Second Gift

The cube was added to the sphere in the second play gift described by Friedrich Froebel in Sonntagsblatt (1838-1840).

Froebel selected the cylinder as an intermediary form between the sphere and the cube.

“It is well to call the attention of each child to one great law, which dominates in nature and thought. Between two things or two ideas relatively different there always exists a third which unites the two others in itself, and is found between them with a certain equilibrium.”

Fundamental law of the connection of contrasts formulated in the Education of Man (1826). Continue reading “Second Gift”

Toys | Harvard Gazette

Tadashi Tokieda drops a small cedar ball into an empty soup bowl and begins swirling the bowl on a tabletop with his hand.

As the bowl moves in circles, so does the ball.

“It’s not that I knew a piece of science and designed a simple toy to illustrate; I find a raw phenomena … interesting to children and professional scientists alike. Professional scientists may find it even more interesting than a child would. … Children and great professors of Harvard University can share the surprise.” said Radcliffe Fellow Tadashi Tokieda.
Continue reading “Toys | Harvard Gazette”