Mr. Wizard

by Shirley A. Ramaley

Mr. Wizard died recently. I remember watching Don Herbert on NBC in the 1950’s. I was a teen and thinking of studying laboratory science at a university. Looking back on it, I’m sure Mr. Wizard was influential in that decision.

I suppose kids today might think him boring, but we didn’t. In his casual and friendly manner, Don Herbert performed “magic tricks” and then explained how they worked. They weren’t really magic of course, and that was the point of his explanation. 

He’d perform experiments that kids of all ages could do at home, and he encouraged us to do so. I remember he always wore a white shirt and rolled up the sleeves, and then “went to work,” teaching basic scientific principles to the television audience. 

As I recall he usually had a young student helping him or assisting him in these experiments and these included girls, something unusual in those days. Girls were not encouraged to study science. In that era we were directed toward becoming secretaries, teachers, clerks, nurses or nurse’s aides. Those are admirable vocations too, but I wanted to study solid science. By watching Mr. Wizard, I knew I could succeed.

The show started in 1951 and was called “Watch Mr. Wizard.” It ran for 14 years, switching from Chicago to New York. Each segment was thirty minutes. I can’t say I watched it all that time, but I faithfully watched about the first five years and made my decision to go to the university and study science.

In a 2004 interview with the New York Times, Don Herbert said that he “would perform a trick, as it were, to hook the kids, and then explain the science later.” Some people criticized him for calling it “magic” but he did that to get kids’ attention. Eventually, after people saw what a wonderful show it was, the criticism stopped. He always explained the magic by scientific experiments.

He taught kids how to think like scientists. He showed us all how to measure and analyze. We had to think to follow along with him, as we learned about the forces of nature. He used household items, so we could duplicate the experiments.

The show, which was set in a science classroom, earned a Peabody Award in 1954. It ran until 1964. By then I had young children and we sometimes watched the show together. I was sorry to hear it stopped. Don Herbert was later the star of “Mr. Wizard’s World” on Nickelodeon, in the 1980’s.

Don Herbert recently died at the age of 89. I think he was a wonderful man and I want to say, “Thanks, Don Herbert, for telling me that I, a young girl, could also be a scientist.” I earned my bachelor’s and then graduate degrees and worked in the science field for over 35 years. I owe it, in large part, to Mr. Wizard.


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