Apple turns 50: Steve Jobs’ 8th-grade science project heads to auction

As Apple marks its 50th anniversary, a major milestone for the company. As it celebrates, some unusual pieces from the company’s history are attracting attention from collectors. Among them is a science fair project created by Steve Jobs when he was still in eighth grade, years before he co-founded Apple.

A look at Jobs’ early interest in technology

Dated February 29, 1968, the project is titled “What Is the Silicon-Controlled Rectifier?” It includes a 10-page report and a three-panel plywood display explaining silicon-controlled rectifiers, semiconductor devices used to control electrical power.

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The display features two test circuits. One demonstrates the basic principles and characteristics of a silicon-controlled rectifier, while the other shows how the technology could be used for applications such as motor-speed control and light dimming.

Jobs also included instructions for the science fair judges, including a warning to “please unplug!” the second circuit after using it.

How the project survived for decades

The project has an unusual family history. It came from the personal collection of Jobs’ stepbrother, John Chovanec, and remained at the Jobs family’s Los Altos home for decades after their father, Paul Jobs, died in 1993.

According to Chovanec, he and his mother repeatedly encouraged Jobs to take the project, but he declined. Chovanec eventually took it to his own home, where he preserved it for decades.

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The project is now one of 212 lots in RR Auction’s “Steve Jobs & the Computer Revolution - The Apple 50th Anniversary Auction Part Two”. The auction also features sealed first-generation iPhones and iPods, signed business cards and letters, framed family photographs and other vintage Apple hardware.

How much could the Jobs project fetch?

RR Auction estimates the school project could sell for more than $20,000. At the time of Gizmodo’s report, it had received 13 bids, with the highest bid standing at $3,222. Bidding closes on August 20.

Other notable lots include a fully functional 1977 “Neumark” Apple-1, which had reached $205,000, and a 1983 Apple Computer business card signed by Jobs, which had reached $103,574.

The auction follows an earlier sale of Apple’s first-ever cheque, signed by Jobs and Steve Wozniak, which fetched $2.4 million.