A pinwheel is a simple child's toy made of a wheel of paper or plastic curls attached at its axle to a stick by a pin. It is designed to spin when blown upon by a person or by the wind. It is a predecessor to the more complex whirligigs.
A similar toy had developed independently in Polynesia (known as pekapeka or peʻapeʻa) using either coconut palm leaflets or strips of pandanus leaves;[1] [2] in colder climates like that of Aotearoa (the toy also called pepepe in Māori), phormium leaves are used.[3]
Today's most popular style of pinwheels is rooted in East Asia. The design for example is typical of a japanese origami folding technique for a pinwheel.
During the nineteenth century in the United States, any wind-driven toy held aloft by a running child was characterized as a whirligig, including pinwheels. Pinwheels provided many children with numerous minutes of enjoyment and amusement.[4]