Several reasons why wood is a superior toy material When I founded Eric Jacoby Design, I took some inspiration from an NPR How I Built This podcast interviewing the founders of Melissa & Doug who told their origin story. The contemporary toy company has become a household name for high-quality toys, often wooden toys. Melissa and Doug (re)paved the way for a resurgence of wooden toys. Why do we find wooden toys so appealing?   It isn’t simply nostalgia; although their retro image makes us realize what older generations played with.  In comparison, my childhood toys were Lego,  Voltron,  He-Man, and NES 8 bit video games. My theory is...

Read the recent press release about Eric Jacoby Design establishing a Collaboration with the Natural History Museum of Utah

Interesting bison facts that influenced their Tectonic Toy namesake: Inspired in part by the current exhibit at the Natural History Museum of Utah. The exhibit is called Yellowstone Invisible Boundaries, occurring from June 29, 2019 to September 15, 2019. It is focused on the park’s migratory animals impacts on their lives from within and outside the Park boundaries....

Looking for ways to spend creative and educational time with your kids? I build toys with my son, mostly for fun, but I like that it gives him exposure to designing and making. Sometimes people ask me how to approach building toys with their kids. I have a simple answer: have your kid make a drawing of the toy, then work with them to build it…This blog post outlines a more detailed process: Start by having your kid make a drawing of what they want to build. DO NOT DRAW IT FOR THEM. If they aren't sure what they want to build, prompt them:...

Three engineering systems in Tectonic Toy Insects that facilitate STEaM education. STEaM is an approach to education which integrates Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics for guiding a student's inquiry, dialogue, and critical thinking. The process is for a student to engage in observation, questioning, self-guided discovery, problem-solving, and synthesis into a creative process. Although STEaM is generally a curriculum within a classroom, we believe that toys at home can promote this type of education without having to be a formal teaching instrument. Tectonic Toys are a fun way to promote education and discovery surrounding different engineering systems, each allowing multiple levels...

Looking for inspiration? The answer is simple: It is all around you. If you need inspiration, don’t force it.  There is no denying that your deadline is looming, but the first step is to relax into having the confidence that you will find inspiration...