Highlights from the 2014 Chicago Toy and Game Fair

Chicago Toy and Game Fair banner on opening morning. Photo by Ashley Solomon.

NAVY PIER–Last weekend marked the 11th annual Chicago Toy and Game Fair, a family-oriented convention showcasing toys, games and all things kid related.

Fair highlights included:

Animatronic dinosaur puppet. Photo by Ashley Solomon.

An animatronic dinosaur puppet

Spin Master  brought in a realistic dinosaur puppet (and puppeteer) to promote their remote-controlled-dinosaur, Zoomer Dino. My first instinct was to pull an Eric Bledsoe. After the adrenaline wore off I was able to recognize it for what it was: genius.

Mother and daughter team, Rachel and Kelley Williams, creators of the Paige and Paxton books. Photo by Ashley Solomon

Paige and Paxton children’s book series

A mother-daughter team, Rachel and Kelley Williams, are the creators of Paige and Paxton, a book series about two adorable puzzle pieces who encourage children to learn about science and technology.

Leslie Scott’s book. Photo by Ashley Solomon.

Leslie Scott

Leslie Scott, creator of the much beloved game Jenga, blew quite a few minds on Saturday when she revealed that jenga means build in Swahili. Scott was at the fair promoting her new book,  About Jenga.