:  Microbes (science kit)

2014.0141.02, Mr. Wizard's Experiments in Crystal Growing (science kit)

2014.0141.03, Mr. Wizard's Experiments in Chemistry (science kit)

2014.0141.04, Fun with the Mr. Wizard Science Set (science kit)

2014.0141.05, Mr. Wizard's Science Secrets (science kit)

2014.0141.06, Mr. Wizard's Experiments for Young Scientists (book)

2014.0141.07, Mr. Wizard's Supermarket Science (book)