Object Details
maker
Naidorf, Robert
Description
This is a device for introducing elementary school students to the concept of place value. Six parallel wires, each in the shape of an inverted U, fit into holes in a wooden block that serves as a base. Each wire carries nine beads. The beads on the front of the wire represent digits. A tape that runs across the block contains labels for the wires - from one on the rightmost wire to hundreds of thousands on the leftmost. Robert Naidorf (born 1961), the son of the donors, made the object in about 1968. It was used by Marjorie Naidorf, Robert's mother, as a third grade teacher at Parklawn Elementary School from 1971 until 1991. Place value boards are also sold commercially.
Location
Currently not on view
Credit Line
Gift of Sherman L. and Marjorie A. Naidorf
date made
1968
ID Number
2005.0055.01
catalog number
2005.0055.01
accession number
2005.0055
Object Name
abacus
Physical Description
steel (overall material)
wood (overall material)
tape (overall material)
Measurements
overall: 15.8 cm x 26 cm x 7 cm; 6 7/32 in x 10 1/4 in x 2 3/4 in
place made
United States: Virginia
See more items in
Medicine and Science: Mathematics
Women Teaching Math
Abacus
Learning Arithmetic
Science & Mathematics
Arithmetic Teaching
Data Source
National Museum of American History
Subject
Mathematics
Women's History
Link to Original Record
Record ID
nmah_1292824