Ant Farm
From Freepedia
- Ant Farm is also a group of artists that reached prominence in the 70's for their Cadillac Ranch piece.
The Ant Farm is essentially a colony of ants enclosed between two panes of glass. The children's product was invented around 1929 and patented in 1931 by Frank Eugene Austin, an inventor and professor at the Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H. Austin included painted or wooden scenes of palaces, farms, and other settings above the ground level.
The best-known ant farms are examples of Uncle Milton's Ant Farm, for which the ants are sent to the Ant Farm's purchaser through the mail, upon receipt of the coupon enclosed with the Farm. The educational toy is still made by Uncle Milton Industries, Inc. in Westlake Village, California, which owns the brand name Ant Farm. (The company has expanded into creating habitats for other creatures as well.)
The company was founded by Milton Levine. The Ant Farm was developed in 1956 and sold for $2.98. Current president of the company is Steven Levine, Milton's son.
External link
- Kenneth C. Cramer, "Notes from the Special Collections: The Austin Ant House," Dartmouth College Library Bulletin</A> (April 1993).
- Uncle Milton's Ant Farm L.A. Times piece
