Steve Jobs’ Childhood Science Project Could Be Yours (For a Price)
Toggle Dark Mode
Apple celebrated its 50th anniversary this year, and to celebrate, RR Auctions has held a two-part auction entitled Steve Jobs & the Computer Revolution: The Apple 50th Anniversary Auction. Since collectors have proven to be avid fans of all things Steve Jobs over the years, part one of the auction saw several items sell for rather high amounts, including the first check ever issued by the company, which went for a dizzying $2.4 million! And I thought my banking fees were ridiculous.
An item being offered in part two of the auction should be of interest to collectors, as it is Steve Jobs’ eighth-grade science fair project named “What is the SCR?” that included two demonstration circuits. SCR stood for “Silicon-Controlled Rectifier.”
The science project in question has remained at the Jobs family property ever since the science fair, but it has now been put up for auction along with more than 200 other Jobs-related items. The project currently sits at $2,420 after 10 bids. You’ll need at least $2,662 to join in on the bidding. But wouldn’t it be worth it just to see if the experiment was a success?
Dated Feb. 29, 1968, “What Is the Silicon-Controlled Rectifier?” includes a 32-inch plywood display with two demonstration circuits, a 10-page report, and Jobs’ hand-drawn circuit diagrams. He even left instructions telling the judges how to operate the exhibit — and reminding them twice to unplug it afterward.
In typical Jobs fashion, the project included a warning to teachers from Steve. The warning note likely reflects the risk of the circuit burning out if it were left running for too long.
The note reads:
“Judges, if you wish to see this operate, please plug in Circuit II and oscilliscope and unplug, please unplug!, after using. The oscillipscope should already be set for two to four stationary cycles, but if necessary, judges, please make proper adjustments.”
The condition of the item is “overall very good to fine condition.”
The item is from the personal collection of John Chovanec, stepbrother of Steve Jobs. Chovanec’s mother, Marilyn, married Paul Jobs in 1990. Steve Jobs served as best man. Marilyn continued to live in the Jobs family home in Los Altos following Paul’s death in 1993. While Steve helped sort through his father’s belongings, he decided to leave many personal items at the home, telling John to keep the desk and other artifacts that Paul had collected. The science fair project in question remained at the property where the famous “Apple Garage” could be found for decades.
Chovanec recalls that although he and his mother repeatedly asked Steve to come take the school project, Steve always refused, saying leave it where it was. When he finally told Steve that if he didn’t want it, he would take it to his own home, Steve merely replied “Fine, but I don’t want to be bothered about it again.” Luckily for Jobs collectors, Chovanec kept the project carefully preserved ever since.
There are also several other items up for auction this time around.
An Apple II computer, complete with accessories and software currently stands at $5,453 in the bidding. What makes that particular Apple II of note is that Steve Jobs gave it to his father, Paul Jobs. The board features the Apple Computer, Inc. logo with a copyright date of 1979, marked “8051” in red felt tip in a rear corner, and is missing all RAM chips.
Another Steve Jobs item also connected to his dad is Jobs’ NeXT business card that he left with a note telling his dad he had stopped by. The handwritten note reads: “Hi Dad — just stopped by to say hi, Steve.”
The business card currently sits at $26,264 after 11 bids.
If you’re looking for a “bargain” piece of Jobs memorabilia, a bid of $315 will get you the inside track for an original October 1989 magazine page featuring a promotional portrait of Steve Jobs with his pioneering NeXT computer system, which was put in a frame and proudly displayed by his father, Paul Jobs, in the living room of the Jobs family home in Los Altos. The original wooden frame is an overall size of 9.25 x 11 and is in “very good to fine” condition, although there is some color fading and some surface scuffing to the upper margin. It is accompanied by an image of Steve Jobs taken during a visit to his parents’ house in the 1990s, clearly showing the photo behind his head, as well as an image showing the page’s position on the wall.
You can check out all of the auction lots here.
