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121-513: Bank Street College of Education is a private school and graduate school in New York City . It consists of a graduate-only teacher training college and an independent nursery-through-8th-grade school. In 2020 the graduate school had about 65 full-time teaching staff and approximately 850 students, of which 87% were female. The origins of the school lie in the Bureau of Educational Experiments , which

242-420: A "rational toy-shop" where educational toys would be sold. They proposed that such a shop should sell materials for a wide variety of activities including carpentry , handicrafts , gardening , chemistry , and natural history . An important advocate for the education of women, Maria Edgeworth's ideas about science and education were influenced by the philosopher, chemist, and educator Joseph Priestley and

363-599: A campus with the School for Children—including more than half of the teachers who are alumni. The School for Children is accredited by the New York State Association of Independent Schools and is a member of the National Association of Independent Schools . The Bank Street Bookstore was an Upper West Side community bookstore that sold children's books and educational toys and games . It opened in 1970 in

484-457: A child about a particular subject or help a child develop a particular skill. More toys are designed with the child's education and development in mind today than ever before. Toys have changed substantially throughout history, as has the concept of childhood itself. In Toys as Culture (1986), anthropologist Brian Sutton Smith discusses the history of toys and states that "in multifarious ways toys are mediating these cultural conflicts within

605-431: A child in elementary school might use very sophisticated construction sets that include moving parts, motors and others to help further understand the complex workings of the world. Importantly, the educational value derived by the child increases when the educational toy is age appropriate. Studies that examine the usefulness of manipulatives have found that outcomes may vary widely depending on physical characteristics of

726-612: A decade between Irish immigrants and Black people for work. Rioters burned the Colored Orphan Asylum to the ground. At least 120 people were killed. Eleven Black men were lynched over five days, and the riots forced hundreds of Blacks to flee. The Black population in Manhattan fell below 10,000 by 1865. The White working class had established dominance. It was one of the worst incidents of civil unrest in American history . In 1886,

847-688: A much more limited range of purposes, concentrating on literacy and numeracy. Ergonomic hardware is fundamental for baby learning, where tablet computers and touchscreens are preferably used instead of keyboards and computer mice. Also, a sandbox environment is created, to disable the use of the keyboard (excepting some combination of keys that can only be typed by an adult), taskbar, and opening of other programs and screens. Child computer keyboards may use large and differently colored keys to help differentiate them. Baby and toddler computers include ABC keyboards. Some child computers include QWERTY keyboards as an early aid in learning typing. Small mice, about half

968-510: A part of the colony of New York . It became a center of slavery , with 42% of households enslaving Africans by 1730. Most were domestic slaves ; others were hired out as labor. Slavery became integrally tied to New York's economy through the labor of slaves throughout the port, and the banking and shipping industries trading with the American South . During construction in Foley Square in

1089-510: A reputation as a despotic leader. He instituted regulations on liquor sales, attempted to assert control over the Dutch Reformed Church , and blocked other religious groups from establishing houses of worship. In 1664, unable to summon any significant resistance, Stuyvesant surrendered New Amsterdam to English troops, led by Colonel Richard Nicolls , without bloodshed. The terms of the surrender permitted Dutch residents to remain in

1210-524: A result of Sandy, and the economic losses in New York City were estimated to be roughly $ 19 billion. The disaster spawned long-term efforts towards infrastructural projects to counter climate change and rising seas, with $ 15 billion in federal funding received through 2022 towards those resiliency efforts. In March 2020, the first case of COVID-19 in the city was confirmed. With its population density and its extensive exposure to global travelers,

1331-422: A rock or a stick, but it would not be considered an educational toy because 1) it is a natural object, not a designed one, and 2) it has no expected educational purpose. The difference lies in perception or reality of the toy's intention and value. An educational toy is expected to educate. It is expected to instruct, promote intellectuality , emotional or physical development . An educational toy should teach

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1452-421: A shoelace. She also developed sets of Montessori sensorial materials , manipulatives for learning mathematics and other skills and concepts. Today, Montessori's methods are used in both homes and schools, and her manipulatives have been extensively studied. Her work was strongly motivated by slum conditions and the social and economic disadvantages facing poor women and their children. The Montessori method formed

1573-458: A siege. Nonetheless, "We often forget that throughout history, children have happily played without toys and manufactured playthings." Children improvised a wide variety of toys and games using whatever came to hand, including fences, barrels, sticks, stones, and sand. Both children and adults played games such as backgammon , dice , chess and cards , which helped to develop manual dexterity, memory, and strategy. In 1560, Pieter Bruegel

1694-589: A simulated distillation column . Other extensions of the system supported suburban-style housing developments (Build-A-Home), or monorail transportation systems (Skyrail). The building toy Lego was originally developed by Ole Kirk Christiansen in Billund, Denmark , in the 1930s. The name Lego is said to be based on the Danish phrase leg godt , or "play well", and is also translatable in Latin as "I study, I put together". By

1815-441: A single product, such as a laptop-lookalike. Such computers may be custom-designed standalone toys, or personal computers tailored for children's use. Common examples include imaginatively designed handheld game consoles with a variety of pluggable educational game cartridges and book-like electronic devices into which a variety of electronic books can be loaded. These products are more portable than general laptop computers, but have

1936-570: A small blue cardboard box containing basic materials and detailed instructions, usually to be supplemented by commonplace household materials and objects. The wealth of knowledge and entertainment that could be derived from simple and economical materials set a standard which would later be adopted by the pioneering science and technology center , the Exploratorium in San Francisco. Marketing of science toys has tended to be heavily gendered , with

