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Steve Jobs' 8th Grade Science Project Sells for $34,375

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A science project that Apple co-founder Steve Jobs built for his 8th-grade science fair sold at auction for $34,375.

steve-jobs-rr-auction-science-project.jpg

Jobs was attending Cupertino Jr. High when he designed the project, which is titled "What is the SCR?" The lot includes a display board built from plywood with three explanatory panels and a 10-page report with the same title.

The left panel has a wooden model of a "typical silicon-controlled rectifier with its four alternate layers of P- and N-Type semiconductor material," while the center test circuits demonstrate the basic principles and characteristics of the silicon-controlled rectifier, as well as how it is most widely used. The right panel has a diagram and description of a 25-amp silicon-controlled rectifier.

The project is labeled with Jobs' name, and the accompanying report is titled "What is the Silicon-Controlled Rectifier by Steve Jobs, Science, Mrs. Yakel, Feb. 29, 1968."

A note included on the project instructs judges to plug in Circuit II and the oscilloscope to see it operate, and it asks them to "please unplug!" the device after testing it.

Jobs' science fair project came from John Chovanec, Jobs' stepbrother. Chovanec's mother, Marilyn, married Paul Jobs in 1990 and continued to live in the Jobs family home in Los Altos. After Paul Jobs died in 1993, Steve Jobs declined to collect some of his personal belongings that remained in the home. Chovanec apparently asked Jobs to collect the items several times and at one point said he would keep the items himself instead. "Fine, but I don't want to be bothered about it again," Jobs reportedly responded.

Chovanec previously sold other items from Jobs' early years, including posters, magazines, bow ties, a desk, and more. A 1977 Apple Computer poster sold for $659,900, while an Apple–1 Byte Shop wooden case owned by Jobs sold for $254,375. The bow ties sold for $113,580.

Article Link: Steve Jobs' 8th Grade Science Project Sells for $34,375
 
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https://www.macrumors.com/2026/08/28/steve-jobs-science-project-auction/
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My 8th grade science project went into the garage 5 minutes after it was graded, where it belonged. Obviously some clears signs of great potential, but it would be interesting to know what Steve did on his own versus his parents. In my experience some parents tend to "help" more than others - but I bet this was all Steve, seems to display his design prowess.
 
gaximus said:
Look at that attention to detail, especially for an 8th grader, just look at the staple alignment.
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Exactly. I can imagine that if Tim Cook were doing the exact same project in 8th grade, he would've, without any pride in his work, sloppily thrown together the bare minimum required to get an A grade. And his supporters would say that his project is even better than Jobs's because Cook got an A grade whereas Jobs got an A- grade, just like how Cook supporters say that Apple products under Cook's leadership are better than Apple products under Jobs's leadership because Cook's leadership made Apple's far more money than Jobs's leadership.
 
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ThomasJL said:
Exactly. I can imagine that if Tim Cook were doing the exact same project in 8th grade, he would've, without any pride in his work, sloppily thrown together the bare minimum required to get an A grade. And his supporters would say that his project is even better than Jobs's because Cook got an A grade whereas Jobs got an A- grade, just like how Cook supporters say that Apple products under Cook's leadership are better than Apple products under Jobs's leadership because Cook's leadership made Apple's far more money than Jobs's leadership.
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Timmy would’ve done a “100 efficient ways to count beans” science project.

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ThomasJL said:
Exactly. I can imagine that if Tim Cook were doing the exact same project in 8th grade, he would've, without any pride in his work, sloppily thrown together the bare minimum required to get an A grade. And his supporters would say that his project is even better than Jobs's because Cook got an A grade whereas Jobs got an A- grade, just like how Cook supporters say that Apple products under Cook's leadership are better than Apple products under Jobs's leadership becuase Cook's leadership made Apple's far more money than Jobs's leadership.
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I don’t think he would have been sloppy. But he would have been very economical with the number of staples, using the bare minimum necessary to hold components together; he would have sourced his cardboard from the old produce boxes discarded at the back of the local grocery store; he’d have outsource the construction of said project to some elementary schoolers; and he’d pre-record his in-class presentation. 😉
 
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gaximus said:
Look at that attention to detail, especially for an 8th grader, just look at the staple alignment.
Click to expand...
Jobs was notorious for his Obsessive Compulsive Disorder making him insanely attentive to detail. If you can manage OCD you can really use the positive traits.
 
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