Give-A-Show Projector

This large plastic projector from Kenner was basically just a torch and a lens. By sliding strips of slides through the projector you could project a 4 sq. feet image on to a screen or wall and “give-a-show”.

Its plastic casing changed shape and colour over the years, but it always contained a bright projector light bulb and a slot that allowed the user to feed a strip of film through the light it emitted to create projected images.

To put on a show, the Projector user dimmed the lights and aimed their Give-A-Show Projector at the blank wall of their choice.

They then fed a projection strip containing six slides through the side of the Give-A-Show Projector. The end result was a series of four-foot images that told a story to the viewers through words and pictures.

Okay, it wasn’t quite the same as seeing a movie, but if the kid using it put their imagination to work, then time spent with the Give-A-Show Projector could be quite entertaining. As it became more popular, Kenner also added new elements to jazz it up.

The most notable was the addition of sound, which was first achieved by adding a record to be played on a nearby record player while running the Give-A-Show Projector.