2057-533: A special class by members of the bureau. Bank Street College of Education served as an academic consultant during development for Multiplication Rock , the first series of Schoolhouse Rocks! In 1958, the college received a $ 1,000,000 grant from the Department of Health, Education and Welfare for a five-year study on how schools for younger children could improve mental health development. The personal computer word processing application Bank Street Writer (1981)

2178-476: A speech denying the request, which was paraphrased on the front page of the New York Daily News as "FORD TO CITY: DROP DEAD." The Municipal Assistance Corporation was formed and granted oversight authority over the city's finances. While a resurgence in the financial industry greatly improved the city's economic health in the 1980s, New York's crime rate continued to increase through that decade and into

2299-547: A toy targeted at potential physicists, the Gilbert U-238 Atomic Energy Laboratory , including a cloud chamber with a small amount of radioactive material. During the Cold War , marketing slogans again reveal social tensions of the time, asserting that “Porter Science Prepares Young America for World Leadership”. Early chemistry sets included a wide range of hardware, glassware and chemicals, much of which

2420-516: A toy. The Erector Set contained girders and bolts that could be assembled into miniature buildings or other structures, and was acclaimed as fostering creativity in constructive play. In 1924, it was redesigned to include miniature electric motors and other pieces which could be used to create all sorts of self-actuated machines. Tinkertoy was developed and patented in 1914 by Charles H. Pajeau of Evanston, Illinois . Sets contained interlockable wooden spools and rods that could be combined to make

2541-463: A wide variety of constructions. They were marketed in different sets, according to the types and numbers of pieces included, allowing them to be both interoperable and identifiable by difficulty level (e.g. junior, big boy, grad). In addition to use as a construction toy, they have been used by scientists and students to model molecules, and even to build a primitive computer. Lincoln Logs were introduced in 1918 by John Lloyd Wright , second son of

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2662-476: Is a global center of finance and commerce , culture , technology , entertainment and media , academics and scientific output , the arts and fashion , and, as home to the headquarters of the United Nations , international diplomacy . With an estimated population in 2023 of 8,258,035 distributed over 300.46 square miles (778.2 km ), the city is the most densely populated major city in

2783-487: Is accredited by the New York State Association of Independent Schools . It is one of about hundred schools in the Manhattan area which participate in the national Head Start Program of the Early Childhood Learning & Knowledge Center of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services . The Bank Street School for Children is a private coed preschool , elementary school , and middle school within

2904-401: Is also possible for these categories to overlap (e.g. Star Wars Legos ). The term "educational toy" is often applied in toy advertising to promote sales to parents. The packaging of many toys includes a table of skills and benefits asserted to be enhanced by use of the product. The actual developmental benefit of these, by comparison to a cheaper, simpler or more easily available product,

3025-467: Is an established safe haven for global investors. As of 2023 , New York City is the most expensive city in the world for expatriates and has by a wide margin the highest U.S. city residential rents; and Fifth Avenue is the most expensive shopping street in the world. New York City is home by a significant margin to the highest number of billionaires , individuals of ultra-high net worth (greater than US$ 30 million), and millionaires of any city in

3146-432: Is an imaginative activity in which "children are playing as if something or someone is real". "This type of play benefits all areas of a child’s development and gives a child tools for experiences later in life such as emotional regulation, creativity, and logical reasoning". Pretend play is important for the child's development in many fields, such as: "social and emotional skills, language skills, thinking skills, nurturing

3267-674: Is being used by teachers and students. Introduced by Eben Upton and the Raspberry Pi Foundation in the United Kingdom as an inexpensive option that would promote teaching of computer science and programming skills in lower-income schools, it has also become popular with makers and engineers. Some manufacturers regarded standard personal computers as an inappropriate platform for learning software for younger children, and produced custom child-friendly pieces of hardware instead. The hardware and software are generally combined into

3388-399: Is more economical and safer than traditional setups. The related genre of forensics science toys has also become popular. Starting in 1940, Science Service issued a series of Things of Science kits, each focused on a single topic, such as magnetism , seed germination , static electricity , or mechanical linkages . Sold only by monthly mail-order subscription, these kits consisted of

3509-465: Is omitted from modern-day sets due to later concerns about possible hazards and liability. Modern chemistry kits tend to discourage free-form experimentation, containing a limited amount of specific nontoxic substances and a booklet specifying how they can be used for a specific project. Writers frequently lament that it is no longer possible for chemistry-set users to engage in the wide range of (sometimes hazardous) experimentation that attracted them to

3630-598: Is the most populous city in the United States , located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors . The city comprises five boroughs , each coextensive with a respective county . The city is the geographical and demographic center of both the Northeast megalopolis and the New York metropolitan area , the largest metropolitan area in the U.S. by both population and urban area . New York

3751-837: The Atlantic port to the agricultural markets and commodities of the North American interior via the Hudson River and the Great Lakes . Local politics became dominated by Tammany Hall , a political machine supported by Irish and German immigrants . In 1831, New York University was founded. Several prominent American literary figures lived in New York during the 1830s and 1840s, including William Cullen Bryant , Washington Irving , Herman Melville , Rufus Wilmot Griswold , John Keese , Nathaniel Parker Willis , and Edgar Allan Poe . Members of

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3872-876: The Crown , with as many as 10,000 escaped slaves crowded into the city during the British occupation, the largest such community on the continent. When the British forces evacuated New York at the close of the war in 1783, they transported thousands of freedmen for resettlement in Nova Scotia , England, and the Caribbean . The attempt at a peaceful solution to the war took place at the Conference House on Staten Island between American delegates, including Benjamin Franklin , and British general Lord Howe on September 11, 1776. Shortly after

