Tag Archive for 'Toys'

SuperForest’s Favorite Site of 2008: Arvind Gupta’s Toys From Trash

jackson published on December 23, 2008 in build and celebrity. 1 Comment Tags: , , , , , , , .

“We have just one mission – to get the gleam back into a child’s eyes.
We do not deal with curriculums here. We deal with ideas…
Showing possibilities with simple materials in our own lives.”

-Arvind Gupta

Good Morning All!

SuperForester Harry just sent us word of the most incredible site!

Have you ever said to yourself: “I wish there was a website that showed kids how to make hundreds of amazing toys for free, out of common household materials, and that these toys would also educate any child that played with them about the scientific explanations behind the forces that govern our existence.”

Arvind Gupta has created just such a website.

Musical instruments, physics experiments, more physics experiments, toys out of trash exclusively, science toys, easy electricity labs, origami, pumps, flying toys, DIY furniture… All of these and so much more.

Playing with toys is fun. Playing with toys and learning about the amazing forces that govern our universe is ever so much more fun.

You must, must, must go to arvindguptatoys.com

(Arvindguptatoys is going in our “lovely links” if you need to find it again.)

Engadget’s Exclusive Trip to the Lego Factory!!!

jackson published on July 22, 2008 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .


(awesome legobeatles photo from flickr user Digger Digger Dogstar)

Listen up Y’all,

Somehow, some way, some lucky fellow over at Gizmodo got to go into the Lego factory and see how they get made. And he or she shot some high quality video during their tour.

Oh man, so much fun!

Click below and you get to see it all!

Gizmodo’s trip to the Lego Factory

Sandbox Toys From Recycled Milk Containers!

niki published on June 17, 2008 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , .

Good Afternoon!

Apparently, my little one likes to steal toys away from other kids at the sandbox. Who taught him that? I was thinking we could make him sand box toys out of discarded yogurt containers, egg containers etc…but well…ok, I got lazy. I just bought him these:

All Green Toys products are made from recycled milk containers (HDPE, to be specific) in the good old US of A. Every step of their process, from milk container recycling to production and final assembly, occurs in California. And, of course, no BPA or Pthalates.

So, I guess I am still using discarded containers! Rad!
They also make other toys, including an indoor gardening kit:
I bought the set at Sons and Daughters. A great store in the East Village. If you are in NYC, check them out. I think they are one of the best kid shops in city. They always have unique items from all over the world, that you will never find at BuyBuyBaby. (For example-I bought a little hat there that was knit by women in Afghanistan). They also have a comprehensive website if you can’t stop by the store.
So, if your little one is becoming a kleptomaniac at the sand box, think about getting one of these and supporting Green Toys! It also makes a great summer gift!
Play Safe!
Niki

Solar Toys!

niki published on June 5, 2008 in Uncategorized. 3 Comments Tags: , , , .

Hi!
I was at Kid-O the other day (in Greenwich Village) and I saw this Solar Powered Rainbow Maker:

I realized how oblivious I have been to the great toys out there for kids, to show them the power of the sun. It is one thing to explain the idea of alternative energy to kids, but how fun would it be to build things that actually work.

I just came across this, which looks like a rad gift if you have an older child, niece, nephew or friend (it is for kids 12+):

“The Power House Experiment Manual is organized around the story of a group of island dwellers who must learn to live sustainably using the resources available to them on their small island. As you read their journal entries and learn of their projects and experiments, you build models of the same projects and conduct the same experiments alongside them.”

These are all the things the kit includes:

“The Heat Trap: Construct and experiment with a greenhouse
The Sun Collector: Collect the sun’s rays to heat water
The Sun Burners: Make a solar cooker while learning about the principles of light before you cook rice and bake bread
The Water Vampire: Desalinate water, plant watercress, produce sauerkraut and make chewing gum
The Heat Absorbers: Learn how heat of evaporation provides cooling, conduct experiments about air humidity, build a hygrometer and test a refrigerator
Power Plants: Grow beans, make a potted plant feed a candle, harvest sunflower energy, build an oil press, and assemble an oil lamp
The Energy Converters: Extract electric current from sunlight and metals in acid, build a light telephone, galvanize a nail and split water into hydrogen and oxygen
The Forces of Magnetism: Generate electric current with magnetic fields. Build a current indicator, electric and solar motors, a transfer switch, and a crane. Lift pencils with the sun and learn about levers. Build an electric car
Wings in the Wind: Build a sail car and learn how wings and sails transform energy. Learn to sail with the wind, by the wind, and against the wind and examine a mixed energy vehicle”

Fat Brain Toys has a bunch of neat toys in the Solar Powered/Alternative Energy category.
Check them out…

Happy Playing!
Niki