Five years ago，when I taught art at a school in Seattle，I used Tinkertoys as a test at the beginning of a term to find out something about my students.I put a small set of Tinkertoys in front of each student，and said：“Make something out of the Tinkertoys.You have 45 minutes today—and 45 minutes each day for the rest of the week.” A few students hesitated to start.They waited to see what the rest of the class would do.Several others checked the instructions and made something according to one of the model plans provided.Another group built something out of their own imaginations.