The system was developed by Mattel with the help of UCLA professor Dr. Gordon L. Berry, who was chief educational consultant on the project.

[6] One review noted how small the screen resolution was, which limited it severely, and how slow the system was to start up.

The art mode, however, was praised for being a good introduction to computer graphics, although the process of drawing pixel-by-pixel was described as tedious.

[7] In September 1982, a marketing campaign was initiated with celebrity endorsement from the Smothers Brothers, claiming that the system could make parents "Get a smarter kid in 60 days.

[11] The Children's Discovery System used a 16-by-48 matrix LCD screen[12][13] and was powered by six size AA alkaline batteries.