Best learning & education toys according to redditors

I disagree that it should be mandatory. There should be reasonable exceptions to any rule. My niece is homeschooled. But she is currently 7 years old and her mother has a master's degree in education. The reason she is homeschooled is because my brother has a job that requires him to travel a great deal. So by homeschooling, the family gets to be together more.

My seven year old niece currently reads at a much higher grade level than she would be exposed to in public school (barring an accelerated program) and is also proficient in math and science (relative to her age of course).

For Christmas, I just bought her board games that teach programming and scientific concepts and both her and her parents loved them. And in her short life she has seen more of the world and been to more museums and historical places than I have at 39.

I have also talked to my brother and his wife about how they plan on handling her education as she gets older and they both admit that, as she gets older, they both believe they will need to place her in an actual school to ensure she gets a well-rounded education. But if she continues to learn at the rate she is now, there is some concern around her transition.

EDIT - Lots of folks asking about what board games. The ones I bought her this year are...


Gravity Maze


Code Masters Programming Logic Game

A few years ago I got her


Robot Turtles




I wanted to buy her this, but it was on back order and would not have arrived while she was visiting. I showed it to my brother and he told me to definitely keep that in mind for her birthday or Christmas next year.

https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B004FEXUP4/

The chain thingies are nice silent and discreet ones. I use them during meetings and talks, and it doesn't bother those around me. I also like tangle toys for silent fidgeting in the office, but it's a bit too conspicuous for meetings or talks.

US version...

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008Y48DYY/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_apa_i_hRHHDbNPNXSNH

So, this is just like Robot Turtles but with a tiny, actual robot. Saves you $200, and you just have to move the pieces yourself.

I set up my 9 year old with super complex single player maps and she loves it. Has played it off and on since 4.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00HN2BXUY/

This robot is cool too though!

Try snap circuits:
http://www.amazon.ca/Elenco-Snap-Circuits-Jr-SC-100/dp/B00008BFZH/ref=sr_1_3?s=toys&ie=UTF8&qid=1417963646&sr=1-3&keywords=snap+circuits

The links for the JR. Snap Circuits which is what I used in summer camp for kids 4-12. Kids love them because they can try to make their own circuits and there's some really cool ones in the attached book. There're the really basic ones that just light a bulb but they get more and more complicated. Only warning is that it comes with a fan that can fly off and potentially cut someone, so I'd supervise him very carefully.

EDIT: The kit does say 8+ but you can use it with younger kids without too much trouble. I used to keep the batteries and just make sure it was all connected properly with the younger kids.

https://www.amazon.com/Ferrotec-Magnetic-Ferrofluid-Science-Projects/dp/B00126P1NW
Amazon seems to sell some, but be careful with it. It’s quite bad for your body, kinda like Quicksilver.

Probably one of those silver conductive pens used for making/fixing circuit board. Or conductive copper tape.
https://www.amazon.com/Circuit-Scribe-Conductive-Ink-Pen/dp/B00OZATJ3A and https://www.amazon.com/Copper-Tape-Conductive-Adhesive-50ft/dp/B01KAJIBLA/ref=sr_1_sc_1?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1497783953&sr=1-1-spell&keywords=cunductive+copper+tape

https://www.amazon.com/Anki-000-00048-Cozmo-Old-Packaging/dp/B01GA1298S

We made some of it in the lab a long time ago. People really love playing with it. Though be careful, the stuff is usually very unsafe so keep it sealed. For anyone looking for some:

Link

I have been meaning to buy this for my personal use, I do not know if it is as good as others, but there is the link anyway.

I got curious about that Jupiter globe and this shit is expensive but looks cool: http://www.amazon.com/Mova-MG-45-JUPITER-Jupiter-MOVA-Globe/dp/B008Y48DYY

I also made the same upgrade you did, and only recently started using this method. I just ordered these from Amazon which I hope will help further :Sony A6000, A6300, A6500 Flash Bounce Cards https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00LEX4RW4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_isHwyb4Q7RVRF

I'm sure you could go down to PM and say exactly what you've said here and get more recommendations than you can handle.

There are lots and lots of cool, challenging and beautiful puzzles out there - and you live near a warehouse full of them!

I assume there's a retail store, too? and the guys who do their videos must work there as well as Allan Stein who founded the company - I'll bet they all love to recommend stuff.

That said, browsing the site is fun once you find your way around and can avoid the things you don't like

Here's my standard "how to get started" rap (a little old, so some items might be unavailable):

I'd say you probably want to check out several different categories of puzzle:

• Disentanglement - This includes the wire puzzles, but also the various metal, wood and rope and wire and string varieties. I'd look at a couple of the harder wire puzzles as well as one or two metal and string or wood and rope puzzles. If you're new to these, ThinkFun put out a "Houdini - Master of Escape" set that's actually like a step-by-step course in disentanglements
  
• Packing/Assembly - Usually wood or plastic, these range from the ever-popular Soma Cube and other "make this shape from these pieces" puzzles to really complex packing problems - often in the form of "put these pieces into the box so the lid will close" or "fit these pieces in the frame" There are also some interesting hybrids like the 4L puzzle from Cubic Dissection or the LUV puzzle from Rombol (a Stewart Coffin design that's pretty tricky)
  
• Interlocking Burrs - My favorite category. Includes the traditional 6-piece Burr and variations by the thousands. I highly recommend the work of Stephan Chomine and Osanori Yamamoto in this area, but there are lots of great designers. Baumegger, Demirhan, Eyckmans, etc. Do a search for Pelikan (a manufacturer) on various puzzle sites. This is a pretty deep category with lots to explore - one subgenre is the TIC puzzle (Turning Interlocking Cube) which BurrTools won't solve (look for work by Ken Irvine, Jeff Namkung or Jos Bergmans). See more below
  
• Puzzle Boxes - Lots of fairly shoddy ones around, but some very nice things out of Japan (check the Karakuri Creation Group). The good ones tend to be expensive.
  
• Twisty - Rubik's Cube and its descendants - not my thing, but there are a million variations out there.
  
