CARDIFF, Calif. — It's not your average Toy Fair inside of Ada Harris Elementary in Cardiff-by-the-Sea. In fact, sixth graders are creating what could be the next big toy.
As Divya Dow reads her elevator pitch ahead of showing off her creation- she might not know she's gaining skills she can use when she grows up.
"This proposal letter mostly says everything that my toy is about and how I came up with it," said Dow. "We also created this histogram that would help us find our price."
The assignment was to create a toy or game that fits the toy trends of the year.
She said when she got the assignment, she had a goal in mind.
"I don't know what to do, but I want to solve a problem," said Dow.
So, she came up with Artcade, a game that tells you what to draw and how to draw it.
Dow created the game with her little brother in mind.
"If he doesn't get something right the first time, then he really struggles with it and thinks he's bad at it. So, yeah, he was really my inspiration," said Dow.
Her teacher Matt Jewell said he's proud of the work his students have done on the project.
"You can almost feel the excitement that the kids have. They're so ready to share all this hard work that they've been engaged in over the course of the last two months," said Jewell.
The fair has been happening at the school for the past nine years- and while none of the student's creations have hit store shelves yet-- their ideas aren't too far off.
"From year to year, I'll see an idea that a student's come up with and then the next year come Christmas season - I'm like, 'huh,' that seems so similar to what so-and-so is thinking. But you know it's not a competition. It's just a chance to create space for kids to go ahead and engage in the design process," he said.
The new skills are now a tool that students like Dow can use in the future.
"I really like it because you can really just make it however you like," she said.
