"If You Can Imagine It, You Can Build It," Says Toy Designer

The Futures Channel's online movie, Inventing Toys, shows why these K'NEX toy designers just might have one of the best jobs around. Watch the movie: http://www.thefutureschannel.com/dockets/realworld/inventing_toys/

Burbank, CA (PRWEB) June 27, 2007 -- SShe designed a sailboat and a ferris wheel. He designed a motorcycle and a roller coaster. They're a team and they have jobs that most kids (and a lot of adults) would envy: They design toys and get paid for it.

In the latest movie from The Futures Channel, Heather Croston and Michael Klitsch take viewers behind the scenes at K'NEX Industries, which makes the popular K'NEX construction toys. Children as young as three use the different sized rods and connectors to build virtually any kind of structure from a race car to a flying dinosaur.

"If you can imagine it, you can build it," said Klitsch, a senior designer at K'NEX. Inside K'NEX Pennsylvania headquarters, his desk is covered with toy parts, design sketches and prototypes. "Over the 12 years that I've been here, I've built thousands of models."

Since 1999, The Futures Channel's short movies, or "micro-documentaries," have introduced students and teachers to interesting people with fascinating jobs who use math and science to make products that are often part of students' everyday lives. Recent Futures Channel movies go "on location" at Easton Sports, Santa Cruz Skateboards, Columbia Sportswear and Motorola where the engineers and designers of cell phones were featured.

Sandra Thomas, a junior high school teacher from Rosenberg, Texas, previewed the movie. "Many of my students have no idea that there are people who have jobs like those in the movie. This movie would get them thinking, 'Wow!! I draw stuff all the time but I never knew I could have a job that put my ideas to work!'" Thomas said.

"Inventing Toys," now playing on The Futures Channel's website (http://www.thefutureschannel.com), also features a conversation with Joel Glickman, K'NEX Founder and CEO. Nearly 15 years ago, Glickman set out to design a new construction toy using the resources of his plastic molding business. "I'm a kid at heart. I knew that if I liked it and I thought it was good, other kids younger than me would also find it entertaining. So, I set out to design a construction toy," explained Glickman. A simple idea he had while playing with drinking straws at a wedding has since become a thriving toy business.

Watch the movie and go behind-the-scenes at K'nex Industries:

http://www.thefutureschannel.com/dockets/realworld/inventing_toys/

Since 1999, The Futures Channel has been producing online micro-documentary videos that connect mathematics, science, technology and engineering to the real world of careers and achievement, so that students can envision a context and purpose for what they are learning, allowing them to envision their own successful futures.

Contact:

Jenna Bowles

818.557.3300

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