www.wildplanet.com
.  Look for new brands from Wild Planet in 2004: AquapetsT, Beat BlendersT, SpongeBob SquarePantsT and G.L.S.T (Girls Living in Style).

For information on Kid Inventor Challenge Winners and Team Members in your region, please contact Wild Planet's Kid Inventor Team Leader: Kate Scott at 415-568-9453,

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For more information on the Kid Inventor Challenge contest, please visit

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CONTACT:
Kim Bratcher
(415) 568-9455

10-Year-Old Boy's Idea Made into Toy; 100 Kids Chosen for Chance to become Wild Planet's Next Kid Inventor

(SAN FRANCISCO, February 9, 2003) - Wild Planet announced today it is turning a child's idea into a real toy to be sold in stores nationwide this fall.  Nathan Tung, a fifth grader from Southern California, invented the Explorer's Gloves when he was 10, and will begin receiving royalty checks for his idea before his twelfth birthday.  "It feels like I'm in a dream," Nathan said in response to the news.

The Explorer's Gloves will be sold under Wild Planet's Off The MapT brand of outdoor adventure gear.  The gadget gloves feature exploration tools: including lights, compass, magnifying glass, digital clock, tweezers, clips and utility cord.  Nathan drew a picture of the gloves and submitted it, along with a short description of its components, to Wild Planet's annual Kid Inventor Challenge in October 2002.  One month later he was notified that his entry placed in the Top 100 and he was invited to join the toy company's 2003 Kid Inventor Team (K.I.T.).

Wild Planet's K.I.T. consists of 100 kids from across the country who receive secret sneak peeks at toys before they are available to the public.

These kids act as experts by testing toys and sharing their opinions on them.  The kids keep all the toys they review and are given other special Wild Planet prizes, such as business cards and T-shirts, as initiation to the K.I.T.

Creative kids whose Kid Inventor Challenge entries place in the Top 100 (of the thousands of entries received annually) become K.I.T. members for one year, reviewing a different toy every six-to-eight weeks.  At the end of each term, Wild Planet announces which of the Top 100 toy ideas it will manufacture and sell later that year.

Kids from the following cities placed in the Top 100 of the 2003 Kid Inventor Challenge, and make up the new 2004 K.I.T. A kid inventor from one of these cities could have his or her idea turned into a real toy in 2005: (* denotes a Top 10 winner. Number of winners listed beside cities with multiple honors)-

Alabama: Elkmont* (3), Huntsville (2), Madison (2). California: Chula Vista, Davis, Desert Hot Springs, Glendora, Lafayette, Los Angeles, Panorama, San Francisco, Temecula, Walnut Creek. Colorado: Ft. Collins. Connecticut: Brookfield, Weston (2). Delaware: Claymont. Florida: Jacksonville Beach, Tampa. Georgia: Duluth*, Fargo. Idaho: Boise. Illinois: Dallas City, Glenview*, Manhattan, Rockford, Skokie.. Iowa: Cedar Rapids (2), Charles City, Long Grove*, Waterloo. Kentucky: Morganfield, Uniontown. Maryland: Baltimore, Ijamsville, Ridgely. Massachusetts: Arlington, Natick, New Bedford. Michigan: Ann Arbor, Bloomfield Hills, Dollar Bay, Flint, Hartland*, Metamora, St. Ignace, Taylor, Warren. Minnesota: Mankato (3). Missouri: St. Louis (4). Nebraska: Omaha. Nevada: Las Vegas. New Hampshire: Hollis. New Jersey: East Brunswick (2), Elizabeth, Fort Lee, Holmdel, Ocean City, Pompton Plains, Sewell, Verona, Voorhees, Warren*. New York: Belle Harbor, Mahopac, North Babylon, Oyster Bay, Wappingers Falls, Windsor. North Carolina: Apex. Ohio: Cincinnati, Gallipolis, Hamilton*. Pennsylvania: Clarks Summit, Collegeville*, Downington, Ephrata, Middletown, New Castle. Tennessee: Wartburg. Texas: Dallas*, Huntsville, Richardson, Rockwall, San Antonio. Vermont: Braintree* (3).

About Wild Planet Toys Founded in 1993 in San Francisco, Wild Planet Toys creates innovative products that appeal to both parents and kids.  Wild Planet focuses on fun without relying on violence, and involves kids in the creation process of all of its toys.  Through monthly Toy Opinion Panels and an annual Kid Inventor Challenge contest, Wild Planet connects with kids and turns their ideas into real toys. 

For more information on Wild Planet and its Spy GearT, Off the MapT, WaterballT and Outdoor AnticsT brands, please visit


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