My mission, to create a wall mounted toy with bottles of liquid and beads. Sensory toys can be an important part of a child's development as it helps children engage in focused learning and play. I was asked by a teacher friend to build on her concept of a wall mounted bottle filled with oils, water and objects that when rotated would fall and move. I was uncertain of how to accomplish these goals, but how could I possibly resist the challenge.
The design must meet these objectives, but as anyone with children knows - durability must also be a consideration. I also did not want it to appear as I made it from a bunch of junk I had laying around.
It started with a Smartwater bottle filled with oil and water, glitter and beads with the cap glued shut. These bottles are huge, heavy and tall - not ideal for a wall toy but I have to start somewhere. I also did not want an individual mount for each one as there would be 3 total, and an estimated minimum of 12 holes in the wall.
I purchased a 36" pine board and with some quick math, measured a length long enough for 3 of these bottles. This can't weigh 20lbs so to keep it manageable, the bottles at the ends of the board will hang over the edge by a few inches.
There could be no sharp edges or finger-holds so the metal edges could not be exposed. This required a wooden block so I purchased some wooden frame squares meant for door trim or crown molding. I laid the pieces all out and determined I had to shave 1/2" or more from each side of the blocks so the turntable could be attached to the wall board and the block with screws. This part messed with my mind a bit until I worked out how to screw from the top and bottom. I put the design side of the block toward the turntable to create a space where a zip tie or wire could be routed.
I drilled two 1/4" holes in the block close to the center to allow a zip tie or wire to be fed through however in testing, this proved to be really difficult. I made a decision to remove everything from the wall board and with a 2" hole saw, put holes that lined up with the center of where the turn tables would be. This meant that changing the containers out would require pulling the board off the wall which is a negative, however the sharp edges of the zip tie or wire would be now hidden behind the board. I just needed reusable wall anchors and I increased their size so I could use 2 anchors instead of 4 making it easier for the teachers in this classroom.
This was coming together nicely but the containers were still a problem. Since sensory toys already exist, I assumed finding a sensory bottle was an option. I was able to find sensory bottles that were more durable and purpose built with the bonus of them being smaller sized holding 12oz of liquid.
I sanded the entire board, smoothed every edge on all the wood and rounded all the corners. Attached all the base components to the wall board and then clamped it to my workbench so I could mount the bottles with a zip tie which held surprisingly well.
The end result, 3 bottles that don't touch, mounted to a turn table, with no sharp edges, and easily removed to change the bottles out if needed.
Truly this was a pleasure to design and build, as it had to function while also being safe for a small child.
A few changes to make soon:
- I will go back and add a second zip tie for redundancy as a falling jug of oil and glitter would be an issue.
- I'll also add washers to the bolts holding the wall board to the wall.
- I believe the teacher used glue to glue those tops closed. The bottles are no longer reusable but it's not intended to be changed frequently and they came in a 12 pack so we have spares.
The teacher said she may paint it but it was more important to get it up on the wall and make adjustments later.