Animazing Toys uniquely combine education with play
and together we’ll make a better future for animals in the wild
Linking to animal charities
You know how charities work to protect orphaned animals? They rescue, care and release these defenceless animals when they are able to fend for themselves. We’ve taken this cycle of care to create a system where children rescue, care and release toys to prompt their increased use and reuse with others after they are no longer wanted.
We will pay you when toys are returned to us, they will be hygienically cleaned and then used with other children, either in homes or otherwise in educational settings across the UK.
Buying from Animazing Toys will directly benefit on-the-ground animal charities. We will be transparent about this when our services are fully up and running with partner zoos, and with their support, we aim to share at least 1% of our service revenue or 10% of our company profits to directly help their conservation efforts.
Our first wonderful charity, linked to our African Bush Elephant experience, is Elephant Havens led by the incomparable elephant enthusiast Debra Stevens, her husband Scott and the brilliant Boago Poloko, who runs the Botswana animal charity and orphanage locally.
Founder David Smee was amazed how the toys he bought for his children through their primary school years were so hit-and-miss. He saw an opportunity for a product concept that gave parents and children more and way to improve the whole toy experience for the planet.
With the help of his career background in product research & development, combined with expert collaborators, academics, students and graduates from Bristol’s Universities, David shared his ideas in primary schools, science museums, University family days and public locations, in Bristol and Bath to help refine the offering. These ideas became Anibotics Ltd in 2021 and spawned Animazing Toys in 2024. This animation leading play concept won Innovate UK and Creative UK awards alongside much child, parent and academic encouragement.
What long should a toy be played with?
According to parents surveyed by the British Heart Foundation, 20% of children give up on a new toy after a day, rising to nearly 50% after a week. It’s not surprising then that around 40 million toys are thrown away in the UK every year, almost a third of them in perfect working order.
Over three quarters of parents say they are frustrated with having too many unused toys cluttering the home.
We’re here to help parents gain better value with a toy purchase, by making that toy endure and educate. Alongside this, we want to deliver a sustainable toys, not just in how they are made, but how they are disposed of – if they’d otherwise be cluttering your home. You may see toys as positive clutter – we enjoy being surrounded by toys in our home, but easy disposal is handy, with many highstreet charities not accepting toys. Additionally, we’d like to reward you for the effort returning them.
Beyond these aims, we’d love to help foster positive traits in young people, principally a nurturing empathy for animals, through gaining a deep knowledge of what makes them awesome.
“In the end, we will conserve only what we love,
we will love only what we understand,
and we will understand only what we are taught”
Baba Dioum, 1968
We’ve found a great way to teach, not just facts about animals, but STEM topics too – through guided play using animal toys. We’re workign hard to optimise and iterate based on customers feedback – please share your views to us via email at [email protected].
The Animazing Team
The core team that created our animations love animals and have experience spanning education, book writing, children’s animation for TV, animal conservation and toy making.
We are actively looking for new charities to work within the UK and worldwide.
Always glad to hear from parents who share our passion for wildlife, zoos and other charities, animal experts, experienced producers, storytellers and animators of children’s stories who can share any wisdom – please get in touch.