There is something genuinely exciting about handing a child 86 pieces and watching them decide what the world looks like. The TTS Alice Sharp's Eco Build a World is an open-ended eco construction set built for exactly that kind of discovery - available across Canada and the US through The Sensory Supply.

Developed in partnership with Alice Sharp, an award-winning and internationally respected early years specialist, this 86-piece loose parts collection is built around the principle that children learn most deeply when they are the architects of their own play. The pieces twist together, stack, and connect in countless configurations - creating houses, trees, animals, landscapes, pathways, sculptures, and small worlds limited only by imagination. An included idea booklet offers starting points and provocations, though children rarely need prompting for long.

The STEAM framework underpinning this set - Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics - is not incidental. As children design and construct, they are estimating, comparing, problem-solving, and engineering without realising it. It is the kind of integrated learning that early years educators and occupational therapists recognise immediately as developmentally rich.

Key Features of the TTS Alice Sharp's Eco Build a World

• Open-Ended Loose Parts Collection - A curated set of environmentally conscious components configurable in countless ways, so children can create locations, constructions, sculptures, and pathways without creative limits
• 86 Configurable Pieces - Pieces twist together and join easily so children can build as long, tall, or wide as their ideas take them, fostering inventive, independent play
• STEAM Learning Through Play - Encourages an integrated approach utilising Scientific, Technological, Engineering, Artistic, and Mathematical skills, supporting the kind of hands-on inquiry that educators actively seek out
• Collaborative and Solo Play - Suitable for both individual and group use, supporting a wide range of learning styles and ideal for classroom projects, playgroup settings, or imaginative storytelling at home
• Sustainable Materials - Bases are made from fast-growing, durable bamboo; tubes from a wooden pulp mixture; joiners from recycled plastic - a combination that reflects genuine environmental responsibility rather than surface-level eco credentials
• Eco-Friendly Packaging - Fully eco-conscious packaging using recycled cardboard, notes printed on recycled paper, and eco ink, so the environmental commitment carries through to the last detail
• Comprehensive Idea Booklet - Sets include a detailed booklet brimming with ideas, scenarios, and possibilities, helping children and educators unlock the full range of what the set can do
• Non-Toxic Paints and Finishes - Decorated with non-toxic paints, giving parents, caregivers, and educators confidence in the safety of everyday use

Building Skills Through Small World Play

Small world construction is far richer than it first appears. As children build and rebuild their miniature worlds, they are working across multiple developmental domains simultaneously - and this set is designed to support all of them.

• Fine Motor Skills - Handling, twisting, and connecting the varied pieces strengthens the small muscle control that supports independence in writing, self-care, and daily tasks
• Creative and Imaginative Play - Open-ended construction fosters the narrative thinking and inventive problem-solving that underpin creativity throughout life
• Spatial Awareness and Mathematical Thinking - Matching, sorting, estimating, and measuring as they build gives children rich practical mathematical experience in a play context
• Communication and Storytelling - Group construction naturally invites language - describing, negotiating, narrating, and sharing stories as the world takes shape
• Environmental Consciousness - Working with sustainably made materials and eco-conscious construction helps children develop an early understanding of environmental responsibility

Who It's For

This set is genuinely for everyone. It belongs on the shelf of a four-year-old who builds obsessively, in the resourcing kit of an early years teacher building a loose parts provocation, and in the OT's toolkit as a fine motor and cognitive activity with exceptional depth and replayability. Neurodiverse children who engage through construction, hands-on manipulation, and open-ended challenge find this kind of resource especially rewarding. Neurotypical children find it just as absorbing.

• Pieces: 86
• Materials: Bamboo bases, wooden pulp mixture tubes, recycled plastic joiners
• Packaging: Recycled cardboard, eco ink, recycled paper booklet
• Age suitability: 3 years and up
• Safety: Not suitable for children under 36 months. Contains small parts. Choking hazard.
• Wipe clean with a damp cloth. Not suitable to be submerged in water.

TTS Alice Sharp's Eco Build a World - Ideas & Play Guide