The Rational Design of Toys

A procedure for the rational design of educational toys is described. It consists, in part, of a checklist which may be used to evaluate a toy design and to suggest specific improvements. Justification for the items in the checklist is provided in terms of research findings in the area of originality training, curiosity motivation, and so on. The use of the checklist is demonstrated by applying it to a number of traditional and novel toy designs.