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128 Birch Street
Boston, MA, 02131
United States

(617) 390-4076

Invent Boston designs and develops original products to add science + whimsy to  every day tasks at home.   Our first product is a Two Minute timer, Two Minute Turtle, a visual timer. The Two Minute Turtle helps children and adults focus on two minute tasks such as brushing teeth, physical therapy, taking a shower and speaking (practicing a presentation or learning a language).

Assembling the Two Minute Turtle Timer™

Invent Boston™, Home of the Two Minute Turtle Timer™

Invent Boston™ blog offers tips and stories by parents, for parents of children ages 4-12 to make toothbrushing and other healthy habits at home, more fun. We write about simple tactics to help kids do what they like to do-touch, seeing, play games and strive for independence. We recommend products to help stay healthy while being kids. We share stories to transform daily healthy habits from something kids resist (for example, toothbrushing, handwashing, toilet training, organizing, taking time-out or pausing, yoga, and taking turns) into something children are motivated to do independently, without parents’ reminders. The original physical product Invent Boston has designed for families is the new light-up Two Minute Turtle Timer, an analog, interval toothbrush timer to make brushing teeth fun for kids. Kids like to press the button, follow the flippers and brush until all the lights blink—the Victory Lap signals to brush the tongue.

Assembling the Two Minute Turtle Timer™

Virginia Berman

We have assembled our Two Minute Turtle timer,  exclusive, hand made batches of original design.  What a journey to get to this stage, to a minimum viable product. After testing 10 different versions of prototypes with children brushing their teeth, with parents and pediatric dentists, this Two Minute Turtle is hatching from our basement.

Two Minute Turtle Timer designed to make toothbrushing fun

Watch a short video inside the Two Minute Turtle Timer workshop

designed to make toothbrushing fun!

The Two Minute Turtle is Ready to Serve You

Each part of the Two Minute Turtle has grown and changed:

Energy: from plug in, to triple A to 2 coin cells to 1 coin cell battery.

Circuit board: from rectangle to turtle shaped

LEDs: from large through hole bulging LEDS including 1 blue color to small surface mount LEDs without the blue. We had to lose the blue light because it drained too much of the battery. 

Case: from space ship looking, white 3D printed plastic to encapsulated clear solid and smooth epoxy. Now, each Two Minute Turtle takes 3 separate pours of epoxy and each pour needs 48 hours to dry. 

Color: from white plastic to clear epoxy with color backs- blue or purple, orange or pink.

Adhering to mirror: from sitting on the counter to adhering to mirror with velcro to micro suction tape. 

This evolution have helped us create a minimum viable product.  From the testimonials of our crowdfunding campaign we have seen the Two Minute Turtle is helping families with every day tasks. Our next step is design for manufacturing, assembly from out of our basement to a manufacturing plant.  Each one of you who buys, tries and tests, helps hatch the Two Minute Turtle!   Let us know how it helps you with two minute tasks and how it could work better for you. Thanks. 

categories kids timer, toothbrushing
tags Two Minute Turtle Timer, two minute turtle timer