Play set:Pendulum Motion, Discovery of the Month

Creative Playthings, Inc., the company founded by Frank and Theresa Caplan in 1945, is best known for the simple, stylized wooden toys it created to encourage children to use their own imaginations in play. In the 1960s and 1970s, the company presented its Discovery of the Month subscription program that engaged kids in physics, geometry, geography, astronomy, and other sciences. The toy company called in college professors and educators in special fields to develop each monthly offering.The Pendulum Motion booklet that accompanies this kit includes the historical context for the experiements described. Pages in the booklet present sidbars about Sir Issac Newton and Galileo and the revelations they made observing the motion of pendulums.