Worlds of Adventure:

The Amazon Rainforest

A plush discovery toy for children


Zach and Kate are off on an adventure into the Amazon rainforest to find new animals! Help them scan the big Kapok tree with their magnifying glass to find the animals. Help them to identify the animals by matching them with the cards. 



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Concept development

This toy was developed for children ages 4 to 6. It explores four different aspects of play: Discovering, Organizing, Surprise, and Educational. 

It combines the element of surprise and a sense of adventure with real facts about different biospheres around the world. I focused on the Amazon rainforest and the different animals that live in it. 

Prototypes


The first prototype was to see the scale and to see what was appropriate for a child.  

The second prototype was made to  test how the toys would be played 

Toy specifications


The toy would be plush and hand sewn. The explorers would have magnets sewn into their magnifying glass to activate the magnets in the door to open them.  Sound cards, similar to those found in greeting cards would be placed in the door hinge to add another cue for the child. 

Play pattern

The child would match the animals they would find in the tree with the correlating playing cards that would have facts about each animal.




How to Play: 

There would be magnet operated openings in the tree where once the magnet in Zach and Kate’s tool activates them, the doors in the tree open revealing the different creatures. When the door opens, it activates a sound card that has the sounds of the different animals.




Further concepts

The main characters, Zach and Kate would have more adventures other than the Amazon Rainforest, such as the coral reef or Antarctica and have matching outfits and tools according to the location. The end goal is to let children have the thrill of exploring and discovering but also allow them to learn about the different ecosystems and the animals that live in them.