As you know I have a particular interest in architecture and design and encouraging girls into STEM (science, technology, engineering, maths) education. So I am very excited about Roominate, building toys oriented for girls which has just been released in Australia.
Roominate is a dollhouse you can design, build and wire. Each kit contains a small figurines, plastic parts that interlock together to create walls, floors and furniture and sheets of corflute. Some of the more complex kits contain a small motor and light circuits.
Coloured paper allow you to cut and decorate the dollhouse as you wish – Lady AB wanted to create a vase of flowers.
You can build anything from a basic studio to a full chateau (their most popular product) and construct working windmills, merry-go-rounds and elevators.
Roominate has been designed by Alice Brooks and Bettina Chenan, two young engineers, while studying their Master of Engineering degree at Stanford University. Their aim is to inspire the next generation of women into STEM by creating hands-on learning fun for girls.
The product concept appeared on Shark Tank (USA) last year and received high praise and investment. The toy has since gone on to win awards in the US including 2014 Top 10 Toys and 2014 Toy of The Year by the US Toy Industry Association.
I did a test-run of Roominate and it’s the right mix of technology, creativity, education, open-ended play that I love. Why have special building toys for girls, you may ask? Well, because girls tend to play in different ways when they build and Alice and Bettina found that the concept of a dollhouse just clicked with girls. They could imagine it, design it and knew what features they wanted to add to it.
Roominate is aimed at 6+ years but 4 year old Lady AB could still play with it with adult assistance. The way the pieces snap and click together is pretty intuitive. She understood how the parts interlocked together straight away and had fun fitting out her house and creating stories for her figurines.
The colourful parts means that it can be played with again and again to build different things. Lady AB has keep making variations on ‘chair’ and ‘table’ and ‘shelves’ for her house.
I tried to explain the concept of a circuit and electricity to her as well. I’m pretty sure she didn’t understand but she did love the whirring fan and the flashing string of lights she could activate with a push of a button.
They’ve also just launched a Kickstarter campaign to build an app that will allow you to control your builds remotely using your phone!
Roominate is available from Toys R Us, Toyworld and independent toy stores such as Habitots. The product line includes the Chateau, Helicopter and Studio, Accessories Packs Circuits and Architect and retails from $29.99 – $69.99 (RRP).
