Through a unique educational program called Discover Together, students work as teaching assistants at the Cardinal Spellman Head Start Center on New York's Lower East Side. Invited performance artists and experts from various fields challenge the students and children to use their imaginations in new and unusual ways. Products are then created based on their experiences. The Toy Design Department also holds informal focus groups in which children ages six to nine from area schools play with and critique various toys created by the design students.


Experiencing children's play patterns, capabilities, needs and desires demonstrates to students just how challenging a toy must be to keep a child interested and stimulated.
This program addressed the great need for specially designed toys for children with developmental disabilities by giving students the opportunity to explore and experiment within this design category. The project was conducted in cooperation with TOTS, a Bronx-based educational agency that offers a wide range of services for families with disabled children.


Back to Home