Bead maze

[1] Designed for children aged 18 months to 5 years, bead mazes are purported to encourage eye-hand coordination, spatial memory, and color and shape recognition through manipulation of the beads in three-dimensional space.

[1][4][5] Bead mazes were introduced to the North American market in 1982 by Anatex Enterprises[5][6] and in 1983 by Educo International,[7][8] whose original designs featured five wires.

Educo discovered and licensed the invention from Australian educator George Valentine, a school principal who originally developed the toy for special needs children.

[7][8][9] Anatex marketed bead mazes to pediatricians and teachers for use in doctors' offices and classrooms, and promoted them through the American Academy of Pediatrics.

[5][6] A typical bead maze contains a wooden base with metal wires travelling in loops.