• Sequential Movement - sliding block puzzles and various sequencing puzzles (sometimes an overlap with the Twisty or Disentanglement categories). A great, cheap example is Rush Hour from ThinkFun that, like the Houdini set mentioned earlier is like a graded course in sliding block puzzles
  
  Anyway, I'd say try a couple of disentanglement things (both wire and wood), a packing puzzle or two and a few interlocking burrs (I recommend trying a relatively traditional one and a couple of the fancier ones from Pelikan or Cubic Dissection). See what sort of things appeal to you and follow on from there.
  
  Do check out the links in the sidebar, too. Allard's Blog and PuzzleMad are great, Rob's Puzzle Page is vast and you can learn a lot just by browsing PuzzleMaster and some of the other shops.
  
  Here is a list of wooden burr-type puzzles under $30 that I have played with and enjoyed - I made this awhile ago so thy may not all still be available, but this should get you started
  
  **Open Box Packing aka Deadly Romance - a really nice caged burr
  
  Cross Cage by Tom Jolly - a burr? 3D maze? Pretty cool
  
  Four Caged - a really tough little caged burr
  
  Epsilon - a knockoff of Vertex Burr #1 , originally designed by Yavuz Demirhan in 2012 - great puzzle
  
  Shape Shifter - very tough assembly puzzle - soma cube on steroids
  
  Sarcophagus - surprisingly challenging. I have a thing for "3 sticks in a box" puzzles like Tribord
  
  Matchbox aka Oscar's Matchboxes- tricky and a cool idea
  
  Double Saturn - similar to some of Osanori Yamamoto's classic work, this is tough little Pelikan-style puzzle on the cheap
  
  Four L - like The Double Saturn above
  

• NOT to be confused with the **4L from Cubic Dissection (which is a truly great puzzle,but OOP now)
  
  Quadstair
  
  Four In The Box - just above the $30 limit, but it's pretty fun and two puzzles in one
  
  Feel free to ask questions on the sub about specific puzzles or categories
  
  Puzzlers are a pretty supportive community - welcome!

Messy, yes, but $20.99 isn't that expensive. And you can always try to make your own.

A 2 ounce bottle of ferrofluid goes for almost U$30 in Amazon.

Maybe the owner can sell the transmission fluid on ebay and use the money to buy a new trans?

I think OP is referencing something quite a bit different from a standard breadboard. It's probably something more like this:

http://www.amazon.com/Elenco-Electronic-Playground-Learning-Center/dp/B0035XSZDI/ref=zg_bs_2528073011_12

They also come with rather large booklets that give definitions of all the electrical components and what they do as well as instructions for dozens of different cool projects you can build with it. I remember mine had projects for like a rain detector, a security alarm, a morse code clicker, etc.

I used to play Rush Hour when I was a kid. It's a puzzle game where you move cars/trucks around in an attempt to get your red car out of the traffic jam. They get progressively harder as you go along.

https://www.amazon.com/ThinkFun-5000-Rush-Hour/dp/B00000DMER

Anki Cozmo

One of these is more reliable than the original wiring

Free Stuff:

• Use Capture One Express for raw processing; its free.
  
• Use DaVinci Resolve for video editing; its free.
  
• Be able to shoot videos longer than 30 minutes.
  
  Low Cost (Under $30):
  
  
• Have at least one or two spare batteries.
  
• Remote triggers are nice; long range ones are even better.
  
• Mini Tripods are better than no tripod.
  
• Get a hot shoe cover (with a bubble).
  
• Almost always shoot with your lens hood on.
  
• Get the timelapse app.
  
• These flash bounce cards are magic.
  
  Expensive:
  
  
• Shoot RAW and get a big SD card.
  
• The sigma 30mm F/1.4 is almost glued on. I use it a lot.
  
• If looking for a flash checkout Flashpoint and the transmitter (rebranded godox). I have 3 of them.
  
• Flash Bender is a great all around flash modifier; knockoffs work pretty well. If you get a big flash you'll want a modifier.
  
  
  Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/SonyAlpha/comments/4zb5zt/what_are_the_things_i_should_know_read_about_my/
  

https://www.amazon.com/Elenco-AmeriKit-Learn-Solder-Kit/dp/B0009Z3JJA

They might be interested in something like this.

I'd actually got that for my 10 year old nephew before and he had a blast with it until he ran out of projects to make. Teaches them how to make all kinds of neat little inventions while they learn how circuitry and electricity works.

It is called Rush Hour ;)

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Think-Fun-5000-Rush-Puzzle/dp/B00000DMER

Preschool teacher here!

Expensive STEM stuff -- I've worked with all of them. If I had to get one, I'd probably do Osmo.

Bee bots

Dot and Dash

Cubetto

Osmo

---------

Other Manipulatives and Toys:

Reptangles - I found these at Savers and my students are super in to them right now.

Snap Circuits

Ikea Cars (not really stem but fun and high quality)

Mobilos -- can create cars but also so many other things

Marble runs of any style

"Pattern Play" Blocks -- We have these but I don't have the instructions, but kids still end up making fun designs out of them!

BIG Waffle Blocks

Architectural blocks sets -- for example

------

I have a major soft spot for board games (and related) at this age. Here are a few I love.

Animal Upon Animal

The Little Orchard

Count Your Chickens

Snug as a Bug in a Rug

Snail's Pace Race

Rivers, Roads, and Rails

-----

Ultimately, though, your focus should be on having fun! Your 3 year old does not need to be reading and writing or doing basic math. He should be learning to play cooperatively, self regulate, and be independent. I would focus on language skills and his ability to communicate effectively and understand directions. I teach Pre-K (currently 5 year olds about to go into Kindergarten) and I do not care at all whether they can write their names or do simple math.

https://www.amazon.com/Ferrofluid-2oz-Bottle-Science-Projects/dp/B00126P1NW

Why is this $8,300 again?

So my nails used to look just like this. I still pick a bit but I am light years better than I used to be. I'm gonna ramble about what I went through.

So I eventually decided to get treated for depression and I started seeing a therapist specifically for the purpose of stopping the skin picking. During those sessions I came to the realization that the picking is a self harming behavior. I may not be taking razors to my arms or legs, but I am doing the picking in part because I want to hurt myself.

There was also the tactile sensation that drove me bonkers and I hated having loose bits of skin, rough spots, or hangnails I could feel. This, my therapist concluded, was attached to some minor OCD behaviors I have. Medication has helped tremendously.

