'Hilltops': nesting plastic stepping stones, designed by Gonge, Denmark in 2002

Set of five 'stepping stones' made from injection-moulded polypropylene. Each has the basic shape of a rounded triangle with concentric lines building to their peaks. Their shapes are uneven and they are different sizes and colours to provide different levels of difficulty. The colours (from tallest to shortest hill) are red, blue, green, orange and yellow. They are hollow, and the bottoms are rimmed with black thermoplastic elastomer ('plastic rubber') to provide grip. The 'stones' neatly fit inside one another for storage.

There is a paper booklet printed with instructions in several languages.

Gonge is family-owned business, based in Denmark, who specialise in designing and manufacturing play equipment for children. Originally two separate businesses (Winther and Gonge), the two companies merged in 2010 creating a pair of brands that now sit under one umbrella. The company story can be dated back to 1932 to Anders Winther, a blacksmith who reskilled after a traffic accident. He began producing toboggans, tricycles and scooters, going on to producing bicycles in 1947.

The Gonge family established ‘Skoleforlaget Gonge’ in 1966 as a publishing company, producing educational materials for preschool institutions in Denmark. The company went on to focus on developing products that supported creative learning through play. One product in particular helped to refocus the company with the new mission - the Giant Top, a toy designed to encourage play through movement. This new vision grew into a wide and varied range of toys and tools that established an ongoing philosophy of supporting cognitive, imaginative, social and physical development through active play. This is reflected in the company motto, ‘learning by moving’.

As of 2022, Gonge has hundreds of products available online and are still producing new designs. They work with teachers, industrial designers and engineers to support product development and have an in-house physical therapist who regularly writes ‘insights’ (blogs) for the company website.

Hilltops were developed from an earlier Gonge product named 'River Stones,' designed in 1997 by HarritSorensen's. Hilltops was first manufactured by Gonge in 2002.

Jorgen Gonge and his son Henrik developed the Hilltops together. Jorgen was on holiday and was watching children jumping on tree stumps, which inspired him to take this thinking back to his company and create a product that could replicate this type of play. Encouraged by this idea the father and son team started by looking at the products they were already manufacturing, which included River Stones - low 'stepping stones' that can be used for physical activities like hopping, skipping and jumping. Henrik used the River Stone designs as a template – keeping the look, feel, and function but changing the shape and making them taller. Conceptually the two products can work together but offer slightly different motor skills development opportunities for children.

Hilltops develop children’s ability to estimate distances and help them to become familiar with heights (in a safe environment). The different heights of each of the ‘hills’ allows for children to grow stronger and develop their sense of balance, moving on to the higher ‘hills’ as they gain confidence in their abilities. Play with Hilltops stimulates and strengthens the vestibular and proprioceptive senses. Skills such as balancing, climbing stairs and walking on uneven surfaces can be developed through play using the Hilltops.

B.59:1 to 6-2022