Gilbert U-238 Atomic Energy Laboratory

The kit was created by Alfred Carlton Gilbert, who was an American athlete, magician, toy-maker, business man, and inventor of the well-known Erector Set.

For parents, he pushed the idea that the sets' use of chemical reactions directed their children toward a potential career in science and engineering.

[2] In 1954, Gilbert wrote in his autobiography, The Man Who Lives in Paradise, that the Atomic Energy Laboratory was "the most spectacular of [their] new educational toys".

Gilbert wrote that the Government encouraged the set's development because it believed the lab would aid public understanding of atomic energy and emphasize its constructive aspects.

Gilbert also defended his Atomic Energy Laboratory, stating it was safe and accurate[3] and that some of the country's best nuclear physicists had worked on the project.

"[13] Among other activities, the kit suggested "playing hide and seek with the gamma ray source", challenging players to use the Geiger counter to locate a radioactive sample hidden in a room.