The Toy that Helped Shape

… Einstein’s Magnificent Mind

Smithsonian Magazine tells the story of Anchor building blocks Albert Einstein played with as a child. You can give that EXACT SAME experience to the curious minds in your life — TODAY!

The story behind the blocks

Albert Einstein’s younger sister, Maja, remembered his childhood play with remarkable clarity. She recalled that he spent hours constructing elaborate structures with his Anker-Steinbaukasten — Anchor Stone Building Sets — and that this kind of building revealed something essential about the way his mind worked.

Long before equations and thought experiments, Einstein’s spatial imagination was built block by block — testing balance, studying what worked, adjusting what fell. The same Anchor Stones made in Rudolstadt, Germany are still manufactured there today, using the original 19th-century formula of quartz sand, chalk and linseed oil. No plastic. No shortcuts. The same stones.

Start building, Child or Adult

New to Anchor Stones? The classic architectural series begins with a starter set and grows with extension sets — the same system Einstein used.

Also read our blog post about Albert Einstein and Anchor Stone building toys for children and adults.