Intro to Code:

1) the principle your toy is based on: The main principle that I wanted children to take away from this toy was of the systematic thinking that is needed for coding. 

2) how will the child interact with the toy: The child will simply put the coding blocks in order on the board, and then see if the ball was able to go through the maze. 

3) construction cost, durability, safety: I think the construction cost will be a bit tricky. The toy blocks in the side of the maze could perhaps have a bar code/RFID tag in them that would register with the board in order for the control system to identify what block is what. The maze would probably be a wooden enclosure with a magnetic ball that is moved around by an electromagnet hidden below the maze, moved by at least two motors (for the x and y direction) through the maze. The cost for assembly could be as high as $60-$70 dollars, which means a retail in the $2oos. Durability, as long as the construction is well made, shouldn't be an issue as the only parts which the child is actually interacting with are large wooden blocks. Safety isn't a big deal for the same reason - as long as the wooden blocks are too big for the child to eat, then there shouldn't be a problem. 

4) what I learned from the experience: I realized there are two main issues with this idea: 1) the ease of construction was something I hadn't really taken into account 2) this might not be as entertaining for the child that I had previously thought (especially if the parent keeps nudging the child to play with the toy). I think I learned a much more delicate balance is needed for these types of toys, that I'm not sure this toy quite hit yet.