Challenge.
Given the covid-19 situation, design a toy for children using simple mechanisms, and materials that can easily be acquired (cardboard, foam board, etc.)
Design concept.
Teach children about a specific science topic, following the learn and play concept of Kiwi Co. learning crates.
Ideation.
In order to develop the project central concept, 4 different topics were considered: light refraction and colors, the seasons and Earth movements, roller coasters, and endangered species.
After several sketching sessions, these were the main concepts developed regarding each of the topics.
Product development.
Considering the age of the potential users, the theme of endangered species was chosen. The kit was developed to provide the pieces to assemble 8 different animals: polar bear, snow leopard, red macaw, japanese crane, manatee, axolotl, pangolin and lemur.
The user can also build the scenery for each pair of animals using the crate box. The kid may use the color code of the instructions' booklet to decide which scene can he/she make depending on the animals built. The scene may represent the sky, fresh water, tundra or savanna.
The learning crate includes the monthly edition of explore!, where the kid may find a presentation of each animal introducing himself (characteristics, diet, why is it endangered), suggestions on how to protect the animals and where to find them, as well as the instructions on how to assemble each animal and its scenery.
Usage.
