TFNY: Steve Rad Launches Abacus Brands

Steve Rad, former vice president of sales and marketing for SpiceBox, will present the debut lineup from his new company, Abacus Brands at Toy Fair New York.

The Seattle-based tech toy company will focus on STEM products for kids including Professor Maxwell’s VR Lab — the evolution of Professor Maxwell’s 4D Lab science kits, which Rad created.

Available this summer, Professor Maxwell’s VR Lab infuses augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) technologies into six diversely themed kits including Magic, Science, Chef, Universe, Atlas, and Safari themes. Kids will engage with physical projects while learning through immersive experimentation and play.

“VR is not just the future, it’s now,” says Rad. “Our mission is to provide a fun way to learn as we align ourselves with the landscape in which kids digest and process information today.”

The new kits were developed alongside partners including SpaceX and the Magic Castle.

Abacus Brands will showcase its full range of products in booth No. 1965 at Toy Fair New York, taking place from Feb. 22-25 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center.

Click here to view the Toy Book’s full coverage of Toy Fair New York.

About the author

James Zahn

James Zahn, AKA The Rock Father, is Editor-in-Chief of The Toy Book, a Senior Editor at The Toy Insider and The Pop Insider, and Editor of The Toy Report, The Toy Book‘s weekly industry newsletter. As a pop culture and toy industry expert, Zahn has appeared as a panelist and guest at events including Comic-Con International: San Diego (SDCC) Wizard World Chicago, and the ASTRA Marketplace & Academy. Zahn has more than 30 years of experience in the entertainment, retail, and publishing industries, and is frequently called upon to offer expert commentary for publications such as Forbes, Marketwatch, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, USA Today, Reuters, the Washington Post, and more. James has appeared on History Channel’s Modern Marvels, was interviewed by Larry King and Anderson Cooper, and has been seen on Yahoo! Finance, CNN, CNBC, FOX Business, NBC, ABC, CBS, WGN, The CW, and more. Zahn joined the Adventure Media & Events family in 2016, initially serving as a member of the Parent Advisory Board after penning articles for the Netflix Stream Team, Fandango Family, PBS KIDS, Sprout Parents (now Universal Kids), PopSugar, and Chicago Parent. He eventually joined the company full time as a Senior Editor and moved up the ranks to Deputy Editor and Editor-in-Chief.