How to be a Boy Chemist!

Title: How to be a Boy Chemist!
Creator: The Porter Chemical Company
Description: Advertised in "Popular Science Monthly", an American magazine for general readers interested in scientific topics, “Chemcraft” were educational chemistry sets targeted to young boys exclusively. In contrast with sources of the previous century, the advertisement only addresses the male gender despite the fact that, as its text reads, it was “originated by chemists, used in schools and colleges, and endorsed by teachers and professors.”

The beginning of the 20th century marked a shift in the cultural associations between the female gender and science. Events such as World War I encouraged boys to start taking up science courses in school, as it offered future possibilities in careers like engineering. Science, now linked to pure reason, began to be thought of as a boys’ subject.
Date: 1924
Type: Instructional and educational works
Subject: Science--Study and teaching
Format: Magazine
Source: Chemcraft, The Chemical Outfit, The Porter Chemical Company, “How to be a Boy Chemist!”, Popular Science Monthly, vol. 105, no. 6, December 1924, 125.

Item sets: Why were girls taught science in the 19th century? What changed in the 20th century?