So here's what I ended up doing:
Carrying around a thing of Vaseline. I had regular and one with cocoa butter in it. Basically, every time I started feeling for rough spots I'd smear Vaseline across my fingers.

I also invested in gloves. These are the ones I bought specifically and I freaking love them: https://foxglovesinc.com/collections/protextgloves

FIDGET TOYS! I got some of these: https://www.amazon.com/Set-Tangle-Jr-Original-Fidget/dp/B0034EKP8Q/ref=sr_1_14?ie=UTF8&qid=1494119292&sr=8-14&keywords=fidget+toys
Also stress ball toys are your friends.

I am not one for getting my nails done, so I just kept my nails trimmed as short as I could stand it without hitting the nail bed. This resulted in effectively not having enough leverage most of the time to pick at anything.

I also carried around a pair of nail clips. I did the trimming of the loose, rough skin by taking a pair of nail clips to the problem area. Getting my nail deep enough to hurt, and getting the clips deep enough to hurt are REALLY different and the nail clips were definitely more unpleasant. This helped me do just enough so I wouldn't annoy the crap out of myself, and get rid of the problem without causing more problems.

I also had to start paying attention to when I was picking absently and then train myself to reach for one of the many items that I've started carrying around with me instead.

I've also trained myself to rub firmly when doing the "searching" behavior absently like while sitting at a desk. This one's a little harder for me to describe. Like, I'll be running my thumb over my finger nails and instead of doing it absently, I try to make it a conscious thing. And when I do pick, I actively look at what I'm doing and 9 times out of 10 it results in me whipping out the nail clips to get rid of the offending piece of skin without hurting myself.

I also took up crochet in order to keep my hands busy when I wasn't doing something else. Coloring books and origami were also really helpful in this way.

I'm pretty sure this is a behavior I'm going to have the rest of my life and it is something to manage. There's good days and bad, and I tell my SO when I've completely shredded my cuticles, it's a good indicator that something is bothering me even if I'm not consciously aware of it. With that said, I am aware and sensitive to my stress levels. I do what I can to resolve my sources of stress when at all possible because I am more liable to pick out of a desire to feel pain than just as an idle behavior if I'm really stressed.

According to USPS it'd be about $7 USD. It'd likely take a few weeks to get there too.

EDIT: Found it on Amazon.UK for £0.98 with free shipping. So now you can have that exact model and save some money.

And here's an Amazon link for $1.62 USD for the same model if anyone is interested in buying it instead of hoping for the freebie.

They used to sell them on ThinkGeek, I got one a few years ago. They also sell them on Amazon , or the company’s website

You could get them an indoor star projector thingy like this. Or maybe a moon in my room and a really soft throw blanket.


Or how about a theme park gift card? That way they can buy the tickets when they want. Maybe if they like a certain theme park with certain characters you can buy them a novelty from it (like a Steamboat Willy) and some candy themed from there.


Nature? Awesome! How about wildlife documentaries on DVD? Maybe a cool wilderness guidebook? What about a butterfly kit? Oo! How about a firefly light?


Ok I'm out of ideas off of the top of my head for now, but I think it really is doable. :)


^I'm ^trying ^here

That looks really interesting! For younger kids I would recommend snap circuits for ease of use.

Fidgets! Small objects like Tangles or Cubes that her clients can play with. These are fantastic for helping people burn off nervous energy or hyperactivity with their hands while they talk. They're great because your friend can play with them herself and then also use them with clients.

Correct. I take low-light music events photos with the flash straight up https://www.flickr.com/photos/heri_quebec/24599344602/in/dateposted-public/ Works great if the ceiling is white

To make it easier you could get one of these bounce gear: http://www.amazon.com/Sony-A6000-Flash-Bounce-Card/dp/B00LEX4RW4/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1454252426&sr=8-5&keywords=sony+a6000+flash

There are lots of great gender neutral toys for all ages! I'm especially fond of building toys, especially for younger kids. Blocks and tinker toys are great (I looooooved mine), and legos (especially those open-ended sets) are good for when they get a little older.

Educational toys are also a good one. A three-year-old isn't gonna realize that a set of Go Fish Alphabet cards will help them learn the alphabet. They think it's just a fun game. Older children can move into board games and puzzle games like Rush Hour.

A lot of arts and craft kits are gender neutral, too. Remember those Klutz books? Sure, they've got Glitter Face Paint While You Do Your Nails and Have a Tea Party kits (which, tbh, I actually don't think are that bad), but they've also got some awesome kits for paper airplanes, origami, learning magic, and learning to sew (a skill that everyone should have).

Also, science toys and kits. Chemistry sets are perfect for older kiddos, and younger ones are happy with dinosaur action figures or solar system plushies.

Finally, books. You can never go wrong with books.

What did you enjoy playing with as a child? Does the giftee have any particular interests (e.g. crafts, music, reading, science)? I'd start with those two questions and go from there.

I think this is the bun version for the Rush Hour Traffic Jam game...

https://www.amazon.com/ThinkFun-Rush-Traffic-Logic-Girls/dp/B00000DMER

Here

It costs $180-American. Most likely much more if you're from a different country.

Don't take out the screws or the software gets corrupted. Corrupted as fuck and crazy expensive. You may also discover the terrible secret of the Snap Classic. Seriously though, this 'info vid' was made around '06-'07 and is truly a piece of work. He's a terrible liar. One of the worst I've seen. Awkward. He can't even look in the camera when he starts laying it on thick.

That box could be replicated for under $20. A box, a couple of lights, switches, a timer relay, and the secret 'Miricle Whip' size container. The guy doesn't even bother with an A/C adapter and ops for the 9 volt battery. I guess your Bio-Photon Analyzer needs to be portable. He sells these things for $1900USD on eBay.

Dude has a whole series of vids for this scam.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLIDXbNXtRd82LHjfO9ycLKhAySlskwfHG

This. You can find decent starting irons on Amazon with solder. You might consider buying a few ”learn to solder" soldering kits from Amazon. They come with all the parts needed, and the instructions teach you how to assemble the components (you then have to solder them in the board it came with)

Iron set example: (good for basic /beginner projects) https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01H1IFT54/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1523313329&sr=8-4&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=soldering+kit&dpPl=1&dpID=51rAt23O28L&ref=plSrch

Electronics kit beginner example (these are fun to do imo)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0002LUAL6/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1523313465&sr=8-2&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=elenco+soldering+kit&dpPl=1&dpID=519bj4ev-jL&ref=plSrch

Thank god I live in Canada, I only have to pay a 1185% premium!

