Before DVDs, before VHS, and even before 16mm film projectors appeared in the classroom, schools instructed bright-eyed youngsters in the secrets of hygiene, social graces, and the hazards of drinking via filmstrip projectors. These portable oracles, accompanied by either a 45 RPM record or a cassette tape, produced the effect of low tech, but professionally narrated slideshows. I remember many fond hours spent in a corner cubicle of my school library with a small white screen and a borrowed projector watching film strips from the library collection. The strip itself was a sturdy piece of 35mm film and was fed into the projector and advanced a single frame at a time. For a country kid in a backwoods school, it was both an escape to adventure and an early indication that I would be a life-long learner.
Want to see some of those filmstrips again, but don't have a projector? Never fear.
The AV Geeks have begun scanning historic filmstrips and placing them in the Internet Archive. You can once again overcome your fear of swimming, learn to get along with your siblings, or teach yourself to share with others.
qv: Filmstrips at the Internet Archive
