Science and engineering are cool, right? That’s a matter of opinion, but there is an increasing need in our country for students to study the STEM subjects–Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. And with more information showing a link between technological innovation and creativity, why not foster both in your kids at the same time? Describing [...]
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Koko and Dunbar not included. When I was offered the opportunity to review a toy train set, I thought it would be interesting to try it in conjunction with my expert team of train set testers – my sons, Franklyn (7) and Matthew (4). They willingly agreed to work with me on the project and [...]
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From Uncle Milton, the Force Glove disappointingly doesn’t actually use the Force but rather magnets. The glove is part of their educational Star Wars Science Range. By changing the polarity of the magnets, you can either “Force Push” or “Force Pull” the supplied Droids or Light Sabre. Available for $16.99 from the Uncle Milton Store.
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I find magnetic building sets to be irresistible. I love the pull, resistance and click clack noise as magnets snap together and pull apart. You’ve probably heard of or seen regular BuckyBalls before. They are small BB sized chromed rare earth magnets that can be arranged in really cool configurations. Three new Bucky sets are now [...]
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If you are bored with your current collection of office toys, you might want to check out a set of Tegu Prism Pocket blocks. We’ve told you about these wooden Tegu magnetic blocks before, but now they are offering smaller sets that store in a heavy felted pouch. The Prism set shown here has 6 [...]
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You build with LEGOs and you build with Tinkertoys, but you can’t build with LEGOs and Tinkertoys – until now! F.A.T. Lab and Sy-Lab have created a set of 80 universal connectors that “enable complete interoperability between ten popular children’s construction toys.” (See the F.A.T. Lab site for a complete list.) You can’t buy the [...]
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I have to admit I’ve never tried water skiing, and I have my doubts if I could actually even stand up. The Subwing might actually be more my style though. The Subwing is made of fiberglass, rubber, and stainless steel, and with it, you can travel on the surface, skim the ocean bottom or just do [...]
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These LEGO-like building blocks are made from “a composite of the bark of the cedar tree, compressed dust from sawn cedar logs, and coffee beans as well as other recycled materials.” The Earth Toy Earth Blocks are 1.25″ long x 0.6″ wide x 0.6″ high. A set of 50 blocks is $30 at the Guggenheim [...]
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If you’re bored with LEGO, how about checking out Playable Metal building sets. Playable Metal sets are made of an aluminum alloy and come in different colors and allow you to build 3 dimensional structures. The parts are connected together with special screws. YoYo.com offers a variety of sets that range in price from $34.95 [...]
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Are you still a big fan of Rovio’s Angry Birds game? Show your enthusiasm with these super cute plush toys from ishareGifts. You can get a set of all 5 Angry Birds for $35.99 (free shipping), or just buy your favorites for $7.99 each. Each bird is about 10cm in diameter, which is about 4 [...]
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Yesterday, Jackie sent me a link to Photojojo and I’ve been browsing all their cool products like this super cute mini DSLR. It’s a 1/6 scale model that includes 3 lenses that can be attached to the camera. How neat is that? The whole set is $28. I’m really tempted to buy one for myself. [...]
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Well, I did it. I went ahead and bought a set of the Tegu blocks “for my son”. If you will recall, these are wood blocks with magnets in them. This lets you create some unique structures with the box. The front of the box displays a rooster created out of the blocks. The options have [...]
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One of the great things about being a geek and a dad is the new justification for purchasing that being a parent gives you. Sure, my wife did not really buy that the Star Wars Bobble-Heads I bought on Woot were for the boy, but it helped me justify the purchase. My latest interest is [...]
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The Fushigi Ball appeals to many aspects of my personality- mediocre magician, out of practice juggler, gadget freak, fidgeter extraordinaire, and someone just fascinated by spheres. Basically, this is just a steel ball in an acrylic shell but it lets you do some pretty cool things.
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Back in the stone age when I was a kid, we had classic toys like Etch-a-Sketch, Spirograph and Lite-Brite. I had the first two, but never had the pleasure of having a Lite-Brite. This was a simple toy that encouraged creativity and imagination. It allowed you to make pictures with little colored plastic pegs that [...]
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The Lego Architecture Series models caught my eye when I was in a bookstore yesterday. These Lego models use what appears to be standard Lego blocks (for the most part) in non-standard colors. For example, Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater uses 811 clear, green, and tan blocks to create a 10″ wide replica of the historic home. There are [...]
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When my daughter was younger, she owned Gameboys and Nintendo DS, but it was always difficult to find an age-appropriate game that appealed to her. She did have a Dora the Explorer computer game she liked, but it was very repetitive and quickly grew boring for her. I wish they had the Dora Links Doll [...]
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Marcus Wright sent me an email this morning telling me that his son is going ‘mental’ over the Star Wars Force Brain Trainer game. The game will allow you to move a Jedi Training Remote ball up and down the Training Tower…with the power of your mind! The innovative wireless headset can actually read and [...]
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