TOYS FROM TRASH

Arvind Gupta’s playful educational mission.

BY ROHIT SRIVASTWA

Arvind Gupta (arvindguptatoys.com) is the creator and driving force behind the popular “Toys from Trash” video series on YouTube, which teaches engineering principles to kids by showing how to make simple toys from common materials. I recently spoke with him in his office at India’s University of Pune, and it was difficult to transcribe the interview afterward. Each time I tried, I’d get distracted by making another one of his toys.

Rohit Srivatswa: How did you get started making toys for kids?

Arvind Gupta: I studied engineering at IIT Kanpur in the 1970s, then got a job in the automobile industry making trucks. This was when India was newly free from the colonial ...

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