The stereopticon was a popular way to learn about things at home and at school during the 19th and early 20th centuries. This device was a popular learning tool in our nation’s one-room schoolhouses.

Each student would look through the two eyepieces at picture cards that had two identical pictures side by side. Because there was one picture for each eye, the user’s brain perceived a three-dimensional scene or object.

This stereopticon was donated to MOTAL by the Harold H. Horn Family:

“In the early 1900s, members of my church in Fullerton participated in a contest that would allow them to win a trip around the world,” explained Mr. Horn.

“Each Sunday all the members who attended church that day would receive a special metal token as a way to remember their participation. The promise was that at the end of the year, the person with the most tokens would win the grand prize of a trip around the world!”

In 1910, Grandfather Rogers won the grand prize and was awarded his “trip around the world.” It was this stereopticon that came with a collection of photos of different places around the world!