Nearly eight years before Apple was founded, Steve Jobs was already building electronics projects. Now, one of his earliest surviving school projects is heading to auction as Apple marks 50 years.
The eighth-grade science exhibit, dated February 29, 1968, is expected to fetch at least $20,000, according to RR Auction. It offers a documented glimpse of Jobs’ interest in electronics as a school student, long before the creation of Apple.
Jobs’ 1968 Science Project
The project is titled “What Is the Silicon-Controlled Rectifier?” and was created when Jobs was in eighth grade. The surviving exhibit includes a plywood display measuring approximately 32.5 by 18 by 7.5 inches, two demonstration circuits, diagrams and a 10-page report. RR Auction identifies it as a project personally built by Jobs.
The display carries a label reading “Submitted by Steve Jobs, Cupertino J.H., 8th Grade.” Its panels explain the silicon-controlled rectifier, or SCR, a semiconductor device used for controlling electrical power. One circuit demonstrates the device’s basic characteristics, while another illustrates applications including motor-speed control and light dimming.
Jobs also left operating instructions for the science-fair judges. The instructions explain how to activate the demonstration and repeatedly tell them to unplug the equipment after use.
How The Artifact Survived
The project’s provenance is tied to the Jobs family. According to RR Auction, it remained with the family for decades before being preserved by Jobs’ stepbrother, John Chovanec. The auction house says the project had remained at the Jobs family home and was later taken into Chovanec’s possession.
That provenance is important because the object predates Apple by eight years. Unlike a later Apple product or corporate document, the science project comes from Jobs’ school years and is being offered with the physical exhibit and accompanying report.
RR Auction is presenting the item as part of its “Steve Jobs & the Computer Revolution: The Apple 50th Anniversary Auction Part Two.” The auction includes 212 lots covering Apple-related computers, documents, memorabilia and other material from the company’s history.
Auction Estimate And Bidding
RR Auction estimates that the science project could sell for $20,000 or more. The auction opened in July and is scheduled to close on August 20, 2026.
The bidding figure has changed substantially during the live auction. RR Auction’s listing showed $3,222 across 13 bids in one snapshot, while reports published later showed bids reaching $8,475. Because the auction remains live and bids can change before closing, neither figure should be treated as the final sale price.
The distinction matters. The $20,000 figure is an auction estimate, not a guaranteed selling price. The final value will only be known once bidding concludes.
Apple’s 50-Year Milestone
The auction coincides with Apple’s 50th anniversary. Apple says April 1, 2026 marks 50 years since the company’s founding and is using the anniversary to look back at five decades of products and innovations.
Apple’s origins date to April 1, 1976, when Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne established the Apple Computer Company as a partnership. Apple Computer, Inc. was incorporated later, on January 3, 1977.
That timeline puts Jobs’ science project in a different part of the company’s history. The artifact was created in 1968, when Apple did not yet exist. Eight years later, Jobs would become one of the company’s founders.
The project therefore provides a rare physical record from before Apple’s corporate history began. Its auction value will ultimately be determined by collectors, but the documented date, surviving electronics work and provenance make it a direct artefact of Jobs’ early years in technology.
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