The Toy Museum of NY offers a Distance Learning Program to inspire a new generation of inventive thinkers Live from our video conferencing studio in Brooklyn, NY, we are sure your students will enjoy this program. The presentation begins with a display of old toys from the museum's collection. A brief discussion about several toys in history will help them to connect and understand how toys have changed through time. We encourage the students to learn about the past before thinking about inventing a toy for the future. Toys covered include toys played with during George Washington and Abraham Lincoln’s time. Do you know why the teddy bear was named after the 26th President of the United States? If not, you will find out. And how did the Frisbee get its name? These are some fun facts the students enjoy learning. The second part of the presentation is our “Interactive Invention Brainstorming Session”. Now it is time to get to work and introduce the students to the creative thinking process from an original idea to our imaginary finished product. As a group we use our imagination to think about a toy to invent. Students participate by raising their hands and offering ideas. The presenter guides them through the process and asks questions such as: Is the toy we are thinking about inventing a toy for a girl, boy or for both? Why should parents buy this toy for their child? What other accessories or gadgets can we invent to sell with the toy? Is it an educational toy or purely just for fun? How much will it cost? At the end of the presentation, the presenter wraps up the concept that they can understand. Previous schools have found that after the Distance Learning Session, the students were very inspired and many even took it a step further by continuing to work on new ideas in a writer’s journal. Other schools have hosted “Invention Conventions” to display projects that they created. The session is 40 - 45 minutes and the students have a very good time. Great for grades 2 - 12th Grade. The program can be reserved by going to CILC, http://cilc.org, or contact the museum at ww.ToyMuseumNY.org.
