During his Presidency, Bill Clinton conferred with
Imagination Zoo President Mike Rothmiller

On behalf of everyone at Imagination Zoo, I thank you for visiting our website.  As President and CEO,   I believe in a simple corporate philosophy which is straight-forward and uncompromising; we will only market products that engage your child’s imagination, creativity and cognitive skills on a myriad of levels.   We shall always keep our prices very competitive, allowing every child and family to experience the life-long benefits associated with our products. 

During the past twenty-five years, the world’s leading experts on early childhood brain development have determined the following;

The first five years of life are a time of enormous social, emotion, physical and cognitive growth.  The early years provide a window of opportunity to establish a sturdy or fragile stage for what follows. (note: 1)

By age three, a child’s brain has reached approximately 90% of its full potential.  (note: 2)

The positive emotional, physical, and intellectual experiences that a child has in the earliest years of life are necessary for the growth of a healthy brain. (note: 3)

Children who don’t play much or are rarely touched, develop brains 20% to 30% smaller than normal for their age. (note: 4)

By age 2, synapses in a child’s brain are twice those in adults. Experiences of childhood determine which neurons are used in the brain’s wiring.  Neurons that are not used may die. (note: 5)

Research indicates “critical periods” in development when a child’s environment can influence how an individual’s brain is “wired” for functions. (note: 6)

A child’s ability to be attentive, focused and follow directions emerges in the early years.  Structured early learning fosters these abilities for success in school and life. (note: 7)

The genesis of our plush line of animals, and the accompanying story guide, are the result of years of research to develop a toy that did not require batteries, software, will not break, one that a small child can easily use and play with, and one which you and your child will enjoy interacting with for years to come.  Most importantly, the toy had to benefit your child’s mental development.  Our findings demonstrated that the best toys to achieve these results were via plush animals which children and adults naturally love.  Once we focused on plush animals, it was necessary to select the individual animals which children truly love and enjoy which are the bear, tiger and elephant.

The final and most difficult step was developing a plush toy which benefited your child’s imagination, creativity, verbal skills, abstract thinking, early math skills, social skills, hand-eye coordination, and all cognitive skills while simultaneously providing outstanding parent and child bonding.  After much research and development, our plush line of toys was born.

It is our belief that Imagination Zoo’s plush toys are so unique and indispensable to your child’s mental development, and the parent child relationship, that they are now covered by a pending United States patent. I have complete confidence that as you review our website and products, you will understand the value of incorporating Timbo, Ella and Oddy into your child’s life.

To your child’s future,
Michael Rothmiller
President and CEO

1. Shonkoff, Jack P. & Philips, Deborah A. (Eds). From Neurons to Neighborhoods: The Science of Early Child Development.  National Research Council, Institute of Medicine. Washington: National Academy Press. 2000

 2. Early Brain Development and Child Care: Discoveries about the growth and development of the young child’s brain have important implications of child care. Healthy Child Care America, Volumes, Number 1. January 1999.

3. Gogtay, N. M.D. et al., Dynamic Mapping of Human Cortical Development during Childhood through Early Adulthood. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 101(21):B174-8179, May 25. 2004.

4. Nash. M.J.. Fertile Minds: From Birth, Babies Brain Cells Proliferate Wilding, Making Connection; that May Shape a Lifetime of Experience. Time Magazine, February, 1997.

5. Shore, 1997

6. Rutter, Michael & Marjorie, Developing Mind's: Challenge & Continuity Across the Life Span. NY: Basic Books, 1993.

7. Bowman, B., Donovan, M.S. & Burns, M.S Eager to Learn. National Research Council, Washington: National Academy Press, 2000.