Remember this radioactive toy?! 😱⁠ ⁠ In the 1950s, kids could buy the Gilbert U-238 Atomic Energy Lab—complete with real uranium ore. ☢️⁠ ⁠ It was never officially banned, but it quietly disappeared after just one year. Today? It’d be shut down faster than you can say "Geiger counter." 🚫⁠ ⁠ #AtomicEnergyLab #BannedToys #WeirdHistory #1950sKids #retrotoys | Vintage Memories 66

Watch as Associate Vice President of Collections and Exhibits Erin Clancey breaks down the history of “the most dangerous toy ever”—the Gilbert U-238 Atomic Energy Lab. Released in 1950, this rare toy lab kit was designed to introduce young minds to the scientific field of nuclear physics and even included radioactive samples of uranium ore. This is one of the artifacts you can find in the Museum’s final permanent exhibit hall, Liberation Pavilion, opening November 3. Click the link to learn mor