This 288-page workshop manual is a collection of exercises, demonstrations, and displays with toys designed to demonstrate basic principles and laws of physics.

The purpose of this material is to encourage the reader’s "enthusiasm for seeking ‘simple’ devices that illustrate that physics is all around us" (p. i). Through the use of toys, the authors aim to "provide a comfortable start for students who are insecure with technology [and] a sense that the topics being studied in physics have a relationship to everyday objects" (p. 1.1).

Reviewers suggested that the material would be most valuable for high school physics instructors, but that middle school teachers and other teachers of introductory physics concepts would find it useful as well.

The Role of Toys in Teaching Physics provides instructions for showing how children’s toys can be used to introduce major concepts presented in a typical introductory physics class. In a series of activities and demonstrations, the authors offer suggestions on how to informally familiarize students with the basics of physics.

In the introductory sections, the authors briefly describe the resource and describe some of the toys used in this book in more detail. Most of the manual’s content is comprised of 108 exercises grouped into three major categories: laboratory experiments (13), class demonstrations (17), and display presentations (78). All experiments, demonstrations, and displays are indexed by major physics categories, including mechanics; heat; waves and sound; light; magnetism; fluids; electricity and modern physics. A variety of common and more sophisticated toys are utilized, such as motion cars; toy airplanes; wind-up toys; bubble machines; bubble light; energy balls; and flickering bulb.

Each experiment, demonstration, and display has a teacher information sheet that shows a picture of the toy, identifies the physics topic and the concepts that the toy helps develop, and lists needed materials, source of the toy, background knowledge needed, and examples of desired student responses. Laboratory experiments include more detailed instructions and contain data tables, additional assessment questions, and suggestions for writing reports. Class demonstrations include several brief activities. Display presentations include a transparency sheet that briefly describes what to do with the toy and asks a few questions about the outcome of the presentation.

Although the authors caution against using this material as a textbook, they provide a set of homework questions and multiple choice test questions for laboratory experiments and class demonstrations, organized by major physics subject areas. The material also includes a list of additional resources, including computer software makers, and an index of major suppliers of physics lab equipment and toys.

The Role of Toys in Teaching Physics is a valuable resource for teachers looking to attract a broader base of students with a non-traditional approach to physics instruction. The lessons are concise and clearly written, and can be easily adapted to any physics curriculum. The authors provide anecdotal evidence for the effectiveness of using toys to teach physics by pointing out an increasing trend in the use of toys in the classroom by their colleagues. They supply a comprehensive list of over 300 relevant research papers published over the last four decades in The Physics Teacher.

This resource was written specifically as a manual for use during in-service professional development workshops. Participants could select several toys and practice demonstrations and experiments listed in the manual; adapt them to be hands-on, inquiry-based activities; and conduct the activities with their students. Professional developers may wish to work with teachers on developing appropriate assessments for students.

This material could also be used with pre-service teachers, ideally in a course allowing them to practice hands-on activities with toys. They should already have had an introductory course in physics.

The exact models displayed in the manual may be difficult to find and the variations in the toys’ names can make the search more difficult. The user may need to modify certain toys so they can function properly for student purposes, and the authors also point out that different toys may act differently, which may alter or extend the concepts of the lesson.

Some exercises require more sophisticated equipment and tools including computers, graphing software, VCR, video camera and motion detectors. Several exercises require students’ knowledge of using video cameras, VCRs, graphing software, spring scales, and open and closed electric circuits.