During my observation at the Children’s Place today, I noticed that many of the children create stories in their head, and the way they interact with others and objects is largely rooted in this imaginary world that they created for themselves. For example, a little boy created a “secret code” (or “special code”, I don’t remember what exactly he called it) with colorful pieces that can be projected on the wall in the make shop. He said he has been “using the secret code” for days, and he seemed like such a master in manipulating the equipments in the make shop to recreate this code. He even taught us how to use the projector. I think this is an example of how simple objects can inspire wild imagination and stories in the mind of the children. The colorful pieces of toys that the boy used seem ordinary and not directly engaging, but they are versatile and they provide room for him to imagine. When a toy invokes some kind of familiarity in the children’s mind and allow them to imagine new stories, they would be more easily engaged and start acting out these stories through play. They made the children feel more autonomous with what they are doing. They also allow the children to gain confidence during their interactions with other people.

For my group’s project, we are creating a floor area of bananas that can light up and create ripple effects. I like that “banana pieces that light up” is a pretty straight forward and pretty cool concept at first sight, and this kind of simplicity is actually a good thing for toys, but I feel that in order to inspire the children and keep them engaged, we need to think about more elements that give room for imagination. For example, less definite, more random ways the banana lights react to movements. This could be achieved in the software part of the project.

Also, one of the teachers at the Children’s Place emphasized to us the importance of making something “concrete, and hands-on.” Children from 3 to k learn and have fun through dramatic play, and physical engagement is a crucial part of this process. Therefore, I will try to make our project as sturdy as possible with better mechanical design.