3993-699: The New York City Fire Department and 71 law enforcement officers. The area was rebuilt with a new World Trade Center , the National September 11 Memorial and Museum , and other new buildings and infrastructure, including the World Trade Center Transportation Hub , the city's third-largest hub. The new One World Trade Center is the tallest skyscraper in the Western Hemisphere and the seventh-tallest building in

4114-947: The Northwest Passage to the Orient for the Dutch East India Company . He sailed up what the Dutch called North River (now the Hudson River), named first by Hudson as the Mauritius after Maurice, Prince of Orange . Hudson claimed the region for the Dutch East India Company. In 1614, the area between Cape Cod and Delaware Bay was claimed by the Netherlands and called Nieuw-Nederland (' New Netherland '). The first non–Native American inhabitant of what became New York City

4235-561: The Statue of Liberty , a gift from France , was dedicated in New York Harbor. The statue welcomed 14 million immigrants as they came to the U.S. via Ellis Island by ship in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and is a symbol of the United States and American ideals of liberty and peace. In 1898, the City of New York was formed with the consolidation of Brooklyn (until then a separate city),

4356-683: The Stonewall riots were a series of violent protests by members of the gay community against a police raid that took place in the early morning of June 28, 1969, at the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village . They are widely considered to be the single most important event leading to the gay liberation movement and the modern fight for LGBT rights . Wayne R. Dynes , author of the Encyclopedia of Homosexuality , wrote that drag queens were

4477-735: The Victorian era but toys continued to be costly and belong to the wealthy. A toy might cost as much as a working man's wage for a week. The center of toy making in the 1800s was Germany, renowned for its fine craftsmanship. Between 1836 and 1850, German educator Friedrich Wilhelm August Fröbel introduced a set of specially shaped geometric solids which he called " gifts " and less solid materials such as foldable papers which he called "occupations". Through interaction with these manipulatives , all five senses were stimulated. They were intended to support learning of concepts such as number, size, shape, weight, and cause and effect. Froebel also established

4598-472: The architect Frank Lloyd Wright . They were inspired by structural work for the second Imperial Hotel , built in Tokyo , Japan . For the hotel, Frank Lloyd Wright designed a system of interlocking timber beams that were intended protect the hotel against earthquakes by allowing it to sway without collapsing. His son adapted the idea to enable children to build constructions that would stand up to rough play. In

4719-471: The construction toy Meccano in 1899 to encourage his children's interest in mechanical engineering . Patented as "Mechanics Made Easy" in 1901, it became known as "Meccano" in 1907. Educators were aware of societal changes caused by industrialism , and hoped to interest youngsters in possible new careers. In 1913, A. C. Gilbert introduced the Erector Set with the first national advertising campaign for

4840-586: The steamship General Slocum caught fire in the East River , killing 1,021 people. In 1911, the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire , the city's worst industrial disaster, killed 146 garment workers and spurred the growth of the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union and major improvements in factory safety standards. New York's non-White population was 36,620 in 1890. New York City

4961-602: The waterfronts since Dutch colonial times; reclamation is most prominent in Lower Manhattan, with developments such as Battery Park City in the 1970s and 1980s. Some of the natural relief in topography has been evened out, especially in Manhattan. Educational toys Although children are constantly interacting with and learning about the world, many of the objects they interact with and learn from are not toys. Toys are generally considered to be specifically built for children's use. A child might play with and learn from

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5082-418: The 1750s. However, since no examples of her maps still exist, it is impossible to confirm that they were "dissected" into pieces. British cartographer John Spilsbury is generally credited with inventing the jigsaw puzzle or "dissected map" in 1766. He intended it to be an educational tool for geography. In Practical Education (1798), Maria Edgeworth and her father Richard Lovell Edgeworth described

5203-623: The 1950s, Gilbert marketed a pink "Laboratory Technician" set for girls. It contained a microscope and factory-prepared slides, rather than the raw materials to make one's own slides for viewing. However, the manual contained identical information to that given to boys. As computers became more prevalent, toys were introduced to expose children to fundamental ideas in digital circuitry and their applications. Most of these toys were marketed as educational kits, with modular components that could be combined in various combinations to make interesting and entertaining creations. A bare-bones computing model

5324-506: The 1950s, Lincoln Logs were one of the first toys to be marketed on television. Throughout the early part of the 20th century, a variety of new materials such as plastics were developed, and manufacturing processes became increasingly automated. This supported the development of educational toys, including construction toys, since it enabled the standardization of pieces. Toys such as Tinkertoy and Lincoln Logs, which were originally made of wood, were later also made in plastic versions. In

5445-540: The 1950s, the sets were becoming available beyond Denmark and Germany, eventually being marketed worldwide and surpassing all previous construction toys in popularity. Lego bricks are versatile and are used by adults as well as children to make a near-limitless variety of creations. The company has created a line of kits for complex architectural structures such as the Taj Mahal . It has also partnered widely to create theme-based kits for franchises such as Star Wars . In

5566-535: The 1990s, the African Burying Ground was discovered; the cemetery included 10,000 to 20,000 graves of colonial-era Africans, some enslaved and some free. The 1735 trial and acquittal in Manhattan of John Peter Zenger , who had been accused of seditious libel after criticizing colonial governor William Cosby , helped to establish freedom of the press in North America . In 1754, Columbia University

