We LOVE this toy! (Like, REALLY!)

Part of our goal at Kaleidoscape Play Studio is to bring play elements that everyone wants to play with. We fell in love with the Perplexus mazes and actually have all four! Although they were purcahsed for the Play Studio, we couldn't resist them and opened them up!

 

There must be something pretty special about a man who can come up with a toy that appeals to so many age groups, that is durable and visually stimulating as well as completely addictive. Michael McGinnis is the inventor and developer of exactly that; the Perplexus. Michael is not only a sensational toy-builder-man, but also a sculptor, painter, art installation-er, and a host of other things…our kind of guy for sure! Michael has said how the development of the Perplexus was something of a dream, as he developed his long term passion of creating beautiful designs into something practical that could be enjoyed by numerous people, and thus a great business venture.

 

With eleven siblings and thirty-three nieces and nephews, as well as two children of his own, all of whom are cut from the same creative cloth that he is, the development of his invention may have been partly a result of creating something for the people he loves.

The Perplexus (formerly known as Superplexus) is a 3-D ball-in-a-maze puzzle or labyrinth game enclosed in a transparent plastic sphere. By twisting and turning the sphere, players attempt to maneuver a small steel ball through an intricate maze composed of 100 steps along narrow plastic tracks. Additionally, some of the steps involve dropping the ball into a cup or through a small rim to take advantage of its three-dimensional nature. There are obstacles of varying difficulty that must be navigated in order to reach the end.

We got our all of our Perplexus mazes at Over the Rainbow Toys and we are tickled to put the official KPLAY stamp of approval on them!
Reference Links
An Interview with the Perplexus Inventor
Wikipedia

In Search of Elephants

September 22 is National Elephant Appreciation day and you may or may not know, Alaska doesn't have any elephants living in the state. We used to have an elephant (two actually) at our local zoo. But after much controversy, she moved to California. We really miss her, but we understand that an elephant sized treadmill just wasn't enough. NO, I am not kidding!

So, with it being National Elephant Appreciation day and nooooo elephant to appreciate, my daughters and I set out on a mission. You guessed it... in search of elephants.

We made four stops today... and found elephants at each place!

As you can see, we stopped at Title Wave books looking for pachyderm... found a few picture books, but NOT exactly what we were looking for. All of those books are there still...just waiting for someone like you to take them home! Then, on to Barnes & Noble... as we had a specific elephant in mind. There, we found the stuffed version of Elmer... but no books!

 

 

The girls and I decide that we must bring Elmer home for adventures at our house and he has surfed the net to find that he is famous, had a princess tea party and painted.

The only place we found the actual Elmer the Patchwork Elephant book for sale in Anchorage was at Over the Rainbow toys! and they only have two! It is a treasured story at our house (we can't find our copy, thus the search!) about an elephant thinking he needs to change to fit in.

 

Amazon's Book Review:

Elmer the elephant is bright-colored patchwork all over. No wonder the other elephants laugh at him! If he were ordinary elephant color, the others might stop laughing. That would make Elmer feel better, wouldn't it? The surprising conclusion of David McKee's comical fable is a celebration of individuality and the power of laughter.

Elmer the elephant, a colorful character because of his patchwork hide and sense of humor, tries to blend in with the herd, but soon realizes that he's happiest just being himself. "McKee's gentle humor and love of irony are in full force in this celebration of individuality and laughter." -- Publisher's Weekly.