Toycathon 2021: What was it all about?

We’ve heard of hackathons, codeathons, even ideathons (concept formation competitions). Modelled on the marathon, these competitions take the basic structure from sports with competitors racing towards the same goal within a given time span, during which they have to start and finish a task. Noticing the immense popularity and effectiveness of this competition format, especially for young people, the Indian government tried using it this year for something novel – conceptualising, making and presenting toys – and it worked!  

What was Toycathon 2021?  
Toycathon 2021 was an inter-ministerial initiative by the Ministry of Education’s Innovation Cell and the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), where they roped in the Ministry of Women and Child Development, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Ministry of MSME, Ministry of Textiles and Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. Announcements were put up on the government websites long back since the competition had been planned in rounds spread over months. Having begun with a stunning 1.2 lakh participants from all over India and more than 17,000 ideas on January 5, it moved through the elimination rounds till the grand finale from June 22 to 24.  It was a tough choice for judges with the teams vying for the top slot. Finally, 117 were awarded under various categories. For kids, this means that they can look forward to a whole host of exciting new toys in the market within a year.  

What were some of the winning entries?  
Let’s take a sneak peek at some of the interesting ideas. Team Eyecognito’s Aura AI gamified the ancient art of Yoga using VR and AR technology. Another team, Heritage Race, developed a virtual environment game. Here the participant can enjoy virtually cycling through paths in heritage sites such as Taj Mahal, using a steady cycling machine at home. Students of Delhi Public School, Miyapur, Hyderabad, came up with Kreedavyuh, a board game combining concepts of modern and Vedic math for students of all ages as well as visually impaired students. Team Makesclan had a board game ‘CheMystery’ where young kids can learn to combine elements and form basic compounds through a puzzle based game.