Parsons BFA Integrated Design alumna Polina Ulendeeva (IDP ’08) recently received a U.S. patent for her thesis project, Comfort. Play. Teach, a toy that educates children about human anatomy in a way that is both didactic and entertaining.
The plush dolls unzip to reveal various organs and come with a coloring book and set of washable markers. Each page of the coloring book educates children about a different organ with illustrations and clues to help identify them. Through this process, children are taught how the body works as a living system.
“My project was influenced by such classic children’s toys as The Visible Man and Operation,” said Ulendeeva. “I also was inspired by the many contemporary works produced by young artists and designers, such as Ugly Dolls —the popular toys created by a pair of Parsons alumni— the store Kid Robot, and the television show South Park.”
Now that she has received the patent, Ulendeeva is reaching out to major toy companies with the hope of having the dolls on the market in the near future.
