Mr. Wizard

Jun 13, 2007 Author: Veronica | Filed under: babble

In very sad news, Mr. Wizard (Don Herbert) passed away yesterday at 89. Growing up, I was an enormous fan of his show on Nickelodeon, and I would wake up far too early in the morning (I can’t remember what time it came on in those years, but sometimes it was still dark out) to make sure I wouldn’t miss it before school.

From making one of those carbon snakes to making marshmallows grow in the microwave, Mr. Wizard taught me that science was fun and accessible. I know it sounds cheesy, but it really made you feel like learning was cool. He was never condescending to the kids on the show, and I always wished that I could help him with experiments. Maybe that’s one of the reasons I love Mythbusters so much.

Thanks for everything, Mr. Wizard.

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20 Responses for "Mr. Wizard"

Blaze June 13th, 2007 at 12:57 pm 1

Im Sorry.
CoolB June 13th, 2007 at 1:53 pm 2

I only remember seeing a couple episodes of Mr. Wizard, but I did enjoy them as well. R.I.P. Mr. Wizard
Seth June 13th, 2007 at 2:25 pm 3

Ditto! I used to watch Mr. Wizard before school–I want to say he came on around 6am, maybe part of that Cable in the Classroom initiative. I don’t remember any episodes in particular, but I remember his positive outlook and engaging teaching style. He will be missed.
Tim June 13th, 2007 at 6:23 pm 4

I did the same things in the morning. I always liked his show so much more than the other educational programs that were on in those days. He was so warm and friendly and made it all fun. I’ll miss him!
John B. June 13th, 2007 at 6:47 pm 5

I, too, remember watching him – but I think I opted to watch him in the afternoon. Either way, it was incredibly fun and almost *amazing* to see the things he would show.

He’ll be sorely missed by multiple generations.
FMGreen Steve June 13th, 2007 at 8:19 pm 6

Totally sad.

His show was innovative and ground-breaking in terms of educational TV. Do kids today even have anything remotely similar? Is Bill Nye still on the air?

Anyway, I think I’ll make a baking soda+vinegar volcano tomorrow in his honor.
Jonathan June 14th, 2007 at 5:21 am 7

“I would wake up far too early in the morning (I can’t remember what time it came on in those years, but sometimes it was still dark out) to make sure I wouldn’t miss it before school.”

I was in fifth grade when my mom took a job that started really early. So, I had to wake up at, like, 5 in the morning. I was really upset until I found Mr. Wizard was on at that time. Then I actually looked forward to it.
ChiliMac June 14th, 2007 at 7:18 am 8

We need more people like Don Herbert. People with the pasion to make subjects like science interesting to kids. I only watched the show a once in a while (I was a 3-2-1 Contact fan) but I always learned something. I absolutly agree with your statement Veronica, he did teach people that science is fun.
Eric June 14th, 2007 at 8:49 am 9

I too am very sad that he’s no longer alive. When I heard that he passed away, I searched for Mr. Wizard clips online. Man, seeing the shows, the kids, the experiments…I remember almost all of them. I was hooked on that show. And I also wished with every show that I could be one of the kids that helped him with the experiments. He truly peaked my interest with regards to science and magic. Mr. Wizard, you will be missed!!
Eric June 14th, 2007 at 8:51 am 10

Jonathan: LOL, I used to hate it that it was on so early. If I remember correctly, it was on at 6:30am (central time) when I watched it. Somehow that didn’t stop me from catching those episodes.
Mike June 14th, 2007 at 1:24 pm 11

I will miss him…
Parrotheader June 14th, 2007 at 1:51 pm 12

Mythbusters was the first thing I thought of too when I first saw your headline. The Mr. Wizard-like nature of that show (well, at times anyway) is one of the things I like most about it. To people who have never seen the show I describe it as Mr. Wizard meets adolescents seeking to blow stuff up.

And the very fact that I’m able to describe it that way and have people immediately understand shows just how ubiquitous Mr. Wizard’s legacy was.
josh June 14th, 2007 at 3:39 pm 13

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Jagoff Jerkovich June 14th, 2007 at 3:46 pm 14

good riddance…he was robbing the earth of precious oxygen. Useless gob!
Boswellian June 15th, 2007 at 9:10 am 15

My best memory of Mr. Wizard is learning on his show that you could not fold a piece of paper in half more than eight times. I tried this with regular paper, newspaper, etc. To make a direct connection: Mythbusters took this challenge on, and I think they ultimately used a steamroller and a giant piece of paper to make 11 folds. Of course, that was cheating. But it brings the two great shows together!
Colin June 15th, 2007 at 10:36 am 16

I too would wake up at 6 AM every day to watch Mr. Wizard’s World with my Dad on Nickelodeon. I used to pride myself in having seen every episode.

I don’t think a day goes by that I don’t use something I learned from that show. A sad day indeed.

I’ve already got a few of the DVDs and will keep collecting!

@Boswellian:
I remember that episode, too. A good one. There was a little “trick” he did on there which I loved where he showed a girl how to jump through a standard sized sheet of paper. Since, no. But fun, yes.

@ChiliMac
3-2-1 Contact was an awesome show! Along with Square One.
JoeR June 15th, 2007 at 12:20 pm 17

I’m a little older than the rest of you. I remember when the shows were new. Thank you, Don Herbert. You will be missed and mourned by the generations of viewers, whose outlooks you expanded.
NeuroMan42 June 18th, 2007 at 12:10 pm 18

I wonder if he personally will be USED in an experiment?
scottyd June 18th, 2007 at 12:37 pm 19

Man that’s a total bummer. I loved watching Mr. Wizard. I was looking into getting the DVDs not to long ago. His show was one of my favorites along with 3 2 1 Contact.
cowboy kenn June 25th, 2007 at 1:02 pm 20

Being much older than most of the responders here, I instantly became a huge fan of Mr. Wizard back in the 50’s when I was just a wee tike (4 or 5) shortly after the show started to originate out of NYC (I lived in north Jersey at the time).

Don was the first adult that really got me excited about science and learning and I faithfully watched his show every day that it was on.

To this day, with the possible exception of Carl Sagan’s COSMOS, I have never seen a TV show that really electrified my imagination.

Don, Mr. Wizard, I simply cannot thank you enough for the kind, gentle, but immense impact you had on me and my life.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

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