A Brief History of Science Kit / About Us

Science Kit began as a hobby of a Tonawanda, New York science teacher - Gustave Koch. Gustave was teaching science at Tonawanda High School while studying for his master's degree at the State University of New York at Buffalo. His thesis was based on the development and testing of the first elementary "science kit" for school use. His wife, Jane, was also a science teacher. She helped Gustave design and create the kit. The kit fulfilled a school need, and soon both Gustave and Jane were making more of them in the basement of their home. By 1957, the demand for these "science kits" had grown so large, that they formed the company "Science Kit" and moved their basement operation into a small shop on Delaware Avenue in the Town of Tonawanda. By 1959 they had outgrown that space and had a 12,000 sq. ft. plant constructed.

That year, Gustave passed away. His wife continued with the business taking over his role as president. In 1961 the company expanded to 27,000-sq. ft. with the additional space being used primarily as a warehouse for the company's growing line of science supplies and equipment for elementary and middle schools.

Jane remarried in 1965. Her new husband was Lt. General Ronald C. Brock who had been the division artillery commander of the 65th Infantry Division in Europe during World War II. Jane died in 1966 and the "General" (as he was known) ran the company for a year before selling it. Our Catalog barely broke 100 pages.

Science Kit was purchased by Paul F. Eckel and Charles E. Balbach in 1966, both of whom had held administrative positions at Moog. According to a newspaper article written at the time: "Under the guidance of Eckel and Balbach and a competent staff", Science Kit experienced "explosive" growth over the following five years.

In 1971, the Military Road facility was being fully utilized and overflow operations were being conducted in rented space at various locations. The company had a plant payroll of 35 persons and a national sales force of 20 representatives. It was time once again to think expansion.

The East Park Drive facility (our current facility) was constructed on 4.5 acres and designed so that it could easily be doubled in size if needed in the future. Construction was completed in 1972. For the U.S. government's new science curriculums, the company expanded its kit making to produce different kits for different programs. We also began working with publishers such as Prentice-Hall to produce special kits for the publisher's new "Ideas and Investigations in Science" program. By the end of 1972 plant employment had reached 50. The Catalog grew to 450 pages.

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