As a child long, long, long ago, I remember longing for a microscope in order to study things that were too small for me to see and tragically, I never received one. I now have a marvelous stereo microscope but it is too large and heavy to carry around with me to investigate things while …
My First Lab STEM Starter Kit: Smartphone Microscope and 3D Slides reviewRead More
These letters from Letterjoy are a perfect gift for the amateur historian in your life. With a subscription to Letterjoy, you receive a facsimile of an actual letter from an historic figure each week. The letter will arrive in the mail, just as the original had. Each month will have a theme, such as WWII …
One year for Christmas, I received a Tasco microscope set. I loved that thing. It came in a wooden box that had tweezers, eye droppers, glass slides, etc. I would spend hours “playing with that microscope to explore strange new worlds that were too tiny to see with my own eyes. One bad thing about …
Foldscope is a real microscope that’s made of paperRead More
In 2015, The Gadgeteer introduced to Makey Makey Go: Makey Makey Go makes your spacebar edible Almost three years later, Makey Makey is back; new and improved. The possibilities are endless with this wildcard of a toy. Turn bananas into a xylophone, your own drawing into a touchpad, play-dough into a game controller, buckets of …
Remember when the most sophisticated item in the classroom was a calculator and maybe a computer with a CD-ROM? Those days are long gone. But it’s not just about bringing devices and Windows 10 into the classroom anymore, Microsoft has been rethinking how we use technology to encourage our kids to learn. Here are 4 …
New Minecraft hour of code tutorial + 4 ways Microsoft is changing the way our kids learnRead More
Let me state up front that the Anki Cozmo robot is a difficult review to write. It’s not because I don’t like it (frankly, negative reviews are easy to write); it’s because I really like this robot and it does so many things—most of them silly—that I’m having a hard time deciding what to leave …
Due to my German last name, I’ve always been interested in my ancestry and would daydream what it might be like to visit Germany someday and look up Strietelmeiers in the phone book. I love the TV series Finding Your Roots and Who Do You Think You Are? When I was offered the chance to review the MyHeritage …
I’ve always enjoyed building sets like models and construction sets from LEGO, Erector, and more. The Arckit GO Colours is a model building system that is used by schools and universities as a classroom teaching tool of STEM concepts for developing fundamental design skills. But is this set fun to build? Let’s find out.
“A robot’s primary function is to obey.” If this is true, then Anki’s Cozmo robot fails—and fails spectacularly. When I first saw a YouTube video featuring Cozmo, my first reaction was “Is this thing too cool or what?” Cozmo is a robot with a mind of its own coupled with a major attitude. This Wall-e …
Cozmo is a robot with a big brain and an even bigger personalityRead More
I can’t decide if this animatronic robot is creepy or cool, so I’ll let you be the judge. Professor Albert Einstein by Hanson Robotics is a 14.5-inch tall robot who can teach you science. He can make over 50 facial expressions, maintains eye contact, quotes Einstein himself, tells jokes, challenges you to games, chats, and …
Get blinded with science from your very own mini Professor Einstein robotRead More
Before receiving Cubetto, the thought of teaching computer programming to our young boys, ages four and six, never crossed our minds. Even though I am an engineer, I had not yet considered how to give them some basic tools that would perk their interest in STEM subjects, specifically computers. Our kids are as efficient as any …
Have you ever wanted to learn how the basic functions of your favorite gadgets work? What does it take to make an LED light up? This mini kit from Circuit Scribe can teach you the basics of electronics without also needing to learn how to solder and wire up components.
SNL’s Amy Poehler and her Smart Girls organization have teamed up with Lenovo to use gaming as a vehicle to help teach kids (boys and girls) to learn to program for free. Lenovo’s Game State site allows kids to learn code development at their own pace while having fun at the same time. To advance …
Comedic actress Amy Poehler and Lenovo join forces to teach kids to programRead More
I’m sure you’ll be shocked to discover that when I was in high school, most of my elective classes were trended toward science. My two all-time favorite classes where “Power and Energy Technology” and “Robotics”. In both those classes we were tasked with building simple machines using motors, circuit boards, power supplies, etc. I enjoyed …
When I was a senior in high school I took a physics class and absolutely hated it. I struggled to keep up with the rest of the class and ended up dropping out halfway through the year. A few years later I had to take a physics class in college. I immediately remembered my high …