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Too-bloody-expensive/dp/B008Y48DYY

https://www.amazon.com/Still-bloody-expensive/dp/B008Y48DYY/

MOVA Globes

10 left here.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008Y48DYY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_aJtyybNAF84GC

Colored plastic tokens are $5.60 on Amazon, you can write in them with a sharpie or erasable marker.

[Learning tokens] (https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B00004WKPM/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_t1_sbfHAbT0B0Q9R)

Following this idea, the OP could get one of the electronics kits where instead of programming, you put some circuit blocks together, as in SnapCircuits: http://www.amazon.com/Elenco-SC-300-Snap-Circuits/dp/B0000683A4

Check out Snap Circuits and Snap Circuits Jr. as well.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00008BFZH/

I got this for my gfs niece last year. Her mother said she loves it. https://www.amazon.com/Snap-Circuits-SC-100-Electronics-Discovery/dp/B00008BFZH/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1467901834&sr=8-8&keywords=science+toys

>First, can any of you recommend some good kid-friendly resources for learning the fundamentals of physics, electrical theory and engineering, particularly as they relate to Nerf blasters?

https://smile.amazon.com/Nerf-Blaster-Modification-Guide-Unofficial-ebook/dp/B07KGG7P89/

https://smile.amazon.com/Thinking-Physics-Practical-Lessons-Critical/dp/0935218068/

This same kind of thing can be accomplished using breadboard, nerf mod supplies, switches, battery packs, solid-core wire, and a multimeter.

https://smile.amazon.com/Snap-Circuits-SC-100-Electronics-Exploration/dp/B00008BFZH/

https://smile.amazon.com/3D-Printing-Projects-DK/dp/0241302218/

And then when a bit older

https://smile.amazon.com/Research-Design-Qualitative-Quantitative-Approaches/dp/1506386709/

If they liked the perplexus, get the child a Snap Circuit Jr. Its a great learning tool for electronics and circuits, but also a ton of fun to build things along the way. Comes with instructions for like 80+ different mini games etc.

https://www.amazon.ca/Elenco-Snap-Circuits-Jr-SC-100/dp/B00008BFZH

You can also add onto the kit later if they enjoy it.

You can't really skip the theory if you want to work on meaningful, original projects; you probably don't have to read "The Art of Electronics" (1000+ pages!), though. If you have a basic understanding of physics or software engineering, I would shamelessly plug my own short but anatomically correct guide to electronics here.

When it comes to hands-on experience: IMO, single-purpose kits (from Sparkfun and so forth) are probably not that great. They are good to practice soldering and get results quick, but do not teach you much: when you are done, you likely won't be able to recreate that circuit from scratch, or alter it to your liking. Trying to understand - and then building - various projects from All About Circuits, Make blog, or so, might be more worthwhile, as they usually come with a much better and more verbose explanation of how things work, and how the author arrived at that particular design.

Oh, and here's an unorthodox tip: if you are intimidated by breadboards or perfboards, this great set should be a good way to experiment with fairly sophisticated circuits, too. I have it for my kid, but I would not be ashamed starting with it as an adult: unlike their "snap-on" sets, it's not dumbed down at all.

What next? As soon as you are reasonably comfortable with analog electronics, you should try harnessing the power of digital circuits. My recommendation would be to start with understanding 7400 series ICs (well, 74HC), and build a variety devices with it. Heck, a calculator or a rudimentary computer is really not that complicated, and it's extremely satisfying to put them from basic logic components alone!

At that point, moving to AVR ATmega microcontrollers (using avr-gcc or WinAVR) should be a breeze - and will enable you to do complex data processing and output control for your circuits with little or no effort.

A seemingly convenient shortcut is to go with Arduino for digital circuitry instead; the upside is that the platform has a less pronounced learning curve, and a vibrant hobbyist community. The downside is that you end up paying a lot more, and you will soon realize there is no escaping the pesky low-level details if you want to master more advanced devices.

Want to learn to solder without screwing up your bass? Buy one of these kits for like $12 instead. It comes with a cheap soldering iron, good instructions, and a little siren kit you can put together and screw up with no worries. http://www.amazon.com/Elenco-AmeriKit-Learn-Solder-Kit/dp/B0009Z3JJA

If you're taking your first steps into wiring, then you should get comfortable working with wires and tools. Here is a kit that will introduce you to wiring, soldering, etc.

Along with that, there are a few tools that might be useful to you:

• A small stand with clips and magnifying glass
  
• Solder wick for desoldering
  
• Soldering tip cleaner
  
• Extra supply of solder
  
  And there are videos on YouTube that will teach you how to properly solder a wire to a soldering point. For that Elenco kit, the main goal is to get both the siren and the flashing lights to work, which it will if you wired everything correctly and used the correct resistors. It can be easy to make mistakes while learning to solder for the first time but most mistakes can be fixed, and it's very difficult to cause enough damage to render the board completely unusable.
  
  Also, one note of caution: soldering irons are extremely hot, as the intent is to liquify the solder and attach it to the soldering points.

Normally you wouldn't want ferrofluid around kids. It shouldn't be drank for obvious reasons, and it's extremely messy if it gets on clothes, furniture, etc.

You can buy fluid on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Ferrofluid-2oz-Bottle-Science-Projects/dp/B00126P1NW. Get an enclosed glass decanter to put it in and some neodymium magnets.

Great Scott, man. I used to have like 30 or 40... I can't find them now (think my mom got rid of them) ;-;

They were the best for tactile therapy and my fine-motor control...

I found a 3-pack of them for $13 US... I'm so tempted to buy them LOL.

Found These on Amazon

I really like the spring-connect kits for your purpose. He'll be able to learn some from the manual, and hook it up without requiring other components. $65 is a bit steep tho. Try amazon.

