Toy Product Design

Class Documents:
Most files are PDFs. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader.
Tax Exempt Form -when purchasing materials (and more tax information)
Request for Payment Form
Minnesota Children's Museum Vistor Guide

Online Resources:

W.L Hall Workshop Website
This is the shop you will be using in Rapson Hall
Check their material stock before you buy elsewhere

Hardware
McMaster-Carr,- Materials, Fasteners, Fittings, etc

Soft Prototypes
Fabric on Demand and Spoon Flower - Custom Printed Fabric
Pepakura - Cad Model to Paper Cut-Out Software

Electronics
Arduino - Open Source Electronics Prototyping Platform
Ardunio Starter Kit (on Amazon)
Digi-Key - Electronic Components
Jameco- Electronic Components
Sparkfun- Electronic Components
ExpressPCB - Printed Circuit Boards
PCB Design - Printed Circuit Boards
Surplus Center - Motors and Actuators

3D Parts
Solidworks Tutorials
ProtoLabs - Fast CNC (first cut) and Injection Molded Parts (protomold)
Ponoko - laser cutting, 3D Printing services

Casting and Mold Making
Freeman Supply - Plastics and Mold Making Tutorials
Smooth-On - Rubber and Urethane Casting

Post-Prototype
Coroflot - Design Jobs
Kickstarter - Funding your Ideas

Local Supply Stores in the Twin Cities:

Pink - Craft/Fabric
Green - Art Supply
Yellow - Wood/Hardware
Teal - Office Supply
Blue - Toy Stores
Purple - Plastics and Metals
Red - Electronics/Hobby/ReUse

or view the larger version.

Designing for Children References:
Toys for Children Birth-5 - U.S. Consumer Product Guide
Toys for Children 6-12 - U.S. Consumer Product Guide
Play Classification - Barry Kudrowitz and David Wallace
Child Ergonomics - TU Delft (Dutch)

Articles on Play:
Taking Play Seriously (NY Times, 2008)
Old-Fashioned Play (NPR, 2008)
Creative Play (NPR, 2008)
Invention at Play - (Lemelson Center)
Secrets behind your favorite toys- (CNN, 2008)

Articles on Creativity:
Get Creative (Businessweek, 2005)
The Creativity Crisis (Newsweek, 2010)
Changing Education Paradigms (Sir Ken Robinson, 2010)
In Pursuit of the Perfect Brainstorm (NY Times, 2010)

Toy Product Design in the Media:
"The Land of GoBots, Pound Puppies, and Care Bares" - City Pages:: March 2011
"New U Professor: Toys 'R' Him" - Pioneer Press:: March 2011
"Dangerous Toys..."- Core77 March 2011
"U of M Debuts Toy Design Class"- Twin Cities Business: January 2011
"30 Awesome College Labs" - Popular Science: August 2010
"Wily Wonks and the High Tech Toy Factory"- Boston Herald:: May 2010
"Toy Story" - FLYP Media: May 21, 2009
"Get a B.A. in Toy Design"- Columbia News Service: December 2007
"Toy Soldier"- MIT Tech Talk: December 2007
"Toy Stories" - Association for Psychology Science (APS) Observer: December 2006
"Toy Designers Make Brushing Fun" - MIT Tech Talk: May 24, 2006
"Bathroom Tech: Toothbrush Toys" - GearLog: May 22, 2006