Every winter, Charlene Chausis of Aptakisic-Tripp Elementary District 102 and Amy Lamberti of Lake Forest Elementary District 67 organize the northwest suburbs’ branch of the statewide Students Involved with Technology Conference. During this event, kids from third grade through senior year make presentations to each other about new applications of technology. At Deer Path Middle School in Lake Forest, one cohort formed the group Club R.A.D. (Reading and Discovery) to examine the history of children’s toys, and how their past is shaping a future that involves drones and blockbuster movies.
Lars Matson, a Deer Path fifth-grader, talked to Pioneer Press about what he learned in his research.
Q: What is the abbreviated history of playthings, and why do kids today get to have such cooler stuff?
A: It’s changed rapidly. Our dads grew up with propeller toys —you’d pull a string, and it would fly up. Now, it’s a drone. We watch football on TV, but now, with an iPad and Madden, I can play it myself. It’s more real.
Q: More real? It’s a computer screen, not a field. What about this: With a sports game like Madden or NBA 2K, you always have a choice. You could go outside, facing whatever elements are out there and the specter of running around, or you could sit on the couch and play with a kid on a different couch in a different house. Which do you prefer?
A: I would rather do both. If it was pouring rain outside, I wouldn’t really want to go outside, I would play on my iPad. If it’s nice out, I’ll go out with a friend.
Q: You’ve learned about the toys of your parents and grandparents. Is there anything that you wish was “cool” today? Did you discover something that made you want to put down the electronic devices?
A: Yeah, the propeller toy. It would have been fun to fly it up and catch it. But mostly, I like the toys I played with as a kid. We’d rather play with the drone, because we’ve seen it and it looks cooler.
— Ronnie Wachter, Pioneer Press
