“Curiosity is the wick in the candle of learning.” -William Arthur Ward, Writer
He stacks one block after another, meticulously checking the alignment after every block. He lays the horizontal pieces at just the perfect angles, careful not to bump the table. He steps back and looks at his creation. This time it should work. He places the marble at the top and follows its path as gravity propels it back and forth through the labyrinth of his creation.
If the marble gets stuck, he tries to figure out why and
then resumes his building.
The marble run is the Scientific Method at its best.
- Hypothesize
- Build
- Test
- Analyze
- Repeat
No other toy in the toy box does more to foster curiosity than the marble run.
But why is curiosity so important?
We understand curiosity is important for students. Asking, “Why?” is how they learn.
We get it for scientists and researchers, too. They ask, “Why?” to push the boundaries of our understanding of the world. Without curiosity we wouldn’t have the medical and technological advances to society that make us safer.
Even business leaders need curiosity. According to the September-October 2018 Issue of Harvard Business Review, they found, “curiosity is much more important to an enterprise’s performance than was previously thought.”
Curiosity exists in babies in droves. They examine everything in their life with all five senses of sight, sound, smell, touch, and taste.
Toddlers have it, too. Their favorite toys are all cause-and-effect and fill-and-spill toys.
Our job as parents is to continue to foster that curiosity
in the toys we give them as they grow.
Marble runs do that. Kullerbu does that.
Hubelino does that.
In fact, Hubelino takes marble runs to the next level by combining them with fan-favorite toys Duplo © and LEGO©. This stretches the curiosity to even older ages including adults.
And that is a good thing.
According to this article from Greater Good Magazine, curiosity benefits us in six ways .
- Curiosity helps us survive
- Curious people are happier
- Curiosity boosts achievement
- Curiosity can expand our empathy
- Curiosity can help strengthen relationships
- Curiosity improves healthcare
Give your child the gift of curiosity. Give her toys that
make her curious. Marble runs are a great place to start.
Phil Wrzesinski, National Sales Manager, HABA USA
Phil, like his grandfather and father before him, has been in the toy industry his entire life, helping thousands of parents make the best choices of toys for their kids.
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