$1.62 each shipped here.

https://www.amazon.com/Mova-MG-45-JUPITER-Jupiter-MOVA-Globe/dp/B008Y48DYY

Smile link

https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B008Y48DYY/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_apa_i_hRHHDbNPNXSNH

Have you checked out the flash bounce cards? They're relatively unique to the NEX/a6x line because of the off-center flash design. It holds up the on-camera flash for you, and also acts as a diffuser. I found it very helpful for shooting indoors, especially if there's low ceilings.

Came here to say a butterfly growing kit. You get the kit and a voucher to order the cup of butterflies when the parents are ready to have them. Then they hatch and you let them free. It’s super cool. Ages 2 through myself at 34 love them. Insect Lore Butterfly Growing Kit - With Voucher to Redeem Caterpillars Later https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00000ISC5/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_obnTDbVK4AB6X

When I was a 9 year old girl, I thought building circuits was the freakin' coolest thing ever. Snap Circuits is a cool kit for building some fun electronic projects. This is one of the smaller kits - there are bigger ones or upgrade kits if she gets into it. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0000683A4 Seriously, people love this thing.

These are in regular rotation at my house:

[Snap Circuits] (https://www.amazon.com/Snap-Circuits-SC-100-Electronics-Discovery/dp/B00008BFZH/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1479317434&sr=8-1&keywords=snap+circuits)

[Xyloba Musical Marble Run] (https://www.amazon.com/Xyloba-Musical-Marble-Run-Mezzo/dp/B0039BDB8U/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1479317393&sr=8-1&keywords=xyloba)

[hot wheels cars and track] (https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=hot+wheels+track) - we don't have any of the prefab sets, just the track - miles of it from what it feels like.

Art Supplies - paper, paint, markers, colored pencils, oil pastels

[And then adding on to Legos, books like Crazy Contraptions or Chain Reactions] (https://www.amazon.com/Klutz-LEGO-Chain-Reactions-Craft/dp/0545703301/ref=pd_sim_21_17?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=D9EYSBSVT92VETETB5WS)


Board games -

Sleeping Queens, Card and Go Seek, Creature Clash, Battle Ship, checkers, Sorry

No, I haven't actually. But telling people to be careful does no preclude people from being able to do some basic soldering. Because assembling a keyboard is actually pretty low on the required skill level.

If you'd like to learn how to solder, here's a kit you can buy. You'll realize that it's actually quite a fun skill to have, and attempting the assembly of a keyboard might be something you'll learn you're interested in.

http://www.amazon.com/Elenco-AmeriKit-Learn-Solder-Kit/dp/B0009Z3JJA

If you're interested in learning to solder, you can get a cheapo beginner's kit for less than $20. These take about an hour or two for a novice to get through. It's a nice card to add to your man deck without investing too much time or money.

Learn to solder kit complete with iron... $14.81
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0009Z3JJA/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_aVZDDb8TYXTHK

something like this

Youtubes

Trial and Error

Stuff like aftermarket stereo (assuming a basic install of head unit + Subwoofer) are relatively easy, but also very easy to do very badly.

The basics are - everything needs Power(+) and Ground(-), and in cars a some stuff will get it's ground from the frame (door pins, etc) or engine block. Everything needs a fuse. If you're connecting a new wire directly to the Positive (+) battery terminal it MUST HAVE A FUSE OH GOD PLEASE READ THIS AND NEVER FORGET IT.

For example, on a basic head unit you have a bunch of wires, but they're all doing really simple things. 4 pairs ( 8 wires) are for speakers, each one has a - and a +. Then you have the main power, the ignition power, and a ground (used by both powers). Then you usually have a + and - feeding a power antenna/signal booster. So you really just have 3 things wired up - Speakers, Power, and Antenna.

If you really want to learn it, grab some cheap "Electrical experiments" kit and you'll learn quick how different components work together and what kind of mistakes you can make in a pretty low-risk environment.

link for the lazy:
http://www.amazon.com/Solar-Car-Smallest-Powered-Educational/dp/B004FEXUP4/ref=sr_sp-atf_title_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1397096645&sr=8-1&keywords=Solar+Powered+Toy+Car

These particular ones you just buy whole! http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004FEXUP4/ref=wms_ohs_product?ie=UTF8&psc=1 I bought them four of them on sale from Amazon for $1.50 each, so you can probably find a lot better deals than the current if you look around a bit. Also, they aren't really as flawless as the video shows, they need a lot of direct light to work and they get stopped up by little rocks and stuff pretty easy. Still really cool, though.

https://www.amazon.com/Mova-MG-45-JUPITER-Jupiter-MOVA-Globe/dp/B008Y48DYY

Snap circuit sets are cool - they aren't necessarily something you play with afterwards, but since he likes putting things together, he can take apart and rebuild endlessly. It's for 8 and up, but if he can read on an 8 year old level or just follow the charts, he should be able to do it. He can also try his own projects. They're fun.

You can also use these http://www.amazon.com/A6000-A6300-Flash-Bounce-Cards/dp/B00LEX4RW4?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00

Easy fix my friend.

Fidgets! I have and will always have a fidget bucket in my room. It's got little things for students.I'm someone who either needs to sway or fiddle with something in my hands... so I totally get these students. If you just search "fidgets" on Amazon you can find a ton of different sensory toys. This is a favorite of mine and my students. HOWEVER! For drummers in particular, I keep straws and doubled up pipe cleaners. You can't hear it like their fingers, pencils, etc. but if you're going to introduce a fidget bucket, I highly recommend having a conversation. Fidgets are to help, not distract or disrupt.

Where is the red car?

I only own of a couple of these, but if I were to throw a prototyping jam I would get:

Color Sharpies

Blank Boards

Blank Cards

Blank Tokens

Pawns

Counters

Dice

I think that would cover 95% of anything you'd want!

First of all props to you to introduce your son to electronics and ask to find a good method for him to learn it out of interest.

I remember having electronics kits which had a bunch of simple components connected by those metal spring terminals. They often came with booklets to go step by step through simple projects to gain some understanding.

Perhaps you could look at toy shops and see if they carry some educational electronics kits? I remember book shops also sold them though I'm not sure if they'd still.

I found this on Amazon, seems a bit different with magnets snapping together but looks like it goes step by step in explaining: https://www.amazon.com/Snap-Circuits-SC-300-Electronics-Discovery/dp/B0000683A4/. Looks a bit expensive but not sure if that's different in the US.

