Startup Kids Club Toy Design Competition
Unleash your creativity at the Startup Kids Club Toy Design Competition! The Startup Kids Club has joined forces with leading brands X-Scap8 @ Orchard Central, Motherswork, Brain Flakes, Lil' Palette, Lancashire Marketing Pte Ltd, and Playhao to inspire Singapore's next generation of innovators.
The competition held at X-Scap8 @ Orchard Central is open to young children aged 5 and above (younger siblings are welcome to participate in play sessions and observe). This competition challenges participants to reimagine the future of toys through the lens of education and innovation. Beyond toy design, participants will develop crucial STEM skills and entrepreneurial thinking that will serve them well into the future.
Competition Overview
Theme: "Designing Physical Educational Toys"
Participants are challenged to design innovative toys that are not only fun but also address one or more of the following areas:
STEM education
Social-emotional learning
Inclusivity and accessibility
Requirements:
The toy that is designed should have some utility:
Think about a toy that is original, not based on a character or brand that you’ve seen in toy stores
Design a toy that is fun to play with and it teaches you something: social play, letters, reading, etc
The design is for a physical (not a digital toy on a device) such as a board game, plush toy, new figurine, STEM building toy, and more.
During the hackathon, devices are allowed as long as they help in the design process. Participants can make use of physical or digital tools.
Parents are not allowed to give input into the design of the toy. The only assistance can be to help log into an AI service on the laptop or iPad for instance. Parents will be there to support (but not give ideas to their kids) and enjoy their time by networking with other parents.
Children can work in teams with other kids up to 3 per team.
Participants must tell the story about the design and character when pitching it.
Children will have the chance to pitch designs to actual toy designers and have an opportunity to sell small batches of their toys at a later date (if they are interested in doing so)
Key Details:
Competition date: Saturday 22 March 2025
Time: Free main event from 9 am to 12 pm (optional 12 pm to 2 pm lunch and indoor playground time for an additional fee)
Location: X-Scap8 @ Orchard Central (181 Orchard Rd, #07-02 Orchard Central Singapore 238896)
Why Our Event is Unique
AI is changing the ideation of toy design, as well as manufacturing and production:
Participants will learn about how AI is speeding up toy design through our hands-on hackathon.
For instance, hand drawings can be used as prompts for Midjourney or DALL-E or children can skip the drawing stage and start with prompting Midjourney or DALL-E. AI tools can also be used to turn 2D ideas into 3D designs.
Participants will have a chance to talk to toy designers, toy distributors, toy stores to understand the toy business.
A chance to submit their toy designs to an actual educational toy company
Examples of toy companies using AI-powered generative design include Hot Wheels Bars by Mattel, where they use tools like DALL-E 2 to generate cars based on prompts such as “A scale model of a classic car” and then a follow up prompt such as “Make it a convertible.” By using AI tools, children can learn about the importance of iterating on an idea and concept.
Agenda
Participants will learn about toy design and will get a chance to invent a toy:
9:00-9:30 am: Participants arrive and mingle
9:30-11:00 am: Brief introduction by Boonsri. Here the hackathon challenge is introduced and the hackathon begins.
11:00 am - 11:30 am: Keynote by SG architect/artist/educator Mark Wee and best selling author and former toy designer Bill Burnett (executive director of the Design Program at Stanford and co-author of the book Designing Your Life)
11:30 am -12:00 pm: Presentations and Prize Ceremony.
12:00-2:00 pm: Lunch break in the cafe and play in the indoor playground (chargeable options, pay at the venue at the front desk)
Side events
Participants and their families will have the chance to join the side events:
Get creative - improv workshops by Lisa Enckell
Cuboro playing corner by Playhao
Pay-to-use art Open Studio set up by Lil Palette
Brain Flakes Design Corner (submit design ideas to Brain Flakes)
Design Tools (Bring-Your-Own-Tools)
Participants must bring their own drawing and/or digital tools:
Can use paper and pencil, markers or any other art tools
Can bring 3D pens or other prototyping devices
An iPad or Laptop to use apps such as Procreate as well as AI tools such as ChatGPT, Midjourney and MagicPatterns
Submission Guidelines
Participants must submit:
A detailed description of their toy concept (max 500 words)
Sketches or an art prototype (physical or digital) of the physical toy design
A 1-minute video pitch explaining the toy's features and benefits
A brief explanation of the proposed manufacturing process and materials to be used
Judging Criteria
Entries will be evaluated based on:
Creativity and originality
Educational value
Market potential
Presentation quality
Awards and Prizes
Prizes will be given by Motherswork and Lancashire Marketing Pte Ltd:
1st place: $100 Toys"R"Us giftcard
2nd & 3rd place: $50 Toys"R"Us giftcard
4th & 5th place: STEM toys
Other prizes by Motherswork (TBD)
Judges are SG artist/architect/educator Mark Wee and best-selling author, former toy designer Bill Burnett, and Toby Lai from Lancashire Marketing Pte Ltd.
How to Enter
The competition is open to individual participants as well as teams of up to 3 members. There is no entry fee, but there may be additional costs for food & beverages, services, and products at the event.
Join us in shaping the future of play and learning. Let your imagination soar and create a toy that will inspire and delight other children around the world!
What To Bring
Parents please bring your iPad or laptop so your children can use AI to help them in their designs. An at-your-service Art Studio will also be on-site for kids to sketch their ideas out the traditional way ($40 for an hour or $20 for 30 mins payable on-site). Can't wait to see you all there.