August 23, 2005

International Toy Fair open to all - yes, even teachers

If you are ever in New York in February you have to visit the International Toy Fair. It's a kind of convention where the latest and greatest toys are rolled out for buyers across the world to stock their shelves. It's a wonderful experience and anybody can go. As a teacher, it is particularly interesting to see ideas come to life, many of which are science creations that come from simple experiences you and I teach in our classrooms. You will find around 2500 vendors there. In a couple of rows on the left hand side are the first timers. People who have never been to a Toy Fair before, who have mortgaged the house, made prototypes, and are ready to show the world their inventions. It is amazing to discover how many of these toys are born from the simple concepts that kids are learning in school. So head over to New York and be amazed at the learning experiences there. You won't be able to buy anything but you'll probably head to H & R Schwartz and load that spare suitcase you brought with you with the latest and greatest toys to take home. Listen … (more...)

August 19, 2005

Be Amazing Toys - a great way to “learn” a living

As teachers, we learn how to do different jobs to supplement our income. One of the ways was to take things we worked on during class and come up with ideas for science toys. In 1991 a collaboration of science teachers got together to invent science toys that could one day make their way to the shelves. The most popular science toy in the world - the Tornado Tube - was invented by Craig Burnham. Craig was our inspiration. My first science toy was a cute little pet squid called Squiddy. We simply put these toys in the hands of 50 teachers and their students, and they took on a life of their own. Orders took off and soon my wife had to quit her job because the phone started ringing and we needed someone to process invoices. Based in Salt Lake City, Be Amazing Toys started with this small group of scientists in Denver, Colorado. Now we have a toy company making 60 different educational toys and, if you walk the aisles of Toys 'R Us or Target you will know us. A group of teachers who wanted to be amazing, creating toys that came out of the classroom, to give kids … (more...)