5687-525: The 19th century, the city was transformed by both commercial and residential development relating to its status as a national and international trading center , as well as by European immigration, respectively. The city adopted the Commissioners' Plan of 1811 , which expanded the city street grid to encompass almost all of Manhattan. The 1825 completion of the Erie Canal through central New York connected

5808-455: The 20th century, however, manufactured toys were not readily available, and most often were owned by wealthy families. Moulded miniature dishes and toy soldiers have been found in England dating to as early as 1300. There are records of wealthy medieval children owning elaborate toy houses and military toys, which could enable them to mimic adult activities such as managing a household or enacting

5929-545: The Bank Street College of Education. The school includes children in nursery through eighth grade , split into three divisions: the lower school, for nursery through first grade; the middle school, for second through fourth grades; and the upper school, for fifth through eighth grades. There are 451 children enrolled as students, approximately 50% of which are students of color. The instructors are often current or past students of Bank Street's graduate school, which shares

6050-671: The British occupation began, the Great Fire of New York destroyed nearly 500 buildings, about a quarter of the structures in the city, including Trinity Church . In January 1785, the assembly of the Congress of the Confederation made New York City the national capital. New York was the last capital of the U.S. under the Articles of Confederation and the first capital under the Constitution of

6171-518: The Bronx , and Staten Island . Anchored by Wall Street in the Financial District, Manhattan , New York City has been called both the world's premier financial and fintech center and the most economically powerful city in the world. As of 2022 , the New York metropolitan area is the largest metropolitan economy in the world , with a gross metropolitan product of over US$ 2.16 trillion. If

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6292-558: The County of New York (which then included parts of the Bronx), the County of Richmond, and the western portion of the County of Queens. The opening of the New York City Subway in 1904, first built as separate private systems, helped bind the new city together. Throughout the first half of the 20th century, the city became a world center for industry, commerce, and communication. In 1904,

6413-585: The Dutch West India Company relinquished its monopoly over the fur trade, leading to growth in the production and trade of food, timber, tobacco, and slaves (particularly with the Dutch West Indies ). In 1647, Peter Stuyvesant began his tenure as the last Director-General of New Netherland. During his tenure, the population of New Netherland grew from 2,000 to 8,000. Stuyvesant has been credited with improving law and order; however, he earned

6534-529: The Dutch colonial Director-General Peter Minuit , as charged by the Dutch West India Company , purchased the island of Manhattan from the Canarsie , a small Lenape band, for "the value of 60 guilders " (about $ 900 in 2018). A frequently told but disproved legend claims that Manhattan was purchased for $ 24 worth of glass beads. Following the purchase, New Amsterdam grew slowly. To attract settlers,

6655-597: The Dutch instituted the patroon system in 1628, whereby wealthy Dutchmen ( patroons , or patrons) who brought 50 colonists to New Netherland would be awarded land, local political autonomy, and rights to participate in the lucrative fur trade. This program had little success. Since 1621, the Dutch West India Company had operated as a monopoly in New Netherland, on authority granted by the Dutch States General . In 1639–1640, in an effort to bolster economic growth,

6776-752: The Elder painted Children's Games . He depicts around 200 children in at least 75 play activities. Only a few activities involved toys made specifically for children, and even fewer might be classed as "educational toys": dolls, simple musical instruments and a water gun used to shoot at a bird. The identification of specific toys as having an explicitly educational purpose dates to the 1700s. In 1693, in Some Thoughts Concerning Education , liberal philosopher John Locke asserted that educational toys could enhance children's enjoyment of learning their letters: "There may be dice and play-things, with

6897-580: The Native Americans and epidemics brought on by contact with the Europeans caused sizeable population losses for the Lenape between 1660 and 1670. By 1700, the Lenape population had diminished to 200. New York experienced several yellow fever epidemics in the 18th century, losing ten percent of its population in 1702 alone. In the early 18th century, New York grew in importance as a trading port while as

7018-470: The New York metropolitan area were its own country , it would have the tenth-largest economy in the world . Despite having a 24/7 rapid transit system , New York also leads the world in urban automobile traffic congestion . The city is home to the world's two largest stock exchanges by market capitalization of their listed companies: the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq . New York City

7139-699: The Revolutionary War and escaped slaves, a significant free-Black population gradually developed in Manhattan. The New York Manumission Society worked for abolition and established the African Free School to educate Black children. It was not until 1827 that slavery was completely abolished in the state . Free Blacks struggled with discrimination and interracial abolitionist activism continued. New York City's population jumped from 123,706 in 1820 (10,886 of whom were Black and of which 518 were enslaved) to 312,710 by 1840 (16,358 of whom were Black). Also in

7260-461: The United States . As the U.S. capital, New York City hosted the inauguration of the first President, George Washington , and the first Congress , at Federal Hall on Wall Street . Congress drafted the Bill of Rights there. The Supreme Court held its first organizational sessions in New York in 1790. In 1790, for the first time, New York City surpassed Philadelphia as the nation's largest city. At

7381-436: The United States . As many as 800 languages are spoken in New York City, making it the most linguistically diverse city in the world. In 2021, the city was home to nearly 3.1 million residents born outside the U.S., the largest foreign-born population of any city in the world. New York City traces its origins to Fort Amsterdam and a trading post founded on Manhattan Island by Dutch colonists around 1624. The settlement

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7502-416: The United States. New York City has more than double the population of Los Angeles , the nation's second-most populous city. With more than 20.1 million people in its metropolitan statistical area and 23.5 million in its combined statistical area as of 2020, New York City is one of the world's most populous megacities . The city and its metropolitan area are the premier gateway for legal immigration to

