Take a trip down memory lane: The 1943 Science Talent Search - ¿ì²¥ÊÓÆµ

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Take a trip down memory lane: The 1943 Science Talent Search

By Communications Team

SCRAPBOOK COMPILED BY DR. ROBERT E. PALOMBI (1925-2004).

By Carolyn Carson, Alumni Coordinator for ¿ì²¥ÊÓÆµ & the Public

Before I became the ¿ì²¥ÊÓÆµ’s Alumni Coordinator, I studied history at Georgetown University. Even now, there’s still something about old, dusty files full of correspondence or ephemera that makes me feel all warm and tingly.

Which is why I was so thrilled to receive this scrapbook in the mail.

Compiled by Dr. Robert E. Palombi (1925 – 2004), the scrapbook documented his trip to Washington, D.C. in 1943 as a finalist of the second-ever Science Talent Search. It contains everything – the letters he received from the ¿ì²¥ÊÓÆµ (then called Science Service), the schedule of his week in Washington, D.C., and even the notes he took after his judging interviews.

But just how long ago ·É²¹²õÌý1943? It was 74 years ago, sure, but what does thatÌý³¾±ð²¹²Ô?

Well, for one thing it means that Science Talent Search finalists were informed that they had been selected by telegram:

It means that Science Talent Search finalists travelled to Washington, D.C. by train:

…and it cost $7 to get to Washington, D.C. from Chicago.

It means that Casablanca was the big blockbuster playing at the theatres in Washington, D.C.:

It means there was a war going on – and that people in Europe were hungry:

It means that nearly 50% of Science Talent Search entrants headed directly into active duty after their senior years of high school; that 19 entrants of the Science Talent Search were already married; and that nearly 50% of boys who entered the Search already fully supported themselves:

And it means that this is what our Science Talent Search finalist class of 1943 looked like:

A special thanks to Dr. Palombi’s daughter for donating his scrapbook to ¿ì²¥ÊÓÆµ & the Public.