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THE SANDBOX SUMMIT™ STORY
What We Know:
The experts have assured us that play is a good thing. Not only is it fun, it’s how kids learn. Play teaches kids the skills they need to read, share, create, and become happy, well-adjusted adults. However, as more and more kids’ toys become embedded with chips, buttons, and controllers, the way kids play is changing. It is in the interest of businesses, educators, and consumers---both children and parents---to make sure that how kids are playing today, and the toys that they’re using, provide them with the kind of open-ended experiences that stimulate creativity and foster critical thinking.
Our Aha! moment:
We have been playing for a long time. Claire has been ensconced in toys and media at Parents’ Choice Foundation for over ten years. Wendy has been evaluating kids toys and activities professionally for fourteen years (and as mother of three for over twenty years). Two years ago after seeing hundreds of products at the New York Toy Fair, we were discussing our favorite finds and realized that nearly every toy we saw had some technological twist. The days of jump ropes and jacks were being replaced by electronic Skip-its and Gameboys. At that moment we knew we had crossed the digital Rubicon.
However, whether it’s high-tech, low-tech, or no-tech, kids want---and need---to play. With a nod to Jean Piaget, Maria Montessori, and Fred Rogers, we know some of the most productive free play happens in the sandbox. And so we created Sandbox Summit™ to spark the kind of interactions that promote play for all the right reasons.
What we do:
Sandbox Summit™, a project of Parents’ Choice Foundation™, creates conferences and promotes research that address how technology affects the ways kids play, learn, and connect in today’s world. Parents’ Choice Foundation™, a recognized authority in children’s toys and media, has always engaged parents and manufacturers in conversations about play and learning. What has occurred in the last few years is that play has become entwined with technology. While this isn’t a reason to commiserate or celebrate, it is a reason to change the conversation. The goal of Sandbox Summit ™ is to ensure that the next generation of players becomes active innovators rather than passive consumers of technology.
Through high-energy panels, hands-on demonstrations, and thought-provoking discussions with industry leaders, journalists, analysts, and educators, Sandbox Summit™ brings an added dimension to conferences and conference tables.
The role of research:
Research is needed to ensure that the ways we use technology in children’s toys and media are as wise as they are wide. Sandbox Summit™ supports and solicits academic studies and ideas that address the changing environment of play. Our aim is to present original research at each of our major conferences. At the first Sandbox Summit™ in January 2008 at CES in Las Vegas, The Joan Ganz Cooney Center unveiled original research entitled D is for Digital. Another study by the Joan Ganz Cooney Center is slated to be released at our September 2008 Sandbox Summit™ in New York City.
Advisory Board:
Learn more about the people that support the Sandbox Summit. |
Claire S. Green
Established in 1978, Parents' Choice is the nation's oldest nonprofit guide to quality children's media and toys. The Foundation's mission is to provide parents with information to participate wisely in their children's learning outside the classroom. The Foundation's purpose is to search out and recommend fairly priced products that are fun, safe, and socially sound, and help kids grow - imaginatively, physically, morally and mentally.
To Claire, leading Parents' Choice Foundation is preserving a legacy. The organization was founded by her mother, author and educator Diana Huss Green, as an arbitrator of quality children's toys, books, and media. When Claire took over leadership in 1999 she was determined to secure its reputation as a premier voice of authority. As the Foundation approaches its thirtieth anniversary, Claire is passionate about maintaining its role as a conversation leader.
As the president of Parents' Choice Foundation, Claire's immersion in the children's toy and media market has made her an invaluable participant and advisor to industry leaders. She is a frequent speaker at industry meetings and has been widely quoted about the best in children's media, toys, books, music and more. She has written and produced (and even voiced!) spots for XM Satellite radio, and served as co-host of the XM Kids singable holiday guide.
Prior to heading Parents' Choice Foundation, Claire was a video producer and director of large-scale public events. She credits these early think-on-your-feet jobs with honing the skills now required to juggle multiple projects, manage evaluation sites near and far, and arbitrate decisions that aren't always black and white.
Claire lives in a cabin in the middle of the woods in Maryland with her husband and dog Sammy.
CLAIRE@SANDBOXSUMMIT.ORG> |
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Wendy has been a key player in the toy industry for over 13 years, testing, evaluating and rating products. As Deputy Editor of Nick Jr. Family Magazine, she oversaw the annual "50 Best Toys of the Year" feature. As the Lifestyles Editor of Parents Magazine, she turned the holiday toy section into one of the most popular features of the year, year after year. At both magazines, she established synergistic relationships with the on-line partners. At Parents, she was instrumental in creating a joint venture with Consumer Reports to rate children's products.
Wendy has appeared on numerous television shows, including The Today Show, CBS News, Fox News, Live! and The Food Network talking about a variety subjects that appealed to modern parents. She is the author of Playing Together (Simon & Schuster), and is currently co-authoring a book for boys with her son.
Prior to looking at the ways and means of kids' play, Wendy played with more grown-up toys as the creative director of two cosmetic companies. At Revlon, she led the modernization of the classic Alexandra de Markoff brand. As the creative director of Estee Lauder International she oversaw the development and implementation of the ReNutriv Skincare Program.
Wendy lives in Connecticut with her husband and three children who have literally gone from cradle to college testing her theories on play.
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WENDY@SANDBOXSUMMIT.ORG> |