7623-694: The area for France and named it Nouvelle Angoulême (New Angoulême ). A Spanish expedition, led by the Portuguese captain Estêvão Gomes sailing for Emperor Charles V , arrived in New York Harbor in January 1525 and charted the mouth of the Hudson River , which he named Río de San Antonio ('Saint Anthony's River'). In 1609, the English explorer Henry Hudson rediscovered New York Harbor while searching for

7744-437: The area of robotics with its Lego Mindstorms kits, introduced in 1998. With the software and hardware provided in the kit, which includes a system controller, motors, and peripheral sensors as well as ordinary Lego building blocks, children can create programmable robots. Lego Mindstorms draws heavily on the constructionist learning theories of computer scientist and educator Seymour Papert . More recently, Raspberry Pi

7865-449: The basis for the creation of educational toys busy boards. During World War I (1914-1918), countries such as Great Britain embargoed German goods, including toys. Later, toy-making businesses were established in Britain and other countries, in some cases employing ex-soldiers. Britain became a principal supplier of toys, to be followed by America, and later Japan and China. Toys became cheaper and accessible to more people. However,

7986-493: The beginning of the 1990s. By the mid-1990s, crime rates started to drop dramatically due to revised police strategies, improving economic opportunities, gentrification , and new residents, both American transplants and new immigrants from Asia and Latin America. New York City's population exceeded 8 million for the first time in the 2000 United States census ; further records were set in 2010 , and 2020 U.S. censuses. Important new sectors, such as Silicon Alley , emerged in

8107-534: The business elite lobbied for the establishment of Central Park , which in 1857 became the first landscaped park in an American city. The Great Irish Famine brought a large influx of Irish immigrants, of whom more than 200,000 were living in New York by 1860, representing over a quarter of the city's population. Extensive immigration from the German provinces meant that Germans comprised another 25% of New York's population by 1860. Democratic Party candidates were consistently elected to local office, increasing

8228-473: The children of the family? If they are to learn chemistry , mineralogy , botany , or mechanics ; if they are to take sufficient bodily exercise without tormenting the whole family with noise, a room should be provided for them. In contrast to the Edgeworths, Isaac Taylor in Home education (1838) and Charlotte Mary Yonge in Womankind (1876) championed the idea of less structured, more imaginative play. The range of manufactured toys broadened during

8349-510: The city from New Jersey. The East River—a tidal strait —flows from Long Island Sound and separates the Bronx and Manhattan from Long Island. The Harlem River , another tidal strait between the East and Hudson rivers, separates most of Manhattan from the Bronx. The Bronx River , which flows through the Bronx and Westchester County , is the only entirely freshwater river in the city. The city's land has been altered substantially by human intervention, with considerable land reclamation along

8470-439: The city rapidly replaced Wuhan , China as the global epicenter of the pandemic during the early phase, straining the city's healthcare infrastructure. Through March 2023, New York City recorded more than 80,000 deaths from COVID-19-related complications. New York City is situated in the northeastern United States , in southeastern New York State, approximately halfway between Washington, D.C. and Boston . Its location at

8591-447: The city's economy. The advent of Y2K was celebrated with fanfare in Times Square . New York City suffered the bulk of the economic damage and largest loss of human life in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, attacks . Two of the four airliners hijacked that day were flown into the twin towers of the World Trade Center, resulting in the collapse of both buildings and the deaths of 2,753 people, including 343 first responders from

8712-776: The city's ties to the South and its dominant party. In 1861, Mayor Fernando Wood called on the aldermen to declare independence from Albany and the United States after the South seceded, but his proposal was not acted on. Anger at new military conscription laws during the American Civil War (1861–1865), which spared wealthier men who could afford to hire a substitute, led to the Draft Riots of 1863 , whose most visible participants were ethnic Irish working class. The draft riots deteriorated into attacks on New York's elite, followed by attacks on Black New Yorkers after fierce competition for

8833-615: The colony and allowed for religious freedom. In 1667, during negotiations leading to the Treaty of Breda after the Second Anglo-Dutch War , the victorious Dutch decided to keep the nascent plantation colony of what is now Suriname , which they had gained from the English, and in return the English kept New Amsterdam. The settlement was promptly renamed "New York" after the Duke of York (the future King James II and VII). The duke gave part of

8954-604: The colony to proprietors George Carteret and John Berkeley . On August 24, 1673, during the Third Anglo-Dutch War , Anthony Colve of the Dutch navy seized New York at the behest of Cornelis Evertsen the Youngest and rechristened it "New Orange" after William III , the Prince of Orange . The Dutch soon returned the island to England under the Treaty of Westminster of November 1674. Several intertribal wars among

9075-435: The computational toy Geniac , and in 1958 a similar toy called Brainiac. The rotary switch construction sets used combinational logic but had no memory and could not solve problems using sequential logic . Instruction booklets gave series of instructions for creating complex machines which could solve specific Boolean equations. Specific machines could play simple games like tic-tac-toe , or solve arithmetic puzzles, but

9196-417: The development of large housing tracts in eastern Queens and Nassau County , with Wall Street leading America's place as the world's dominant economic power. The United Nations headquarters was completed in 1952, solidifying New York's global geopolitical influence, and the rise of abstract expressionism in the city precipitated New York's displacement of Paris as the center of the art world. In 1969,

