Unique and Creative Playgrounds

Danish design firm Monstrum, founded by Ole B. Nielsen and Christian Jensen, has dedicated itself to creating safe, stimulating, and beautifully designed playgrounds for children. They say, "playground design should be a reflection of the world surrounding us. We see the world as a place full of colour...Why only play on a monky frame and a sandbox, when you can play in a moon crater or a submarine or a giant spider or an enormous snail or a Trojans horse or a rocket or an ant or a princess castle. The fantasy is infinite."

GoVinci Backpack

The GoVinci Backpack features a clear frame that lets kids display their artwork. To add drawings simply undo the two top corners of the frame and slide in your tot’s colorful creation. Love it. This is quite the conversation starter on the way to school!

The Mobius Strip

One of the most famous surfaces in mathematics, The Mobius Strip can be constructed by cutting a long strip of paper, putting a half twist in it, and gluing the ends of the strip together. What makes this seemingly ordinary construct so fascinating is that, while the original strip of paper clearly had two sides, the Möbius strip seems to have only one. Try to draw a line on both “sides” without picking up your pencil. It’s actually quite simple.

Then you take some scissors to it… and it gets even more interesting!

Metropolis II Kinetic Sculpture

Metropolis II, a kinetic sculpture created by Chris Burden, is currently showing at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA).

Steel beams form an eclectic grid interwoven with an elaborate system of 18 roadways, including one 6 lane freeway, and HO scale train tracks… According to Burden, “The noise, the continuous flow of the trains, and the speeding toy cars, produces in the viewer the stress of living in a dynamic, active and bustling 21st Century city.”

LACMA’s blog gives some detail : 

- The cars are attached by a small magnet to the conveyor belt that brings 

   them to the crest. 

- The only motorization of the cars is the conveyor belt to the top. 

- Once the cars cross over the crest and head downward, their entire 

  movement is by gravity. 

- They travel at a scale speed of 240 mph, plus or minus. 

- The tracks they take are Teflon coated to reduce friction. 

- The trains are out of the box electric train sets that run on electricity.

Lego Millennium Falcon Assembly

Francisco Prieto animates the assembly of a Lego Millennium Falcon, Lego set 10179 from Star Wars Ultimate collector series. He writes: “Created using 3ds max and V-ray. A very long work over 3 years, modeling all the pieces by myself. and rendered frame by frame.”

Wow..what an effort~!!!

The Science Of Glow Sticks

The first 3/4 of the video are a chemistry experiment breakdown of what goes into a glow stick and what each of those ingredients is meant to do. But at the end, all of this coalesces into a fine explanation of the difference between light-absorbing dyes and fluorescent dyes. Come for the glow-stick “how to”, stay for the better understanding of how light works and how it influences what you see!

Hexbut Larva - Autonomous Squirming Bug Robot

The Hexbug Larva is the latest addition to the line. Though quite small, the robot has infrared sensors that allow it to detect obstacles in its wriggly path. The robot is then capable of steering clear of those obstacles. All of this is pretty good for a robot this size, but not earth-shattering. The thing that sets the Larva apart is the bio-mimetic motion. It's both fascinating and -- if you are not into creepy-crawly things -- perhaps a bit unnerving. Personally, I think it is fantastic!

Here's where you can get the Hexbug Larva in a variety of colors.

Adorable Eco-friendly SkipHop

The new Octopus Ring Toss from SkipHop is sure to add a lot of safe fun to your child’s bath-time routine. This cute green octopus features 2-stage play for twice the bathtime fun. Your little one can toss rings onto waiting octopus arms or enjoy how the arms gently sprinkle water down.  The Octopus suctions to your bathtub wall, but can be turned upside down to drain, meaning less icky mildew issues. This cute tub toy is made with soft BPA-free, phthalate-free, zero-bump materials so it’s safe for your baby and comes with three brightly colored tossable rings.

Cool Card Board Homes

It’s comforting to know that in these times of tough mortgages and foreclosures, you can always afford one of these stylish cardboard homes by designer Javier Mariscal. At just £155.00, you can buy a few of them or built it yourself, rent them out, and become mayor of your own little town. Now there’s a thought.

D • I • Y - Plushform

With a stuffed toy as a canvas, your little ones can unleash their imaginations to create a truly one of a kind pal. The DIY Toy Plushform is simply a white doll with a head and four rounded limbs…everything else is up to them! Paint its body, sew on accessories or write a special message on it, the possibilities are limitless.

Plushform designed and created by Jen Rarey

Plushform designed and created by kaNO Kid

Wood Lacing Games

I believe in the the success of simple toys. They entertain curious minds while sneaking in useful lessons. These Wood Lacing Games come in several fun animal shapes, as well as a retro rollerskate. They help kids develop hand-eye coordination, fine tune their motor skills and include two shoelaces for lacing through their holes. Made of good old birch wood and finished with child-safe, nontoxic lacquers, after a few hours with one these, your child might even master shoe tying. You can buy it here!

Art Using Jelly Bean

Original Art Work - Monalisa

Jelly Bean Artwork - Monalisa

Original Art Work - Girl With a Pearl Earring

Jelly Bean Art Work - Girl With a Pearl Earring

Original Art Work - Starry Night

Jelly Bean Art Work - Starry Night

Original Art Work - The Great Wave off Kanagawa

Jelly Bean Art Work - The Great Wave off Kanagawa

Cool Toys Print Ad

Play Angry Bird Live

Need For Speed - The Run

Experience a action-packed, coast-to-coast race for your life, all through the eyes of Michael Bay. Get ready to race for your life. In stores November 15th (US) Malaysia?

Cool Toys & Gadget Found On World Wide Web

The Roaring Ride On Jet.

Stroller To Tricycle

The Room Tidying Pickup Robot

The Voice Activated R2-D2.

All Terrain Jeep Pedal Car

The Darth Vader CD Player.