Oh boy I even found one of those kits with the spring terminals: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00000IUD2

Best of luck!

I'm an engineer at an electric utility and we use Snap Circuits to demonstrate basic concepts of electricity to middle- and high-schoolers. The kit has a lot of variety in the activities and is a simple means of experimenting with electricity. It's easy to assemble and reconfigure too, which is nice. I've spent hours at various public outreach events playing with this toy and would recommend it to kids and adults alike.

Snap circuits would be perfect.

http://www.amazon.com/Elenco-SC-300-Snap-Circuits/dp/B0000683A4

Snap Circuts is the modern version of my favorite toy as a kid... It's pretty easy to start on this and by the time he's able to safely use a soldering iron he'll totally be able to design and build circuts.

Snap Circuits Jr. SC-100 Electronics Exploration Kit | Over 100 STEM Projects | 4-Color Project Manual | 30 Snap Modules | Unlimited Fun https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00008BFZH/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_YBD9BbYEFZTDE

http://www.amazon.com/Snap-Circuits-SC-100-Electronics-Discovery/dp/B00008BFZH

My daughter loves hers. It's enough of a "toy" to not have a serious mentality.

Toy robots like Transformers Rescue Bots might work for her age. As she gets older, introduce her to toys like Snap Circuits to help her learn about electronics. Understanding about electronics will come in handy for anyone who likes building robots.

Way back when dinosaurs roamed the Earth and I was a young fella, I forget how old but probably pre-teen, my parents bought me something like this: http://www.amazon.com/Elenco-200-in-One-Electronic-Project-Lab/dp/B0002AHR04 To make a circuit, you'd just bend back a spring and shove a wire in between the coils. Looking at the "related products" on Amazon, it seems like there are a few competitive products out there too. The kit my parents got me kept me entertained for a very long time. This was possibly enhanced by my father who, being an electrical engineer, would periodically involve me fixing broken appliances, handing me the sledge to help tear down walls during renovations and whatnot.

This kit taught me the basics of flip-flops (which can be used to MAKE NOISE! as well as flash lights), relays etc.

---

My current flight of fancy is the Arduino and that may prove a more useful tool for you because it can all be done with low voltage, a bread board and a bunch of wires and even better, it needs a computer to program it. The Arduino IDE includes a whole bunch of example programs.

The most basic program is "flash" which just literally flashes an LED. Your next step would be to alter the duty cycle of the flashing. Now have it flash two LEDs and have them on different duty cycles.

A Chinese Arudino UNO clone Starter Kit (which in addition to some basic components and a breadboard includes a stepper motor, servo, tilt switches and other cool things) will set you back less than $50. Additional wires (I recommend getting a pack each of M-M, M-F and F-M dupont leads) are cheap as chips and will help you hook up all the other awesome things you can get like the "arduino sensor kit" which contains no less than 37 different kinds of "sensors" including ultrasonic range sensors, joysticks, push buttons, etc.

Armed with those two kids, a bunch of wires and a laptop running the Arduino IDE, there's a whole world of awesome to play with.

Show me pre-teen who wouldn't like an ultrasonic alarm pointed at her door to make a buzzer ring when mum opens the door, and I'll show you a kid who... is too engrossed in a book to notice. (OK, so my analogies aren't always top notch)

Now try and recreate that chip using only discrete components so you can understand how it actually amplifies signals. You should be able to make a little push-pull amp with only two transistors, some supporting components, and maybe an impedance matching transformer for audio output.

Edit: http://www.circuitstoday.com/push-pull-amplifier

Edit: also, not even joking, maybe you can pick up one of these: https://www.amazon.com/Maxitronix-200-in-One-Electronic-Project-Lab/dp/B0002AHR04

I had that as a kid in the 90's and it really jumpstarted my understanding of discrete components. I learned the hard stuff first because of that kit, and only later in the 2000's picked up microcontrollers. At sixteen years old in '98, I built my own working guitar pedal, was so proud of myself because I learned the basics from that kit. It did distortion by overdriving with a preamp stage and also had a 8-ohm speaker output for portability. It sounded like utter trash, but it did what I wanted.

That's a tough one to answer really, but here are a few thoughts on the subject.

If you are looking for the really basic stuff, as in you still need to learn ohms law and how to read a circuit diagram you can start out with the absolute basics;

• 200 in one kit: I started out with this one in 1984 and it's still around. You can also do a search for "electronic bricks", "snap circuits" or some such. It's considered more of a toy than anything else, but it will quickly get you up to speed at least.
  
  
• There is a 2 part lab made to go with a book by Forrest Mims at Radio Shack... Can't find it online, but it's a pretty good kit that goes with a good reference. It's one of the few things Radio Shack offers at a sort of reasonable price.
  
  
• Check out any number of sites for "Basic Electronics Kit". A lot of kit places will separate their kids by skill level. This won't give you an in depth understanding of all things electronic, but it will give you the "learn by doing" experience. You'll build things like larson scanners, and refrigerator alarms, pretty useless, but they are cheap at least.
  
  
• I'm going to add 'any arduino kit' to the list. You won't get ohms law or reading circuit diagrams as part of the lesson plan, but most of these kits will have lessons on how not to fry your arduino and you can pick up the basics by induction
  
  Now, if you already have the circuit reading and ohms law down and you just want to know where to go from there, you've got a lot more choices.
  
  
• Assemble your own kit: Once a person finishes with the above suggestions, they realize that it all would have been cheaper had they just done this at the beginning... Unfortunately, before you go through the basics you probably have no idea what to get for your self assembled kit. Electronix Express has two parts kits and a tool kit. I wouldn't call them the best, but they do have a wide selection of parts at a decent price.
  
  
• Arduino kit. Yes, I mentioned this already, but it's also a good step when "moving up" and learning microcontroller basics. There are better microcontroller boards out there, but arduino is like Ubuntu Linux; lots of community support.
  