9317-502: The durable antique elements made more than a century ago. French engineer Arthur Good (under the pen name "Tom Tit") published weekly articles about La Science Amusante , or Amusing Science in the French magazine L’Illustration . They were collected and published starting in 1889. His geometrical demonstrations, craft projects, and physics experiments could be carried out with everyday household materials. A wide array of manipulatives

9438-552: The emergence of an industrialized toy manufacturing industry in Canada, Britain, and elsewhere was disrupted by the Great Depression . Meccano , Erector Sets , Tinkertoy , and Lincoln Logs all appeared in the early 20th century, and were promoted as developing fine motor skills, encouraging free play and creativity, and introducing children to engineering and construction ideas. Frank Hornby of Lancashire, England designed

9559-406: The end of 1790, the national capital was moved to Philadelphia . During the 19th century, New York City's population grew from 60,000 to 3.43 million. Under New York State's gradual emancipation act of 1799, children of slave mothers were to be eventually liberated but to be held in indentured servitude until their mid-to-late twenties. Together with slaves freed by their masters after

9680-506: The exciting discoveries of the first chemical revolution . Edgeworth even suggested that children be given a play area for loud and messy educational activities, to support the development of "the young philosopher", who she clearly expected to be well-to-do. "To those who acquire habits of observation, every thing that is to be seen or heard, becomes a source of amusement... most well ordered families allow their horses and their dogs to have houses to themselves; cannot one room be allotted to

9801-456: The field of chemistry as children. Though chemistry sets lost popularity beginning in the safety-conscious 1960s, they appear to be regaining interest in the 21st century. A line of chemistry sets reminiscent of the traditional Gilbert and Porter sets was marketed as of 2012 by Thames & Kosmos . Many modern chemistry sets are designed according to the guidelines of microscale chemistry ; using precise but smaller quantities of chemicals

9922-587: The first " Kindergarten ". It provided care and education for pre-school children whose parents were absent at work during the day. By 1880, the wooden blocks designed by Froebel had inspired the development of Anchor Stone Blocks ( German : Anker-Steinbaukasten ) made of artificial stone in Germany by the Lilienthal brothers . These early construction toy sets have remained in almost continuous production since then, and modern components are still compatible with

10043-457: The founding of a Dutch fur trading settlement on Governors Island . In 1625, construction was started on a citadel and Fort Amsterdam , later called Nieuw Amsterdam (New Amsterdam), on present-day Manhattan Island. The colony of New Amsterdam extended from the southern tip of Manhattan to modern-day Wall Street , where a 12-foot (3.7 m) wooden stockade was built in 1653 to protect against Native American and English raids. In 1626,

10164-450: The global toy market is estimated at over 80 billion US dollars annually. In 2013 the average household in the United Kingdom spent the equivalent of $ 438 US per child on toys, while US families spent $ 336 per child. In advertising, "educational toys" are sometimes differentiated from "promotional" toys, which are marketed primarily as part of a group of related products (e.g. American Girl dolls, Transformers , Steven Universe toys). It

10285-466: The ice (and its subsequent retreat) contributed to the separation of what is now Long Island and Staten Island. That action left bedrock at a relatively shallow depth, providing a solid foundation for most of Manhattan's skyscrapers. The Hudson River flows through the Hudson Valley into New York Bay . Between New York City and Troy, New York , the river is an estuary . The Hudson River separates

10406-833: The imagination". By the 1920s and 1930s, child labor laws and other social reforms were resulting in increased numbers of children attending school. As the amount of time spent at school increased, people began to see adolescence as a distinct life stage, with its own “youth culture”. With increased urbanization and use of cars, there were new options for after-school socialization, some of which were less supervised and allowed for contact across social, class, and gender lines. Teachers and post-depression parents worried that children would get into trouble after school and began to start after-school clubs. Scientific educational toys were produced and promoted to kids as fun, and to parents as keeping kids out of trouble and encouraging them to enter well-paying careers in science. Chemcraft specifically used

10527-452: The importance of open-ended imaginative play, exploration and social engagement. Toys with the quality of open-endedness can be used by children in a variety of ways and at different ages and developmental levels. Educational toys vary widely in terms of their open-endedness and their potential for exploration, imaginative play, and social engagement. Play theorist Brian Sutton Smith, who advocates for free play, has asserted that "the plans of

10648-542: The last American stronghold in Manhattan, causing George Washington and his forces to retreat across the Hudson River to New Jersey , pursued by British forces. After the battle, in which the Americans were defeated, the British made the city their military and political base of operations in North America. The city was a haven for Loyalist refugees and escaped slaves who joined the British lines for freedom promised by

10769-424: The late 1960s, Fischertechnik introduced what would eventually become a versatile and powerful set of modular construction components, incorporating sophisticated pneumatic, electrical, electronic, and robotic capabilities. The company's products also achieved some success in the hobbyist and school markets, including vocational education programs, but was overshadowed by Lego in the consumer segment. Pretend Play

10890-504: The letters on them to teach children the alphabet by playing; and twenty other ways may be found, suitable to their particular tempers, to make this kind of learning a sport to them." This type of block, one of the first explicitly educational toys, is often identified as "Locke's Blocks". French educator Jeanne-Marie Le Prince de Beaumont may be the earliest inventor of the jigsaw puzzle or "Dissected Map". Records indicate that she used some type of wooden map to teach girls geography in

11011-586: The lobby of Bank Street College, and moved to its second location on 112th Street and Broadway shortly thereafter. Its final location was on Broadway and West 107th Street until its closing in August 2020, due to the Coronavirus pandemic. The bookstore also hosted readings, daily story time, and celebrity events, with past guests including Stephen Colbert , Julianne Moore , and author Jeff Kinney . New York City New York , often called New York City or NYC ,

