| Kyleigh Becker reporter |

Co-hosted by the PSU art and construction departments, the second annual toy design show and not-for-profit sale will be from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. today, Thursday, April 30, in the Oval.
All profits will benefit the Safehouse Crisis Center.
Portico Bowman, professor of art, is one of the driving forces behind the toy design class and the nonprofit sale.
She says last year all the toys were sold by noon.
“Everything we made this year has market potential,” Bowman said. “We couldn’t be at this level without the co-creation from both departments.”
Norm Phillip, associate professor of construction, provides the 3-D printing of the toys for the class.
“His office is one big toy,” Bowman said. “He has a really sincere interest in toy design.”
The toy design class features students with a wide range of majors from art to electrical engineering.
Bowman says one of the benefits of the class is being able to let students take their ideas and run with them. The sale figures into the coursework as a final class project and all toys will sell from $7-$50. The sale enables students to get experience in marketing, publicity, packaging and pricing. There is even a “shark tank” style presentation before the sale.
Christen Wheat says the toy design class is the reason she came to Pitt State.
“I wish we would’ve gone more into the industry of toy design, the politics,” said Wheat, freshman in 3-D design.
This year’s toy sale features “Magnaflex,” a “create your own utopia” toy designed by Peter Villa, senior in plastics engineering.
Ashley Warner’s multi-path maze is also one of the highlights.
Warner, senior in secondary art education, says she was always a problem-solver as a child.
“We talked about when we were kids what we liked to play with,” she said. “I like the ability to decide (where the ball goes).”
Bowman added the goal of the class and toy sale is not to make one-use toys.
“I don’t want to just make more plastic for the landfill,” she said. “Unless it’s engaging the child with an experience with itself, then let’s not make it.”
Bowman says she hopes the program will continue to grow into a larger interdisciplinary effort, similar to other creative industry programs in the United States. However, toy design will not be offered at PSU next year.