Barbie dolls, Thomas the Train, Rock em' Sock em' Robots. Throughout the years, toys have been constantly evolving to meet the demands of children at that time. In 1913, Albert Carlton Gilbert introduced a new toy, which promised to be an educational and fun construction set. Do you know which toy this was?

Erector Sets were first introduced during the 1913 Toy Fair, held in New York City. The idea came to Gilbert while he was riding the train into the city, and saw a section of track was being electrified. As he watched the steel girders being erected to carry the power lines, he knew he had to create a toy version. At the time Gilbert was specializing in manufacturing magic tricks and sets with his company the Mysto Manufacturing Company, later the A.C. Gilbert Company. It was through this company that he produced the first Erector, known as The Erector/Structural Steel and Electro-Mechanical Builder. The name went through many changes before becoming simply, Erector Sets.

These sets consisted of various metal beams with specific holes for use when assembling, as well as pulleys, gears, wheels, and small electric motors. A popular feature of Erector Sets was the ability to build a model, then take it apart and build something else, over and over again. Since Erector Sets were the only toy at the time to feature a motor, they quickly became the most popular construction toy in the U.S. Many believe Erector Sets to be the first national advertising campaign in America for a toy. The famous slogan “Hello Boys” is fondly remembered by many to this day.

Not only did Erector Sets encourage children's creativity, but the toy lead to the creation of various other systems. Interestingly enough an Erector Set was used to build the precursor to the modern artificial heart by Drs. William Sewell and William Glenn of the Yale School of Medicine. Additionally, Disney's attraction, Soarin, was designed with an Erector Set.