  
• Advanced kits. Yes, I skipped intermediate kits. You can still look at those, but really, the difference between basic, intermediate, and advanced kits to me seems to have more to do with confidence than anything else. More parts, more complex diagrams and instructions. These kits will take you longer, but they are no more difficult than any other. One thing they sometimes offer is customizability which offers a great learning experience. I DO suggest that you find a kit that has some kind of support; a forum on the sellers website, or even user made videos on youtube. The instructions you get may not mention things like using blue-tac to hold buttons in place or have other helpful hints that a community may have for you.
  
  Well, lot to think about there. Good luck, and don't forget /r/AskElectronics for help.

For a soldering kit, I used this one on amazon, it was great practice.

As for a soldering iron, look on ebay/amazon for a "936" soldering iron. Any of them are about the same, most are clones of the famous hakko 936.

The original 936 is too expensive in my opinion, I'm using a sparkfun clone 936 that unfortunately is no longer sold. Most of the other clones should be ok though.

The only think I would really recommend getting legit is a hakko chisel tip, like this one. Don't get those 10pc tip sets, they are cheap and it is much better to use just one good tip than a bunch of bad tips.

Lastly, if you want your tip to last a longer time, don't use a wet sponge, that can damage your tip. Use one of those copper hard brush things, I forget what they are called, but you can buy them at amazon/ebay.

Learn to Solder Kit

You should look into a kit like this one

• http://www.amazon.com/Elenco-AmeriKit-Learn-Solder-Kit/dp/B0009Z3JJA
  
  It has a soldering iron, and a bunch of components so you can learn how to solder. Pretty basic stuff.
  
  After that you should look into building a couple of the Velleman kits
  
  
• http://www.velleman.eu/products/list/?id=342509
  
  
  Beyond that, it's really up to yourself and what your interests are. Getting a grip of soldering and understanding how stuff is put together is a good starting point.

If he's going to be making his own cards, get him a corner rounder. It adds such a professional touch to have crisply rounded corners on cards. You might also get him one of those tubs of colored wooden cubes/primitive meeples as I have found that merely having some meeples (even if i know they aren't my final choice) is really inspiring to the game design process.

Set of 500 cubes https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000QDTVFG/ref=cm_sw_r_other_awd_9TR4wbGDN5EXN

Corner rounder: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000WWIPEE/ref=cm_sw_r_other_awd_XWR4wbKRGC9KT

I purchased a a bucket of these. They have come in very handy for all kinds of games, including print and play games.

edit: Just looking around amazon, I also found these not really cheap but there is a bunch of colors. Each color looks to be sold seperately for $5

I have done this for cruises a couple ways. I took a game box about the size of a Ticket to Ride box and collapsed about 20 games into it. It was pretty compact and you could definitely use a smaller box to fit and compact more games in.

The other way that was a bit easier and lighter was I took a 500 card count deck box and put 4 decks of cards in it: A rage deck, 2 decks of playing cards, and a pyramid deck (I used a Great Dalmuti deck for this one). I then used the rest of the space to fill with counters using these plastic cubes. You could also magic marker values on some of them for specific games. Jaipur is one that could come to mind.

There are geeklists like this one where people have figured out how to get creative with rage decks. With the playing card decks you can find a cheap playing card games book, and a book like all the Pairs variants for the pyramid deck.

Kinetic sand

Backstory... I'm a bit of a geek. Seriously. I've also got Gallium And ferrofluid.

BEST april fools prank. I have one I just did, so not really april fools but still wonderful. My coworkers helped me saran wrap one of my employee's car. It was fantastic, yes I have photographic evidence if anyone is interested. Truly. Another is taping an airhorn to the underside of my GM's chair.

Fin or embarrassing fact or story... um... wow. Okay, this is fun and embarrassing. OK, here goes....

I like Zumba... Like REALLY like zumba... I would do it every day if I had time. Lots of panting and sweating with my wii controller strapped to my hip. So fun.

http://www.amazon.com/Ferrofluid-2oz-Bottle-Science-Projects/dp/B00126P1NW

should be as simple as pouring the fluid into the container.

If your goal is distraction for children who aren't clients, you may want something that doesn't require requests. Board games miss pieces or children don't know the rules = request. Coloring book has no blank pages = request. Keep it simple.

• Box of crayons (not colored pencils, because they need sharpening)
  
• Tray of paper
  
• Balancing blocks or jenga
  
• Larger legos, if you're concerned about choking, building blocks
  
• Plastic figurines or small plush toys
  
• Stress balls
  
• Tangle Fidget Toy
  
• Puffer Balls

Fidgeting helps me keep focused however the fidget cube does nothing for me. It has several "sensory" options which are good if you're into that, but if you just want the movement, there are better options.

I'm personally a fan of tangles and these

RadioShack used to have those electronics project kits, like the 30 in 1, 160 in 1, etc.
They came with a manual and some easy diagrams for the first few projects, then the connection listing for more advanced ones.

All the wiring is done between spring terminals.

Like this https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0035XSZDI/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_t1_qgHXDbWM7TM2X

Well, a love for Dr Stone is a love for science. I don't know how old your brother is, but when I was a kid in the 90's science kits were way more common. I've seen some in Walmart and there's this $5 store called 5 below that has some but I'll look on Amazon and see what relevant kits I can find.

here's a telescope for $33. Senku's thing is space. Space is awesome. You may also consider seeing if your local college has a telescope, I was surprised to find out that mine does and it's open to the public!

Here's a crystal growing kit. Chrome loves rocks.

Here's a microscope and here's the one I lusted after after I saw one on TechTV Screensavers $18 so cheap now! Tempting...

Electronics kit!! I had one of these! My parents threw it away because they said I was obsessive about it.. now I watch Big Clive tear apart garden lights... Senku make a radio too, which I think you can make a crystal AM radio with this kit if I remember correctly.

Well, on-camera flash tends to look pretty terrible when it is pointed directly at the subject. (Think deer in headlights) Direction of light matters more than diffusing, but diffusing is useful.

So first, you want to address light direction:

1. Use a hot shoe mounted flash, but angle it upwards so it bounces off the ceiling and comes at your subject at a more natural/attractive angle. If you ever hear "bounce flash", that is really all it means, pointing somewhere to bounce onto the subject. Note that with the A6000 you can actually use its built-in flash and use your finger to point it upwards to achieve bounce. There are also these nifty little plastic things to do bounce. Found here:
   https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00LEX4RW4/
   
   
2. Use a flash off-camera flash with a hotshoe mounted transmitter. There are a number of options here.
   
   Once you get the hang of light direction, you can add "modifiers" like diffusers to the front of the flash to soften the light or direct it.
   
