Inside Out

Techno Source's Rubik's Revolution muscled its way into the 25th Anniversary World Rubik's Cube Championship 2007 in Budapest, Hungary, early last month and two Cube experts (pictured) took home 1,000 Euros as a result. The first official Rubik's Revolution competition pitted players in a game of Light Speed, one of the unit's six built-in challenges. The winners, Dror Vomberg (left) of Israel and Stephan Pochmann (far right) of Germany, each scored a perfect 999. Eric Levin (center), Techno Source's executive vice president, handed out the giant checks … Stevanne “Dr. Toy” Auerbach, Ph.D., was the keynote speaker for the first Conference on Construction Toys at the University of Cyprus, an event sponsored by construction toy maker Engino Toy Systems and the Cyprus Research Promotion Foundation. In addition to addressing attendees, Auerbach coordinated the arrangement of the First International Construction Products Exhibition, an interactive area and display of nearly 50 of the world's top construction toys, as examples of the benefits that construction toys offer to children as they learn and grow in the classroom and at home. Costas Sisamos, CEO of Engino and coordinator of the conference project, said, “This is the first time that all construction toy systems will be displayed under one roof, giving the opportunity to both educators and parents, as well as students learning this important discipline, to witness a demonstration of how quality construction play can inspire innovation and creativity.” More than 120 teachers participated in the conference ... Speaking of construction toys, a study sponsored by Mega Brands found that playing with simple toy blocks lead to a measurable gain in language development among 175 children 1.5 to 2.5 years old from middle- and low-income homes, a demographic for whom more expensive, high-tech learning toys are often financially out of reach.