Evolution Toys Created By Scientist Mom Wins Two Top Awards

Pawtucket, RI (October 16, 2009) – When it comes to kids and their stuff, the judges at Tillywig Toy & Media Awards thought they had seen it all until they discovered Charlie’s Playhouse, makers of evolution toys. What started out as a way to explain Charles (“Charlie”) Darwin’s theory became an enchanting toy maker of giant timelines and ancient creature cards. For their fresh approach to this line of scientific literacy, Charlie’s Playhouse has been awarded two Tillywig Awards for its Top Fun and Brain Child categories.

In order to be selected as a Tillywig award winner, a product must be determined to have high entertainment and/or educational value. Products earning a Top Fun Award are exceptional products that stand out in terms of outstanding design, construction, and play. Toys tapped for the Brain Child Award are exciting products that energize the mind while seamlessly blending fun and learning. Tillywig's awards program provides retail buyers, news media, parents, and consumers with product information and reviews of superior children's products available in today's marketplace.

The judges at Tillywig gave Charlie’s Playhouse the following comments for their eye-catching and award-winning products:

Tillywig Top Fun Award

Ancient Creature Cards • $19 • Ages 4+
Get to know the coolest creatures that ever roamed the planet with Ancient Creature Cards! They're educational, entertaining, and very hard to put down once you pick them up. Everyone knows T-Rex, but do you know what a Dimorphodon looks like? Hint: enormous head, giant beak filled with two kinds of teeth, 4-1/2 foot wingspan, and a long tail for steering during flight. Each of the 67 cards is 8- 1/2" by 5-1/2", printed on heavy duty stock, and bears a large full color illustration along with a variety of fun facts about the creature shown, including its size, description, and when and where it lived. Kids of all ages will find these brain treats captivating, and, yes, amazing!

Tillywig Brain Child Award

Giant Evolution Timeline Playmat • $49 • Ages 4+
Kids will love walking, hopping and playing their way along the Giant Timeline, a highly durable walk-on play mat that unfolds to a whopping 18 feet long. Taking us from 600 million years ago to the present, the timeline advances in 20-milion year increments and is richly illustrated with a host of bizarre and amazing creatures from our evolutionary past. There is a wealth of information accompanying the illustrations, much of it in the form of cut-out balloons in which the creatures, earnestly and often comically, share facts with you about themselves. The play mat includes instructions for 18 different games that incorporate the mat’s content in clever and entertaining ways. Also includes a glossary and numerous FAQs for kids, adults and educators.

ABOUT TILLYWIG
Dan Levy, founder of Tillywig Toy & Media Awards knows all about the ins and outs of toy contests as the founder of Ruckus™ and Pile it™ card games, past winners of multiple national awards from ASTRA Best-for-Kids Toy to TD Monthly’s Top 10 Most Wanted Card Games. Tillywig’s annual Toy Awards tests children’s products from toy, audio, book and DVD divisions. Most impressive for the winners is the pledge that the annual winner's list is sent directly to more than 2,000 toy buyers prior to the critical 4th quarter.

ABOUT CHARLIE’S PLAYHOUSE
Rhode Island-based Charlie’s Playhouse LLC makes the first-ever games and toys that teach children about evolution, natural selection and Charles Darwin. Scientist and mom, Kate Miller, Ph.D., who was unable to find fun, educational products for her two young sons that addressed evolution, founded the company in 2008. Additionally, Dr. Miller has been selected as a consultant to the Evolution Readiness project at Concord Consortium in Concord, MA. The project is funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation.