Just Who Invented Boinks Anyway?

The inventors of the Boinks are Colleen and Kevin John Murphy. Colleen was only 12 years old and Kevin was 11! They invented Boinks when Mr. Murphy brought home some coiled-plastic packing materials used in the auto industry.  Colleen and Kevin and some friends started playing with the material and — voila! — a new toy was born.

In 1988, Colleen and the Boinks appeared on The Dr. Fad Show — a Saturday morning CBS show that highlighted the wacky creations of entrepreneurial kids. Colleen won the grand prize for young inventors, including a trip to Space Camp! Boinks continued to spring out into the world, appearing everywhere from the CBS Newsroom to the New York Stock Exchange.

In 1999, Meghan Murphy developed a new line of Boinks Called Boinks Buddies. Only 13 years old herself, Meghan propelled Boinks Buddies through all the marketing stages, initiating a premium toy to the Boinks Lineup. Since developing Boinks Buddies, Meghan has been the recipient of multiple entrepreneur scholarships and continues to achieve her dreams.

How an Idea Became a Toy

Boinks are so popular that you can find an article about them in the Literacy by Design Sourcebook, Volume 2 (2008 Harcourt Achieve Inc.).  The article is by Meghan Murphy, and it describes the journey that Boinks took from idea to actual toy.  The entire “How an Idea Became a Toy” article is available for download in Adobe PDF format (1MB).

Teachers take note:

At the end of the “How the Idea Became a Toy” article are suggestions for classroom activities based on this article. These include both writing assignment ideas and critical thinking activities.