This activity is a take on a project first shown at the Tinkering Studio, where people were asked to take apart broken mechanical toys.

This project is to prompt certain questions regarding everyday objects and appliances that are in our homes. Taking apart, dissecting and deconstructing is a scientific approach to analysing the design of everyday objects that we would normally overlook. Many times during this activity people have been amazed and surprised at the inner workings of an item, either for its logical simplicity or intricate complexity. When facilitating this project we usually introduce Agency by Design Thinking Routines (this activity was designed in collaboration with educators and researchers at Agency By Design, a research initiative at Harvard’s Project Zero) such as Parts Purposes Complexities or Parts People Interactions (we will go into detail later on in this guide).

This activity is affordable and sustainable, as it mostly involves taking apart broken and/or unused items. If toys are being dissected, the parts can be re-used to create a new toy!