Arizona State University - Sun Devil Spark / Sahuaro Yearbook (Tempe, AZ)

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22-Toy Talk ' ' F' 41 .. 4 'gh f , V4 0' 'FW

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BY IOHN LEMONS The button eyes of a teddy bear stared from a crevice, watching as I walked in Alice's Wonderland. I saw my broken reflection in a shattered mirror and stood between two pits, one filled with sand, the other a pool of water. Stalagmite formations rose from the floor, reaching toward similar pro- trusions hanging from the ceiling. The Toy Talk room is a fairy- land where a child may wander in search of adventure. There is a small cave in which to hide and a porthole in one wall with a mirror which stares back the viewers' reflection. lt's like a dirt pile, said Ford Doran, art student and one of the room's builders. It is a cave. I like it, reads a crayoned message from a child. Entering room B60 in the Payne Building is like stum- bling upon an antechamber in the Carlsbad Caverns or the stomach of a leviathan. It comes as a shock because it is completely out of context in an otherwise standard building. The walls and ceiling are irregular with bulges and de- pressions. A huge pillar blocks off portions of the room and toys fill niches in the walls. The only recognizable object is a blackboard at one end of the room. Polyurethane foam, similar to styrofoam, covers the walls and ceiling. The visual effect is like stone but the material can be kicked or bitten without injury to children. Carpeting gives further protection and adds to the overall effect of softness. The center points of the room are the privacy mod- ules. The stalagmite forma- tions are partitions which form small enclosures for the parent and child to play together. Dif- ferent color lighting for each module adds further separa- tion from the rest of the room. The Toy Talk room is many things to many people. Richard Britz, architecture instructor at ASU, sees it as an alterna- tive method of institutional education, a break from the traditional class room and an experiment in psychological architecture. Dr. Robert Strom, chairman of the ASU department of ele- mentary education and initi- ator of the Toy Talk project, said it is the best for training individualized instruction. Parents will be taught learning Like stumbling on an antechamber in the Carlesbad Caverns or the stomach of a Ieviathan. Toy Talk-21

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procedures to be used in the home. The Toy Talk environment is intended to free the parent and child from any identifica- tion with a cultural or eco- nomic background. The parent and child will face a setting that is completely unfamiliar for both and yet is conducive for play and fantasy. The room is a playground for education without adult inter- ference with fantasy. We are trying to take away the domi- nance role of the adult, said Caryl Steere, assistant pro- fessor of elementary educa- tion. The imagination of the child basis on which the pro- works. The adult is is the gram trained to encourage the child's use of imagination while directing him toward meaningful play. The Toy Talk curriculum was developed to serve three pri- mary purposes: to improve parent-child communication, to teach values and to increase language facility. The parent learns to direct his child in cre- ative play by teaching him the meaning of words while they play. The parent is provided a cur- riculum which gives instruction on how to present opportuni- ties for play. A plot is suggested to help the adult begin. For example, the child is asked to imagine that people are lost in the room. He then is given free rein to select a course of action. Toys available for the exercise may be helicopters, trucks, or boats. A vocabulary list provides the parent with words such as safe, rescue and danger- ous which the child hears and uses. When possible the parent indicates the meanings of words by facial expressions. The child is given a pre-test to determine what words he does know and at the end of the exercise he is given a post- test to determine what he has learned. The most difficult aspect is the inability of the adult to play with the child. Children are not used to parental inter- action in play and fantasy. The adult must work to create a bridge between himself and his offspring. It is hoped that the parent will expand this training in the home, not only with toys but also TV. The child can view a program and then be quizzed to determine what new words he has learned. In this manner he is encouraged to express his views and ideas. The parent is warned to re- frain from trying to dominate. Dr. Strom feels that the present generation gap is a product of parent domination. The parent should encourage ex- pression of ideas even if they disagree with his own personal views. The Toy Talk project has been supported by a grant from the Ford Foundation and has a Carte Blanc for toys from the Toy Manufacturers of America. The project is a long way from being complete and is subject to change as it gains in experience. We still want to implement and grow. To make it as childlike as pos- sible, said Steere. The Toy Talk facility was designed and constructed by i2 feye squaredl, a develop- ment firm as unique as the class room itself. The organization is comprised of teachers, stu- dents, graduates and anyone seeking to provide community service and the opportunity to further their own experi- ence. i2 is a non-profit organiza- tion comprised of different people from different disci- plines, said Richard Britz, research coordinator. Britz defines disciplines as fields of inquiry. The membership is comprised of many different specialists. The more numer- ous are the architects but spe- cialists in economics, mathe- matics and computers con- tribute. Children are not used to parental interaction in play and fantasy. Toy Talk-23