Babies and kids react the same way to the walking toys. They regard them as living things. Just like themselves. Juts like you. Just like their mom and dad. So they want to explore it. And exploring means play. This is the main reason for which they make such great toys for kids.
Even older kids enjoy them very much. Imagine an older child. That is are that the walking toys aren't alive. But yet they regard them as robots. And that is equally cool for them. They actually have a toy walking by itself. Just like the cool Mars rovers they have seen on TV. They have their own robot. It doesn't matter to them that this robot just walks straight ahead. It's of no importance to them that he has no electronic circuit inside. That it's just some spring that makes the "robot" walk. They simply love it. Plus, it's very educational. Especially for the boys it's stimulating to follow an engineer career. Many children will open them up to see what is the mechanism that keeps the toys walking. And this is not a bad thing. A lot of parents shout and get angry at the kid. Because they broke the toy which was bought by them. But after all the role of playing is exploration. Is to understand how things work.. So if you ever get your kid to open up a toy, don;t get mad at him. Just explain to him that now he won;t be able to play with it. But don't blame him for exploring.
But walking toys are not just for kids. You've surely seen on Youtube and Vimeo that cool wooden things walking by themselves. They are toys for adults. The engineering behind them is incredible and a complete wonder. Some people work for years to build these incredible "toys".
No matter what the age, walking toys are a wonder. They astonish from babies to serious engineers. After all, a walking toy is all about exploration. For the small ones it represents a living creature. For the kids a bit older is their very own robot. For the grown ups is a way of inventing and designing something completely autonomous and as close as possible to the perpetuum mobile. From toy to art, from play to smart and delicate design, it's all about having fun in a constructive way no matter what the age.














































