Deborah regularly lectures on the various aspects of toys, their design and manufacture;  and play in relation to childhood. She has made many media appearances on childhood play and toys. These lectures are based on her original research and include:

• The History of Toys. These lectures use the extensive the research undertaken for the book
  
• Frank Hornby & Mechanical Toys – Britain, Germany & the USA 1880 – 1950 . The entrepreneurial Frank Hornby was the inventor of Meccano, The Hornby Railway and Dinky Cars. This lecture looks at the origins of his designs, the manufacturing processes involved,  the images of modernity within the toys and how Hornby achieved his aims to enable  children to learn mechanic; all within the context of the toy industries in Germany, Britain and the USA.