According to 9to5Mac and MacRumors, the physical exhibit—featuring a silicon-controlled rectifier—remained stored at the Los Altos family home for decades after Jobs left it behind.
Inside the 1968 Science Fair Exhibit
The science project was designed while Jobs attended Cupertino Jr. High in California, according to MacRumors. Titled “What is the SCR?”, the lot consists of a plywood display board outfitted with three explanatory panels alongside a 10-page handwritten report dated February 29, 1968, and graded by teacher Mrs. Yakel.
The left panel holds a wooden model of a typical silicon-controlled rectifier showcasing its four alternating layers of P- and N-type semiconductor material, according to MacRumors. The center features test circuits demonstrating basic operational principles, while the right panel displays a diagram and description of a 25-amp silicon-controlled rectifier. A note left on the project instructs judges to plug in Circuit II and an oscilloscope to observe functionality, closing with a direct instruction to “please unplug!” the device afterward.
Recovery and Decades in the Apple Garage
The item survived because Jobs’ stepbrother, John Chovanec, preserved it after the death of Paul Jobs in 1993, according to reports from 9to5Mac and MacRumors. Marilyn Jobs, Chovanec’s mother, had married Paul Jobs in 1990 and continued living in the Los Altos family residence.
According to MacRumors, Jobs repeatedly declined to collect his remaining personal belongings when asked by Chovanec. “Fine, but I don’t want to be bothered about it again,” Jobs reportedly told his stepbrother, allowing Chovanec to keep the items. The project remained at the property for decades before heading to the auction block.
Auction Results and Wider Apple Memorabilia Market
The science project appeared as part of RR Auction‘s “Steve Jobs & the Computer Revolution: The Apple 50th Anniversary Auction Part Two,” which featured nearly 150 rare tech lots. Online bidding for the 8th-grade exhibit initially hovered below $3,000 before closing at $34,375, as noted by 9to5Mac.
Other notable sales from the same auction catalog included a signed Steve Jobs business card that sold for $156,658, a collection of personally owned electronic components that brought in $27,188, and a 1983 letter declining a speaking engagement that realized $24,695, according to 9to5Mac. The top-earning item of the event was a fully functional Apple-1 computer from the second batch of 50 units produced, which commanded $499,363. Chovanec has previously sold other childhood items belonging to Jobs through RR Auction, including a 1977 Apple Computer poster that brought in $659,900 and an Apple–1 Byte Shop wooden case that sold for $254,375.