bionicTOYS
Marcel Pasternak has developed flexible construction-based play as an add-on for modular building blocks
29 November 2016

Construction-based play can offer a wide range of benefits, from enhancing spatial skills in preschoolers to influencing the pursuit of a career in science as an adult. Inspired by materials science, bionic design, and physics, creator Marcel Pasternak developed the patent-pending flex-brick to introduce a new way of interacting with building blocks. With them, he saw the immense potential of fostering a greater hands-on understanding of the laws of nature.
Building brick toy sets inspired by nature’s flexibility
After beginning his career as a product designer, Marcel continued his master studies, which resulted in a thesis on the Aesthetics of Motion. In particle, the principles of flexibility led him to create a new kind of malleable material. Having designed bionicTOYS with children in mind, Marcel first introduced the flex-bricks through workshops at schools around Berlin, Germany. This allowed him to not only gage its potential as a fun toy, but also its ability to teach important scientific principles.

bionicTOYS was founded by Marcel Pasternak in early 2016 and is based in Berlin, Germany. Marcel began introducing his flex-brick construction sets through educational programs at schools. Within less than a year, his design has grown into a company that focuses on educational toys inspired by the laws of nature. With its launch on Kickstarter, Marcel plans to jumpstart the first production run and to continue to prepare for a mass market launch with a premiere at the Nuremberg International Toy Fair in 2017.
bionicTOYS’ exclusive Kickstarter collection will offer selected sets that include all the pieces necessary to construct, for example, a jellyfish or a claw. The flex-bricks are also compatible with other building blocks, like LEGO Technic and TinkerBots. In fact, our sets also come with second-hand LEGO Technic parts that compliment the complete range of motions found in some of these creations.
image: BionicToys with fin ray effect from the 3D printer (source: Marcel Pasternak)
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