ine ag ld im bui te ova inn
E N IG A ! MI AT H T
THE AHA! MOMENT
happened at a visit to San Francisco Museum of Modern Art with her daughter Avery, then 2. At the interactive area for children, kids were playing with magnetic tiles. Laurie Peterson ’96 observed that while the toy was good at teaching spatial skills, it did not hold interest for long. This sparked an idea: “What if what they built looked more like a scene?”
She bought a magnetized building set, illustrated the panels and created magnetic people, pets and accessories. She set the prototype in Avery’s room and watched. Twenty minutes passed and Peterson told her it was time to head out to Avery’s favorite restaurant. She refused to go because she was immersed in play. Peterson did a little happy dance in the hallway. Had Peterson lucked upon an idea? Only if the adage, “If you work hard enough, you just might get lucky,” applies. Build & Imagine sets debuted in January 2015 to 30 storefronts, Amazon and thegrommet.com.
for ages 4+
