THE BEACH

July 15, 2015

Image by Noah Kalina via snarkitecture.com

We’re dying to go to the BEACH by Brooklyn design and architecture firm Snarkitecture at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C. On display through September 7, 2015, this transformative installation is a one-of-a-kind experience for museum-goers. Contained within the museum’s grand main hall, the all-white interactive exhibit creates a distilled, simplified, and monochromatic version of the traditional (and nostalgic) beach day. Over one million translucent plastic balls form an ocean for swimming and playing and the “shoreline” features games, a pier, and even a snackbar! In the words of museum director Chase W. Rynd, “This exclusive transformation will inspire a sense of wonder and imagination. Although it is bound to be an entertaining retreat from the summer heat for our visitors, it also turns our understanding of the natural environment on its head and offers us the opportunity to question our own expectations of the built environment and see where pushing the boundaries can take us.” Visit Snarkitecture’s website to learn more about this innovative installation.

ATSUSHI SHIRAISHI

July 13, 2015

Kids' first and favorite jungle gyms are usually an unsuspecting parent. This unique prototype by a young Japanese designer, Atsushi Shiraishi, creates new ways for children to roughhouse with dad or mom. A sturdy, wearable net of soft leather and durable rope lets kids climb all over grown-ups with plenty of support. Part of Shiraishi's final thesis project at Tama Art University, the AthleTitti explores the value of the "low-tech" in an increasingly hi-tech world. Check out the university's website for more images and information on this fascinating conceptual piece.

SUNBRELLA VS. THE KIDS

July 9, 2015

When designing for kids, we love durable, stain-resistant fabrics and no one does it better than Sunbrella. With a wide variety of bold colors and fun patterns, their innovative weave and unique finish make the fabric tough enough to withstand hard play, but soft enough for cuddles and naps. We cracked up over this silly video featuring two mischievous young ladies and a pristine white sofa. Check it out at Sunbrella vs. the Kids, and see all of Sunbrella’s fun and inspiring video series, Perspective, on their website.

URBAN ANT CITY

July 7, 2015

Urban Ant City by STUDIO 1:1 is a spatial installation created by architects and urban planners in the Office for Metropolitan Information (OMI), an event space and bookshop offering “a unique urban perspective,” in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Deposited into a habitat that replicates the city map of Rotterdam, ants meander through the existing streets and landmarks. Over time the ants create their own “streets,” organically remaking the iconic city and encouraging the viewer to contemplate his own impact on the world. Check out STUDIO 1:1’s website to learn more about this fun project.

ELEFANT

July 6, 2015

This whimsical elephant is more than just a fun piece of furniture. Designed to help educate and motivate children to recycle, this stool prototype sorts and stores a variety of recyclable items. Large items go under the trunk and the spinning tail takes in bottles and cans. First exhibited at the Stockholm Furniture Fair in 2014, Elefant is made of molded plywood, aluminum, and canvas. The designer, Lina Vinju Lindahl, began her career in fashion and studied product design at the Akershus University College of Applied Sciences in Oslo, Norway. Her work is inspired by her children and the environment.

Know a cool, design-forward product for children or the home? Tell us about your favorites on Twitter orInstagram! @kinderMODERN

KINDLING

July 2, 2015

It’s no secret we adore a good magazine here at kinder MODERN. We’re currently obsessing over Kindling, a quarterly dedicated to those dads who go above and beyond, and completely demolish the stereotype of the fumbling father. Check out Kindling not only for its thoughtful, sincere, and well-researched editorial, but also its gorgeous, yet simple design. We love the on-point typography, graphics, and, most of all, the luscious and captivating photography. A 4-issue subscription is $64 and can be obtained via their website. We also recommend their inspired Instagram feed. @kindlingquarterly

#100DAYSOFRAINBOWS

June 25, 2015

We’re delighted by artist Julie Seabrook Ream’s fun Instagram project, #100daysofrainbows, in which she attempts (with the help of her little ones) to create a rainbow out of objects found around the house every day for 100 days. Check out her colorful feed to see her carefully curated collections of a wide range of objects, including feathers, melted popsicles, vintage seed packets, veggies, toys, Pez dispensers, flowers, and even cheese! Follow her @hey_jules_studio and don’t forget to check out @kinderMODERN while you’re there!

THE BRUTALIST PLAYGROUND

June 24, 2015

We’re fascinated by The Brutalist Playground, on display now at RIBA in London. This exhibit explores post-war design for play by examining the playgrounds built on the grounds of the Brutalist residential buildings popular in Britain after World War II. Although the value and aesthetics of Brutalism’s raw materiality have been subject to intense scrutiny and hotly debated, this presentation of Brutalist work offers a fresh perspective on the movement by recreating the iconic structures in soft, candy-colored foam. Visit RIBA’s informative website, architecture.com, to learn more.

The Brutalist Playground is on display from June 10-August 16, 2015. RIBA is located at 66 Portland Place in London, England. Admission is free. Monday - Sunday 10am-5pm and Tuesday 10am-8pm.

LITTLE LAB

June 18, 2015

This weekend Locust Projects, a Miami non-profit exhibition space dedicated to providing space for artists to show experimental work, presents “Little Lab,” a fun workshop for young artists ages 4-13 to create original artwork and enjoy a delicious snack! This week’s program is inspired by Locust’s current exhibition Roberto Gomez: What Happens When Nothing Happens, an innovative installation that blurs the lines between sculpture and painting by using paint as a three-dimensional object.

