The Ten Best STEM Toys of 2017. Have an older child who still loves playing with cars?
Maybe it’s time for an upgrade to a toy moon rover. Or your daughter really digs magnetic puzzles—she might like to try her hand at solving tougher logic problems. Honestly, maybe you just want an excuse to play with a funny little robot. But if you’re feeling overwhelmed by the sheer number of science- or tech-themed toys out there, fear not. A team of testers and engineering educators at Purdue University has done some of the heavy lifting for you. At Purdue University’s INSPIRE Research Institute for Pre-College Engineering, Monica Cardella and Elizabeth Gajdzik plucked 10 stand-out gifts from a suite of more than 130 toys either submitted by toymakers and publishers for evaluation or requested by the researchers.
The institute’s researchers judge books, games, apps and toys not only on their fun factor, but also on how the products help develop “engineering thinking.” Ages 3+ Gears! SmartGames Snow White. Guide: Här är bästa apparna som lär barn programmera - Techtoys. Nytta och nöje är en fin-fin kombination.
På mobila plattformar finns en uppsjö med spel som bygger på det som lite torrt brukar kallas programlogiskt tänkade. Apparna för barn som lär ut programmeringens grunder stimulerar även ungas kreativitet. Flera av apparna i vår lista är kostnadsfria. Håll till godo! Lightbot Bland alla appar som lär barn grunderna i programmering är Lightbot en veteran. Scratch Jr M.IT:s enkla objektorienterade kodspråk Scratch är mer eller mindre standard när det gäller att hjälpa barn att komma igång och göra enkla datorspel. Hopscotch Appen som tagit namnet från den engelskspråkiga versionen av leken ”Hoppa hage” har ett kodspråk för att skapa egna datorspel och tillämpningar genom dra-och-släpp-metoden.
Kodable I likhet med Lightbot så är Kodable en klassiker när det gäller att lära kidsen att koda. Lego Mindstorms Fix the Factory I den danska byggklossjättens spel får barnen lära känna roboten EV3RSTORM. Move the Turtle Tips! Osmo – Award-Winning Educational Games System for iPad. Check Out These Clever Kits for Teaching Your Kids to Hack Electronics. Parents, listen up: Put your kids in engineering and computer science classes.
A recent Bureau of Labor Statistics report says “software development skills continue to be the most in-demand” STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) related jobs in the United States, and the White House projects that there will be over one million unfilled jobs in STEM related fields by 2020. And perhaps one of the easiest ways to encourage this interest is with toys. Toys and kits that are designed to teach kids hacking and basic programming skills abound, and they cater to a range of ages and skill levels. MyIDolls. A Brilliant Toy Train That Plays Music but Won't Drive Parents Crazy. Sound Track is a wooden toy train that plays music like a music box.
Photo: Courtesy Quirky Kid toys can be the worst. This isn’t news for anyone who has been around a child with a talking Elmo, mini drum set or just about any toy that has a speaker or makes a sound. But take heart, parents. A new musical toy concept from designer Ricardo Seola and product development company Quirky is not only totally bearable, it’s so clever you might want to play with it, too.
Can You Teach Programming With Plywood? Primo is a $262 kit that consists of two main components—wooden robot called Cubetto and a plywood compiler board.
Photo: Primo "Giving Cubetto a face was something we are proud of because it gives him a personality," says Primo managing director Filippo Yacob. "Children like him and that makes them want to help him find his way home. " Photo: Primo Using a special area of the board, the sippy cup set can create a four-step function, like making Cubetto move in a circle, that can be invoked by placing a special green block.
Photo: Primo Primo is staying true to its hackerspace roots. "We wanted Primo to feel like a toy, not like a tech gadget," says Yacob. "Before we can teach children programming we need to teach them the logic behind it, so they can find the topic easy as they progress to further learning," says Yacob. Google and Apple Alums Invent Adorable Robots That Teach Kids to Code. Play-i created robots that teach children to code.
This is Bo, a three-wheeled creature that can be programmed to play a song on the xylophone, among other things. Image: Play-i And this is Yana. Image: Play-i Children program Bo and Yana via an app or by puppeteering actions. The codes are recorded in various programming languages like Blockly, Scratch, Java and Python. Image: Play-i Play-i founders wanted to make the robots as gender-neutral as possible. Kids as young as 5 years old can use the robots, but they're appropriate for people of all ages, says Gupta. Play-i created robots that teach children to code. It’s common knowledge: If you want to learn a language—really learn a language—it’s best to start young. Forcing it down their throats is the best way to ensure that they’ll never want to write a line of C++ (or eat broccoli) again.
Coding basics are disguised as storytelling, music and make-believe. “The first question was, how early can kids begin to program?”