In which Tobin talks about mechanical art and what makes for a great toy, and shares ruminations from a Muppet colloquium.
Welcome to the second part of this interview with toy inventor/Director of Exhibit Development Adam Tobin. If you haven’t already, be sure to also check out Part One.
On the Web: The Exploratorium; Wordle preview
Cecil Vortex: I read that you also create mechanical art. What’s that work like?
Adam Tobin: After I sold the first toy company, I had a few larger-scale projects I’d always wanted to pursue. The first thing I wanted to make was a clock that told time with rolling marbles. I’d wanted to make it since I was a kid. And I started making it and ended up making a few other contraption-type pieces. It was just such a joy for me, after years of designing things to be mass produced to say, “I’m just going to make one, and I’m not as concerned about how you can make 10,000 of these.” In essence, they were very large one-of-a-kind toys.
CV: Do you still work on those projects?
toys
An Interview with the Exploratorium’s Adam Tobin, Part One
In which Tobin talks about growing up as a child-inventor, the Exploratorium workflow, and the challenges of summoning an “ah-ha!” moment on a deadline.
Bio: Adam Tobin is the Director of Exhibit Development at San Francisco’s famed Exploratorium. Before that he was an entrepreneur and an award-winning toy inventor whose creations included Frigits, Getups, Tub Tunes Water Flutes and Drums, and SuperFort. His creations are sold around the world and have been featured in New York Magazine, Discover Magazine, CBS Morning News, Fox News, CNN, Regis and Kelly Ripa, and the New York Times.
This is the first half of a two-part interview. Jump here for the second half.
On the Web: The Exploratorium; Wordle preview
Cecil Vortex: Do you remember your first invention?
Adam Tobin: I started as an electronics tinkerer. I made a burglar alarm to keep my sister out of my room. I took an old car radio that had been abandoned from one of the old family cars and got inside it and wired up quadraphonic sound in my bedroom. I began making wooden toys when I was young as well, like whirligig and rolling marble toys.
CV: Were you raised in a family of inventors, or was it something you got into on your own?
AT: I don’t know where it came from. My father can’t pick up a hammer…. For some reason, with me, I was just a tinkerer from the get-go.
CV: How did your parents respond?