Little Lab will take place Saturday June 20, 2015 from 11am-1pm. 3852 North Miami Ave in Miami, Florida. RSVP here.

LIBRO ARBOL

June 16, 2015

This sweet book for children ages 8-12 grows into a tree after the child finishes it. The “Libro Arbol” program by Pequeño Editor not only offers children a fun and engaging story, but also teaches them about sustainability and the life cycle of products we use everyday. Pequeño Editor, an Argentinean publishing company, launched the product earlier this year with publicist FCB Buenos Aires. The book, entitled My Dad Was In The Jungle, is made from acid-free paper, printed with environmentally friendly ink, and hand-stitched and bound. Jacaranda seeds are sewn into the pages. The book has been displayed, in various stages of growth, in bookstores across Argentina. Read more about this project and others on Pequeño Editor’s website.

ARKIDECTURE

June 12, 2015

We wish we were in LA this weekend for ARkidECTURE’s “Building Up” workshop with Harley Ellis Devereaux Architects. This inspiring and educational workshop explores the modern cityscape and the awe-inspiring architecture of skyscrapers and high rises. Children will be given a variety of materials including paper, cardboard, fabric, and a few surprises to create their own vertical structures. ARkidECTURE is a collaboration between the Architecture and Design Museum Los Angeles and design firms in the greater Los Angeles area that strives to bring high-quality, innovative design-building workshops to children.

Building Up with Harley Ellis Devereaux Architects. Sunday July 14, 2015. 10am-12:30pm. Harley Ellis Devereaux Architects Office - 601 South Figueroa St., Suite 500, Los Angeles, CA 90017. Purchase tickets here.

SHAPEKIT

June 8, 2015

ShapeKit, a new app for iPad by c+y, takes the “creative” app for kids to a whole new level, incorporating geometry lessons and a unique tactile “maker” experience. Inspired by the simple shapes and bold colors of Bauhaus design, the app first teaches children about shapes and their mathematical properties. Children can connect and merge the shapes to create an infinite number of designs, objects, and landscapes. These creations can then be brought to life with a stop-motion animation feature. ShapeKit goes above and beyond the normal “drag-and-drop” art app by requiring the child to think about and mimic the physical act of building. In an interview with TechCrunch, the designers said, “The mechanical features, such as hole punches to create joints and merging shapes together, aimed to emphasize the physicality of creation. We want children to feel like they are building an object that can move and come to life, not just drawing on a screen.” Check out the KidKit website to learn more about this imagination inspiring app.

PLAY: TOYS, SETS, RULES

June 5, 2015

Playplax, Patrick Rylands, 1966. Image from systemsproject.co.uk

Today kicks off Play: toys, sets, rules, a fascinating exhibition on Modernist toys. We’re dying for this one of a kind collection featuring a wide-range of simple, yet beautifully designed toys, both rare and well-remembered, from the mid-twentieth century, particularly the 1960s and 70s. Many pieces were sourced from the personal collections of the designers themselves, including Roger Limbrick, Patrick Rylands, Fredun Shapur, and Ken Garland, adding a layer of intimacy and immediacy to the well-curated exhibit. According to systems, the non-profit dedicated to the continued exploration of the Modernist aesthetic that organized the exhibition: “Play offers a unique survey of late Modernist approaches to child development and design and, as such, a variety of ways in which we might think of both play and design as formative and speculative activities.” Held at the Walter Knoll showroom in London from June 5 - July 6, 2015, the exhibition is part of the London Festival of Architecture and is held concurrently with a series of workshops for children ages 7-12, exploring learning through play. Visit the systems project website to learn more about this dynamic exhibition.

JUNE AT THE COOPER HEWITT

June 3, 2015

This month at the Cooper Hewitt family programs abound with both the Design Tales and Design Kids workshops. Design Tales, held on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10am to 12:30pm at the CH’s satellite location (111 Central Park North in Harlem), explores design and literacy through interactive reading sessions of design-based books, followed by visualization, imaginative play, and hands-on activities for the little ones. All Design Tales sessions are free for preschoolers and their caregivers and are lead by a museum educator. On Thursday, June 4, 2015, Design Tales will be held on-site at the museum (2 East 91st Street) with master storyteller Jonathan Kruk. Design Kids, for ages 5-12, will take place this month at the museum on Saturdays, June 6 and 20, 2015. This challenge-based workshop for older children allows children to design their own pieces of art and design, inspired by one of the museum's current exhibitions.

The Cooper Hewitt National Design museum is open Weekdays and Sundays, 10am-6pm, and Saturdays, 10am-9pm. Admission is $18 for adults and free for children under 18.

INTERN ON THE LOOSE: PENTALUM

June 2, 2015

This past weekend our kinder MODERN intern visited Boston. We were super excited to hear about her experiences at Pentalum, one of a series of gigantic, inflatable, maze-like structures designed by Alan Parkinson and his firm, Architects of Air. These structures have exhibited in 38 countries and been seen by over 2 million visitors since their inception in the 1980s. Pentalum is based on a specific geometric form called a dodecahedron, an almost spherical shape consisting of twelve hexagonal sides. The dome becomes an exciting space of discovery, as light and color vary with weather and urban conditions, perfect for explorers of all ages. While Pentalum was only on South Boston's Lawn on D for a few short days, you can catch it next in Austin, Texas from November 20-29, 2015, location to be announced soon!