This is my Define and Inquire Blog Post created for the Science project: Grade 9 Energy Transfer Engineering. In this post, I will explain my design concept, its users, beneficiaries, target audience, purpose, function, environmental impact, precedents, and how I use creativity to make my product original.
Users, Target Audience, Beneficiaries:
My user is a young child around 4-6 years old. 4-6-year-old children are playful and curious, however, they lack active living within their lifestyle. They need an interactive toy in order to fully experience a movement-based device that can hold their attention whilst playing outside. Due to the fact that my user is a young child, I will ensure my product has no closing and sharp parts, and the only movement happening is with the wheels along the floor (as it is powered by regular everyday batteries).
My target audience is parents, interested in buying toys that will keep their children interested, and that they can use to play with their children, bond and have fun with their children. This product will benefit the child themself as it will encourage them to play outside with a toy that can withstand varying weather and environments.
Purpose and Function:
The purpose of my product is to have something fun to play with. As someone with many toddler-aged cousins, I have noticed that the most popular toys among children relate to the movement of some kind. Toy cars, trains, buses, and planes are all incredibly popular and can be found at almost any toy store. However, I have also found that parents are usually hesitant to allow their children to bring these toys outside, as they could break or get dirty quite easily. This is my inspiration behind creating a toy car that is meant to be played with outside, encouraging children to use it outside, which is an area where other toy cars may fall short. My product will function quite simply. The battery’s chemical energy will transfer electrical potential and then kinetic energy, with byproducts of thermal and sound energy coming from friction and the wheels movement on a surface. The battery’s energy will push the car forward into a continuous rolling movement, that kids can run/walk along with.
Environmental Impact and Safety:
My product will have a low environmental impact, using recycled and/or recyclable materials. My hope is to make my product out of thin materials, such as precious plastics, cardboard, or thin laser-cut wood. I wish to use only recyclable or already used materials in order to benefit the environment rather than harm it. This will be done by using previously used materials before looking for new ones. One of my main success criteria for this toy is to be durable, and this will be done by having an enclosed product, with little to no parts sticking out (the battery to turn the car on or off). Since it is meant to be played with the outside, I hope to make this car able to withstand a variety of conditions and environments.
Precedents:
My biggest precedents are those that are also considered “DIY” or “homemade” as they are more realistic to work towards. One such example of this is the YouTube video “How to Make a Car – Wind Car – Very Simple Toy” by Yuri Ostr, where Ostr makes a wind-powered car out of a plastic bottle, bottle caps, cardboard, straws, and popsicle sticks. My goal is to make a higher quality product than this, but keeping the same idea of simple materials to make the product high quality yet affordable. (Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5aCzHGiH4rQ&t=97s&ab_channel=YuriOstr)
Originality and Creativity:
I am making this product original by emphasizing the idea that other toy cars fall short. For instance, toy cars are not usually designed to be played with outside, and even if they are, plastic cars are usually lost or broken as a result of the child’s eagerness. This car doesn’t need to be touched to play with and is instead used to be run around with, although it can also be picked up and played with as that is particularly popular. It uses creativity by combining popular toys with what I feel parents encourage children to do: go outside. By combining toy cars with the idea of going outside, why would parents discourage the purchase of this product?