Data Toys is a research project funded by the Knight Foundation that explores the complex systems behind new stories through toys and playful interfaces. By giving people the ability to play with their news, Data Toys are, literally, toys that enable a deeper understanding of the dynamics that drive politics, the environment, society and the economy. They are potentially screen-based software as well as physical objects – beautiful and human-centric in design.

Using Froebel’s Gifts, the groundbreaking educational toys on which kindergarten was based as an inspiration, participants this project explores ways to create data-intensive toys as a playful means of introducing systems thinking. Data Toys connects five domains: journalism, systems dynamics, design, interactivity and play.

 

• Civic Engagement
• Data
• Digital
• Toys

Data Toys Website

Funders

• Knight Foundation Prototype Fund
• The New School Research Clusters Grant

Partners

• Radiolab
• Public Radio International
• Migration Policy Institute

Participants

• Project Leads: Heather Chaplin, Colleen Macklin, John Sharp
• Research Assistants: Paul Cheng, Patricio González Vivo, Robert Yang