11132-402: The low-cost Digi-Comp I , which allowed children to construct a simple digital computer, composed entirely of mechanical parts operated by hand. They could then play with it, watching as mechanical versions of “ flip-flop ” electronic circuits demonstrated Boolean logic computations, solved problems in binary logic, and calculated simple mathematical operations . By the 1980s, expanding on

11253-432: The majority of scientific toy marketing being directed to boys, with occasional exceptions. A 1921 review of Chemcraft chemistry sets stated that "These outfits are more than toys. They are miniature chemical laboratories for boys and girls... this kind of play is most interesting and amusing to every youngster". In 1921, Chemcraft advertised a "Sachetcraft" set for girls that could be used to make perfumes and cosmetics. In

11374-535: The materials themselves and the ways in which they are used. Emphasis is often placed on the importance of the physicality of the manipulative, but some work on teaching geometry concepts suggests that manipulability and meaningfulness are more important than physicality. Students who used a Logo computer program that required them to consider their actions carefully learned more than students who learned from textbooks, and retained that knowledge longer than students who used physical manipulatives. Toys are big business:

11495-417: The mid-1950s, more explicitly engineering-themed construction toys appeared, including plastic girders, columns, and panels that could be assembled into a model curtain wall skyscraper. Later, this Girder and Panel structural system was extended to a Hydro-Dynamic setup by adding pipes, valves, tanks, nozzles, and pumps to allow construction of model plumbing , HVAC , and chemical engineering systems like

11616-419: The most populous urbanized area in the world in the early 1920s, overtaking London . The metropolitan area surpassed 10 million in the early 1930s, becoming the first megacity . The Great Depression saw the election of reformer Fiorello La Guardia as mayor and the fall of Tammany Hall after eighty years of political dominance. Returning World War II veterans created a post-war economic boom and

11737-544: The mouth of the Hudson River , which feeds into a naturally sheltered harbor and then into the Atlantic Ocean , has helped the city grow in significance as a trading port. Most of the city is built on the three islands of Long Island, Manhattan, and Staten Island. During the Wisconsin glaciation , 75,000 to 11,000 years ago, the New York City area was situated at the edge of a large ice sheet . The erosive forward movement of

11858-492: The only " transgender folks around" during the June 1969 Stonewall riots. The transgender community in New York City played a significant role in fighting for LGBT equality. In the 1970s, job losses due to industrial restructuring caused New York City to suffer from economic problems and rising crime rates. Growing fiscal deficits in 1975 led the city to appeal to the federal government for financial aid; President Gerald Ford gave

11979-480: The output resulted directly from the input given. In 1961, Scientific Development Corporation introduced the Minivac 601 , a simple relay-based electromechanical computer with a primitive memory, all designed by the pioneer of information theory , Claude Shannon . The expensive device attracted few buyers, and was soon upgraded and retargeted for the corporate technical training market. In 1963, E.S.R., Inc. marketed

12100-851: The personal lives of children". Educational toys in particular tend to reflect the cultural concerns of their time. Research on the history of toys and their use tends to focus on western cultures, but work has also been done on North Africa and the Sahara . Puppets or dolls made of wood, clay, wax or cloth may be the earliest known toys. Archaeologists have found them in sites from Egypt , Greece and Rome , and Antonia Fraser emphasizes their universality. Dolls can be seen as an early "educational toy" because dolls acted as substitutes, allowing children to learn to care for living babies and children. Similarly, toy bows and arrows or other weapons acted as substitutes for real weapons, enabling children to develop skills needed for hunting or fighting. Up until

12221-419: The playful imagination dominate the objects or the toys, not the other way around." Toys whose design is more heavily specified and restricted may be less intuitive for children to use, and require more engagement and support from adults. Many studies of educational toys report that the effectiveness of a toy is more related to the involvement and guidance of adults, or to the child's intellectual level, than to

12342-416: The popularity of build-your-own radio and electronics kits from Radio Shack and Heathkit , it was possible to buy a kit to build your own ZX-81 microcomputer. Such projects were enthusiastically recommended as a merit badge activity for Boy Scouts . Modern-day toys have continued this trend, enabling kids to build their own circuits, machines, peripherals and computers. The Lego company expanded into

12463-476: The repertoire of skills which they are developmentally ready to acquire expands, building upon previous knowledge. Play is important for children's cognitive, emotional, and social development. Teachers who use educational toys in classroom settings try to identify toys that will be appropriate to a child's developmental level, existing skills, and interests. They try to engage children with toys in ways that support cognitive development. Many educators emphasize

12584-616: The size of a typical adult mouse, or large trackballs are used in toddler's computers. They are programmed for “one-click” operation. The case may be reinforced to protect it from misadventure. Such computers are not seen as a replacement for time spent parenting.[5] Sometimes described as "the work of children", child's play can be viewed as the process through which children experience the world, practicing and internalizing new skills and ideas. Experiences include imitation , reasoning about cause and effect , solving problems , and engaging in symbolic thinking ." As children grow and learn,

12705-468: The slogan “Experimenter Today . . . Scientist Tomorrow” to market their chemistry sets. Although portable chemical chests had existed as early as 1791, they were intended for use by adults, rather than children. Porter Chemical Company 's Chemcraft set, marketed in 1915, was likely the first chemistry set intended for children. By 1950, Porter sold as many as 15 different chemistry sets, ranging widely in price and contents. The A. C. Gilbert Company

