REVIEW – I have always been a fan of all things robotic, and it seems that my 5-year-old son has the same addiction. Over the past 2 years, I have probably purchased over a dozen robots for him. This time around, I got the chance to test and review the Makeblock Motionblock Robot Kit which …
REVIEW – Earlier this year, my son was diagnosed with ADHD, and since then I have been in pursuit of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) type kits and devices to aid in his growth, learning, and expression. It was very obvious that his creativity was one of his strong skills. He has the ability …
REVIEW – Have you ever wanted to learn to program/code? Or maybe you have a young child who wants to write their own programs. The Computer Touch Kit from Kano will not only help you learn the fundamentals of programming, but it will let you do that learning on a touchscreen computer that you build yourself. …
NEWS – When I was a kid I loved to doodle and draw my own comics. Actually, I still love to do that! But back then and even now I just use a pad of paper and a pen which isn’t very Gadgeteer worthy compared to the cool new Osmo Super Studio that lets kids …
Osmo lets kids become animators of their favorite Disney characters Read More
NEWS – Kano who produces a variety of STEM kits for kids (and adults) to learn to build their own computers and learn to code have partnered with Warner Brothers to offer the Harry Potter Kano Coding Kit. This kit allows kids to build their own wand and then use it to control onscreen objects …
Use the magic of Harry Potter to learn programming Read More
Here’s a fabulous way to use augmented reality (AR) – on a globe! The Shifu Orboot is an educational 10″ globe for kids ages 4-10 that uses the Orboot app (iOS, Android, Kindle) to provide an AR interactive experience. The app provides information on cultures, monuments, inventions, animals, maps and weather for various countries. This globe does NOT have …
Reach out and touch something with the Shifu Orboot AR globe Read More
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 review Read 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 paper Read 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 learn Read 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 personality Read More