An Ancient Tool "The abacus was really big in the U.S. for about 100 years," says Peggy Kidwell, a curator at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History in Washington, ...

"The abacus was really big in the U.S. for about 100 years," says Peggy Kidwell, a curator at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C., as she leads me through the ...

But the abacus is much more than a fun toy for 3-year-olds. It's a fairly sophisticated calculating device that dates back to antiquity. Ancient Romans used them to collect taxes.

Many teachers still rely on this centuries-old calculating device to provide a hands-on approach to math.

The only teaching tool is the abacus, an ancient Chinese toy that was used for mathematical calculations. But the system, stresses D.I. Sundar Raj, manager, administration, UCMAS, is not about numbers ...

For this series, we've been thinking a lot about some of the iconic objects that some of us remember using — if only for a short period of time — in our early schooling. Slide rules, the ...

Tools Of The Trade: The Abacus. Many teachers still rely on this centuries-old calculating device to provide a hands-on approach to math. Share By Maanvi Singh Nov 10, 2014 (NPR) For this series ...