Outcome

This rocket might also work with some coke soda and mentos.

I came up with this toy by looking at the project parameter examples: " rockets with baking soda/vinegar fuel."  However, I wanted to make the procedure easier and make it possible to launch the rocket vertically as well as horizontally.

The age group for this toy would be for children ten and up.  Parent supervision would be recommended.  (We would not want this thing to be pointing at anything after launch.)  By playing with this toy, children could learn about chemical reactions and "rocket science."  By mixing the two components, the kids can observe the reaction and its affect as they expand and send the rocket flying or racing away.  They could also try different proportions of the two components to attempt a better reaction.

The materials that this rocket would be made of would ideally be soft and durable.  Soft so that it would cause minimal damage should it hit something, and durable so that it would not break after enduring the reaction.  It that is not possible, at the least the tip should be made of soft material.  It should also be machine washable, or at least easy to clean.  The structure is simple enough, so it should not cost too much to make.

I took the normal car and added a chain inspired by things that people would use for tops.

Kids that are at least eight years old should be able to play with this toy and maybe learn about air resistance and "car mechanics."  Directing the rudder to make the can turn in different directions should be interesting to children.  It would also be fun to provide the car with kinetic energy by pulling on the "chain."  A stronger pull would provide more energy which would cause the car to go farther.  Safety should involve not pointing the car at anything and not getting hair or fingers caught on the chain.  Plastic materials would be ideal.  This construction would involve more gears, so it might be a little more expensive.

For this dog toy, it was initially just a single wind-up toy.  However, after being inspired by all of the recent snow, it occurred to me that this toy could be expanded to a dog sled set-up.  There will be multiple dogs that can be hooked up to a sled that has some weight on it.  The more weight that are on the sled, the more dogs that would be needed to pull the sled.  The concept of coordination could also be incorporated into this idea.  The dogs should also be huskies (if only I could draw a good one).

Children more than eight years old should be able to enjoy this toy.  They should be careful not to loose the multiple pieces.  There might also be a choking hazard on the smaller pieces.

Creating this toy would be be like making multiple tinker toys with an attachable simple cart/sled.  There would also be weights/baggage.  The costs may be a little higher as a result.  Construction would also be a little complicated due to the many gears and assembly of the multiple dogs.

Reflection

I learned that making an original toy for children is very hard.  The first concept came about relatively easily.  It seemed fun and it was simple.  The other toy concepts were a little harder to conceive.  When I thought about original toys, I kept thinking about toys that were already in existence or were not very interesting.  Even the second concept was originally going to be a wind-up toy with a rudder on top.  I thought it would be more interesting and effective to change it to a chain-draw mechanism.  Even the last toy concept was just a simple walking wind-up dog (not that I have anything against them, because dogs are awesome).  Then after that first presentation day, snow outside reminded me about that trip to Canada that my sister went on in which she did dog sledding.  I incorporated the thought into my toy concept and made it into a dog sled.  Later, I also thought about the mento and coke experiment which could also work with my rocket.  I guess another thing I learned was that everyday thoughts, or recalled memories, could be inspirations for great ideas.