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...
How Balancing Contrasting Methods is Crucial to The Design Process. I often evaluate my design process to help understand myself, but also plan for future projects. Sometimes I analyze my process during, but mostly after I'm designing a product. I have concluded that a key component of my design process is to balance opposing forces. This blog post outlines five contrasting ideas that I balance during design: Forced/Natural: My goal is to let a design be what it wants to be, rather than forcing it into something pre-conceived, but the challenge is how to find what the design wants to be. Occasionally, when I stumble...
