Toys

The Balancing Tree will help your child develop fine motor skills

balancing tree toy

I thought of Jenga when I saw the Balancing Tree toy, but the Balancing Tree looks much less difficult and frustrating for children.  PlanToys developed the Balancing Tree using its principals of sustainability.  They are  a”leading company that has created a new material and process as part of our zero waste goals. Continuing our commitment […]

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This game not only improves your child’s memory, it helps him remember family members

pinhole press memory card game 2

I’ve heard of people who make little photo books for their young children that contain pictures of their family members who live far away.  The child may not see Grammy very often, but she’ll be familiar with Grammy’s face from looking at the photo album and talking with her parents about the pictures as they

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This new LEGO set puts girls in their places – working as scientists in the Research Institute

LEGO research institute set for girls 1

LEGO worked with  Ellen Kooijman, a geoscientist, to create this new play kit that shows female minifigs as scientists working in the Research Institute.  Then LEGO Ideas members selected this kit that contains everything these three scientists need to “explore the world below, around and above us.”  The chemist figure has a lab with glassware and

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You want to dress like Captain Picard? Make it so!

star trek picard jacket 2

This jacket is as much like the original jacket worn by Jean-Luc Picard in the Star Trek: The Next Generation show as it can humanly be.  An original, screen-worn jacket that’s been preserved by a private collector was used as the pattern for this replica.  Synthetic fabrics were carefully color-matched to the original, and details, like

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Empty your Gringotts account for this game

etsy monopoly harrypotter

I’m actually happy Harry Potter hasn’t officially been made into a Monopoly game, as it deserves quite a few more bells and whistles than the standard ‘opoly treatment.  Lack of an official product has given fans an opportunity to fill that void with extremely creative iterations.  I’ve seen impressive printable files on Pinterest over the years,

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Cartegram is a global scavenger hunt game

cartegram

Cartegram is a Kickstarter campaign for a scavenger hunt game that gets you off the couch and outside exploring your own town. Don’t worry, it’s not like geocaching where you have to use a GPS and sometimes cryptic clues to find the cache. Cartegram looks to be a significantly easier than that because everyone who plays will have

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Strong Like Bull Throw Magnets offer a fun fling at your fridge

throwmagnets

Ever toss a magnet at something to watch it stick? Simple but fun, right? Until you scratch or gouge the surface where the magnet lands. Brian Conti wanted to capture the fun of tossing magnets and watching them stick to things while avoiding damage to the magnet or the surface, so he created the crowedfunded Kickstarter

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This coloring book is not for the kiddies!

between the lines

No, it’s not that kind of coloring book!  Between the Lines is an “expert level coloring book”, full of intricate drawings by Peter Deligdisch.  You’ll need some sharp colored pencils, a very steady hand, and an ability to really keep it between the lines to color in these images.  The book has 22 hand-drawn images of “varying difficulties

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LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3 Discovery Book – New from No Starch Press

EV3D cover web

LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3 Discovery Book by Laurens Valk is a complete beginner’s guide to building and programming robots using the newest EV3 kit from LEGO. This is the follow up to his bestselling LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT 2.0 Discovery Book. Laurens is a MINDSTORMS Community Partner and has years of experience building and testing MINDSTORMS robots. LEGO

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Stepping on a LEGO brick won’t hurt if you’re wearing these slippers

lego slippers1

Are you a LEGO fan? I bet you don’t have a pair of these snazzy LEGO slippers under your bed. Only the true LEGO fanatic will add a pair of these LEGO Brick slippers from Convenient Gadgets & Gifts to their brick collection. These slippers are designed in the shape of a 6 post brick

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LEGO MINDSTORMS Build 4 Good Robo Challenge event report

mindstorm ev3 1

This past week, the Gadgeteer Kid and I had the opportunity to attend the “Build 4 Good” LEGO MINDSTORMS Robo Challenge at The EMP Museum here in Seattle. The premiss of the competition was to use MINDSTORMS to solve real problems or otherwise improve someone’s daily life. I have been playing with LEGO as far back as I

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Why fold a crane when you could fold Yoda instead?

star wars origami

Are you interested in origami but not so interested in folding the traditional figures?  With the Star Wars Origami book, you can fold Star Wars robots, ships, and people.  There are instructions for folding 36 figures – from Boba Fett to R2-D2.  You’ll also get 72 sheets of specially designed origami paper, so your folded

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Get your bounty hunter on with The Bounty Hunter Code: From the Files of Boba Fett

The Bounty Hunter Code

We showed you “Star Wars: The Jedi Path“. We piqued your interest in the dark side with the “Book of Sith: Secrets from the Dark Side“. Now we want to expose your inner bounty hunter with “The Bounty Hunter Code: From the Files of Boba Fett“. Written by Daniel Wallace, Ryder Windham and Jason Fry

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