12826-444: The top of a structure, it will fall until a surface stops its fall), and develop patience and rudimentary hand-eye coordination . For a child moving towards elementary school , other, more sophisticated manipulatives might further aid the development of these skills. Interlocking manipulative toys like Lego or puzzles challenge the child to improve hand-eye coordination, patience, and an understanding of spatial relationships. Finally,

12947-413: The toy itself. Educational toys claim to enhance intellectual, social, emotional, and/or physical development. Educational toys are thus designed to target development milestones within appropriate age groups. For preschool age youngsters, simple wooden blocks might be a good starting point for a child to begin to understand causal relationships, basic principles of science (e.g. if a block falls from

13068-518: The world by pinnacle height, with its spire reaching a symbolic 1,776 feet (541.3 m), a reference to the year of U.S. independence . The Occupy Wall Street protests in Zuccotti Park in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan began on September 17, 2011, receiving global attention and popularizing the Occupy movement against social and economic inequality worldwide. New York City

13189-504: The world. In 1664, New York was named in honor of the Duke of York (later King James II of England ). James's elder brother, King Charles II , appointed the Duke as proprietor of the former territory of New Netherland , including the city of New Amsterdam , when the Kingdom of England seized it from Dutch control. In the pre-Columbian era , the area of present-day New York City

13310-422: Was Juan Rodriguez , a merchant from Santo Domingo who arrived in Manhattan during the winter of 1613–14, trapping for pelts and trading with the local population as a representative of the Dutch colonists. A permanent European presence near New York Harbor was established in 1624, making New York the 12th-oldest continuously occupied European-established settlement in the continental United States , with

13431-552: Was heavily affected by Hurricane Sandy in late October 2012. Sandy's impacts included flooding that led to the days-long shutdown of the subway system and flooding of all East River subway tunnels and of all road tunnels entering Manhattan except the Lincoln Tunnel . The New York Stock Exchange closed for two days due to weather for the first time since the Great Blizzard of 1888 . At least 43 people died in New York City as

13552-525: Was a prime destination in the early 20th century for Blacks during the Great Migration from the American South, and by 1916, New York City had the largest urban African diaspora in North America. The Harlem Renaissance of literary and cultural life flourished during the era of Prohibition . The larger economic boom generated construction of skyscrapers competing in height. New York City became

13673-610: Was another leader, producing toys that promoted a wide variety of science activities. Their first chemistry sets appeared in the 1920s, and were followed by many others. Gilbert's biology toys included microscopes (e.g. the Skil Craft Biology Lab). Other companies produced biological models such as the Visible Frog Anatomy Kit and human anatomical models such as the Visible Man . In 1950, Gilbert even produced

13794-466: Was developed by the college and marketed to school and home computer markets. Its brand extension Bank Street Music Writer (1985) was a music composition application. Doug Knecht is the current Dean of Children's Programs and Head of the School for Children. Since 1960 the school has been accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools . Bank Street School for Children

13915-529: Was established in 1916 by Lucy Sprague Mitchell , her husband Wesley Clair Mitchell , and Harriet Merrill Johnson ; Lucy Mitchell's cousin Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge provided financial support. The bureau was intended to foster research into, and development of, experimental and progressive education , and was influenced by the thinking of Edward Thorndike and John Dewey , both of whom Mitchell had studied with at Columbia University . The bureau

14036-772: Was founded. The Stamp Act Congress met in New York in October 1765, as the Sons of Liberty organization emerged in the city and skirmished over the next ten years with British troops stationed there. The Battle of Long Island , the largest battle of the American Revolutionary War , was fought in August 1776 within modern-day Brooklyn. A British rout of the Continental Army at the Battle of Fort Washington in November 1776 eliminated

14157-521: Was inhabited by Algonquians , including the Lenape . Their homeland, known as Lenapehoking , included the present-day areas of Staten Island , Manhattan , the Bronx , the western portion of Long Island (including Brooklyn and Queens ), and the Lower Hudson Valley . The first documented visit into New York Harbor by a European was in 1524 by explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano . He claimed

14278-481: Was introduced in the early 20th century by Maria Montessori . Based on her work in Italy , her book The Montessori method was translated into English and published in 1912. Montessori's curriculum focused primarily on tactile and perceptual learning in the early years, and was based on developmental theories and work with students. She emphasized practical exercises using ready-to-hand materials such as pouring rice or tying

14399-420: Was marketed in the form of a basic analog computer , consisting of three calibrated potentiometers and a low-cost galvanometer arranged in a Wheatstone bridge circuit. This setup allowed simple computations to be performed, similar to a mechanical slide rule , but the accuracy was poor and the components could not be reconfigured in any useful way. Around 1955, computer scientist Edmund Berkeley designed

14520-468: Was named New Amsterdam in 1626 and was chartered as a city in 1653. The city came under English control in 1664 and was temporarily renamed New York after King Charles II granted the lands to his brother, the Duke of York , before being permanently renamed New York in November 1674. New York City was the U.S. capital from 1785 until 1790. The modern city was formed by the 1898 consolidation of its five boroughs : Manhattan , Brooklyn , Queens ,

14641-577: Was run by a council of twelve members, but Mitchell was its most influential figure until the 1950s. The name of the institution derives from its 1930–1971 location at 69 Bank Street in Greenwich Village. In 1919 the bureau started a nursery school for children from fifteen to thirty-six months old; Harriet Johnson was the director. The school fed in to the Play School for three- to seven-year-olds run by Caroline Pratt ; eight-year-olds were taught in

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