39-245 - Toy Concepts - Project 1

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Part 1: Sketches due Tuesday January 19

Your first project is to generate conceptual designs for three toys. Each toy should be based on a fundamental physical concept. Examples of existing toys like this would be slinkys, rockets with baking soda/vinegar fuel, and tinker toys. Your toys can all use the same physical principle or they can each be based on a different one. Your toys should

- attract a child's attention,
- be interactive and fun,
- be self explanatory,
- be durable and safe,
- ideally allow for cooperative play with groups of children, and
- ideally engage all of a child's senses.

Your toys do not have to be original inventions; they can be variations on existing toys.

Create a project and upload your three hand sketches (not computer-generated drawings) to this pool by Tuesday January 19.

Part 2: Presentation in class Tuesday January 19

On Tuesday, you should be ready to present ONE of your concepts to the class.

Your presentation should cover:

- What is the physical principle underlying the toy?
- What age group is the toy designed for?
- How does the toy work/how does the child (or children) play with the toy?
- Where did the idea for your toy come from?

Your presentation should take only two or three minutes.

Part 3: Documentation due Thursday January 21

For each toy concept, add the following information to your project:

- the principle your toy is based on,
- a sketch of the toy (a second better sketch if necessary),
- a description of how the child (or children) will interact with the toy,
- a brief discussion of construction cost, durability and safety.
- what you learned by thinking about children's toys (and what you learned as a child when you played with toys).

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