Every once in a while we get the opportunity to bring out hundreds of Toobalink pieces and a big bin of tubes for a Toobalink build event. Kids are invited to come and spend some time with us building the day away. We held one of these events yesterday at PowerHouse on 8th in Park Slope, Brooklyn.

It's always satisfying to spend time with kids as they play and build with Toobalink. We get to see it used first hand, we get to see the different ways in which kids interact with it, and we learn a lot by watching and by helping. It's amazing that kids continue to find ways to use it that we didn't foresee. For example, one boy filled a tube with a bunch of joiners and couplers (which are pieces small enough to fit in the tube) and then capped off the ends to make a tube that made noise.  Pretty clever.

You can see the wheels turning in their heads as they experiment with
the different pieces and tubes, while thinking with their hands. (They don't even realize they're learning because they're having so much fun playing.)

For more photos from this event check out the Toobalink Facebook Page.

New classes have been posted at the Brooklyn Brainery, including another go-'round of the Electronics and Soldering class that I teach.

If that doesn't suit you, then how about Mold Making and Casting, or Low-Tech Screenprinting, or Surviving a Nuclear Attack, or Norse Mythology, or Introduction to Web Technologies? The list of fascinating topics goes on...

These classes tend to fill up fast, so get a move on.

Want to learn more about our new product Toobalink? Where did the idea come from? What about the color scheme? What kids snacks are preferred for powering through a marathon Toobalink building session? All these questions and more answered right HERE.

You may have noticed that the landing page on our website shows the Toobalink logo and a short description of what Toobalink is. Toobalink is the toy construction system, developed here at Metre Ideas and Design, that is specially designed to work with paper towel and toilet tissue tubes. Kids are encouraged to collect and save tubes to build bigger and better things, and parents love it because the extra building material is free.

I'm happy to say that Toobalink is now available and can be ordered directly through the product site at toobalink.com.

Even after working as an engineer in the toy industry for many years, there was still a lot to be learned from this project- from the design and development phases right up through manufacture and production. Now we're really focusing on sales and marketing, and there is still more to learn. Wish us luck!