Thomas Edison gives us a lesson in the value of persistence. We enter the world a century ago, a world lit by gaslight. It is Menlo Park, New Jersey, in 1877. Thomas Edison and his team are completing work on a new invention - the phonograph. Thomas Edison gains renown as an inventor and is hailed as "The Wizard of Menlo Park". He declares he will invent an electric light, a light that will be safer and cleaner than gaslight. There are those who do not want Thomas Edison to succeed, but he toils on. He knows that the secret of electric light is incandescence - heating a filament with electricity until it glows. But what material should be used for the filament? His team tries everything - but in each case, the filament shoots up in flames. The trials go on for months, yet Thomas Edison does not give up hope. The search for the elusive filament goes on. His team is ready to give up. "We have tried 1,000 different types of filament", they say. Thomas Edison says that the trick is to get up the courage to try 1,001. At last their persistence is rewarded. The successful filament proves to be ordinary cotton thread coated with carbon. On New Year’s Eve, Thomas Edison ushers in 1880 with a display of electric lights. His team and supporters cheer. Includes 48-page activity book.