   I would experiment with bounce flash first with the built-in flash. Note that bounce flash becomes ineffective in places with high ceilings like hotel lobbies/atriums.
   
   Once you are ready to buy a flash, I recommend the Godox TT865S which supports Sony TTL and HSS for about $119. It can mount in the hotshoe for bouncing at much higher power than the built-in flash. It can also be used as a off-camera triggered flash with the Godox X1T-S transmitter. Both of these can be purchased for about $150 total. You can set the power level or flash compensation on the transmitter and put the flash on a stand or hold it out with your hand, or have a friend/assistant hold it to the side of the model, etc.
   
   Here is a amazon link for the Godox TT685S for $119 and includes a softbox diffuser that optionally covers the front of the flash:
   https://www.amazon.com/Godox-Speedlite-0-1-2-s-Supports-20-200mm/dp/B01DTXB66G
   
   Here is the transmitter for $46:
   https://www.amazon.com/Godox-Wireless-Trigger-Transmitter-ILCE6000L/dp/B01EHJM8QI/
   
   Please note that these links are NOT referral links, I am not trying to make any commission, these are just direct amazon links.
   
   Best of luck!!
   

Here is one I found on Amazon, but I'm sure there are several different variants you can find

https://www.amazon.com/Circuit-Scribe-Non-Toxic-Conductive-Silver/dp/B00OZATJ3A

Haven't these existed for decades?

http://www.amazon.com/Circuit-Scribe-Conductive-Ink-Pen/dp/B00OZATJ3A

Has she hinted at anything she would like? One of my friends offhandedly mentioned loving her wedding bouquet and wanting to get an artificial replica made; I commissioned a watercolor painting of her bouquet from etsy. She absolutely loved it. Maybe a painting based off one of their wedding photos?

Otherwise, when you say creative, do you mean crafty? Do they like building things? I've been eyeing the LEGO Star Wars kits for awhile now (those things are pricey!), maybe get one of those along with custom LEGO figures based off her & her husband? Or how about a 3D doodler pen? Or a cute robot buddy, or a drone/quadcopter (they were all the rage last year ish, we got a pretty high end one as a off-registry wedding gift).

Reminds me of this "Rush Hour" game from my childhood.

• Rush Hour 1P
  
• Rush Hour Shift 2P
  
• KingDomino

It could still be a painted lady. Those are the butterflies that generally come with these kits: http://www.amazon.com/Insect-Lore-Live-Butterfly-Garden/dp/B00000ISC5
So they can occasionally be found released into the wild.

My school used these!!

Counting chips

Learning Resources Transparent Color Counting Chips, Set of 250 Assorted Colored Chips, Ages 5+ https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00004WKPM/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_-XoRDbAK621V7

Well, this is Awesomely Randomly Random

=]

For our campaigns our group uses the miniatures for our characters, and those colored circles for enemies. These ones specifically.

Then I bought some small star stickers and used a sharpie to write numbers on them so we can keep track of hp. Different colors === different enemies.

Edit: we also use the lids to the dice containers for large creatures and three jenga blocks for huge

Got access to the network equipment? It'd be a pity if her access and only her access were affected periodically.

I bought a few different kinds of birthday and christmas presents for my older boy when he started spending too much time on a computer or tablet. I got him things like a microscope, snap circuits, rock tumblers, things that drive their mind. Being a sibling, that may not be so applicable to you, however.

In your situation, if you want change, you have to effect that change. You're going to have to be the one to provide alternative entertainment. Hanging out with her. Take her to do things outside. I don't think you'll get anywhere trying to just rule alongside of your parents.

There are usually a lot of “fidget” blanket kind of things on Etsy. Some might be more applicable than others.

If it’s specifically mechanical / electrical then maybe one of these circuit kits with big easy pieces: https://www.amazon.com/Snap-Circuits-SC-300-Electronics-Exploration/dp/B0000683A4

Start them off with something like Electronics Projects Kit. I'd be worried about what kind of person would watch a 7yo's online activities.

> I do agree that DIY needs to improve and be as foolproof as possible, but right now the efforts are pretty good, for example with epipen alternatives.

To me the "future" lies in comparing which simple plant-based herbs and medicines (which can be cross-referenced against the pubmed tests) have already been mastered by Native populations (such as aspirin, alcohol, other teas and herbal crap.

This, to me, would reduce the commercial aspect of treating health as a "Value".

Thus the DIY would supplement but not fully replace Big Pharma. But in my view, with equipment for testing, there's not much holding back tomorrow's adolescents from building a circuit to test impurities or other measurements.

What about something like this? http://www.amazon.com/Elenco-SC-300-Snap-Circuits/dp/B0000683A4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1289873765&sr=8-1

I had something similar to this when I was a kid. It made electronics very easy to understand.

How about Electronic Snap Circuits?
I had something similar as a kid (although not nearly as cool) and enjoyed it a lot. I kinda miss it, actually. It has very good reviews on amazon.com but is recommended for 8-14 year olds. However, that may not be a problem if you're helping, eh?

>Grade 10

>Access to CNC, vacuum former

I am so jealous. In high school I had access to half a Snap Circuits kit.

There is competition, but they don't seem to emphasize learning curves, where they start with simple projects that grow in complexity as new concepts are learned. The kits seem like a hodge-podge of parts and a project book, without a lesson plan.

This is an ideal product, though it involves simpler circuits and targets 8-and-ups. I'm hoping to target 12-and-ups.

I have a 7 yr old girl (and 5 yr old boy) both of whom love science & any type of hands-on activity. I emphasize hands-on because I would suggest not getting a DVD set or book set.... kids are more apt to get excited about actually DOING science (oh, and I'm a former science teacher too). My daughter also enjoys reading science books & I just let her go wild at the library & she always finds something that surprises me.

We got my daughter "Snap Circuits" last xmas and BOTH kids love it. It's a little hard for them to do alone & MANY (most?) of the circuits/projects are over their heads conceptually. Regardless - this is a set that they can both use for years (in the reviews, there are many teens and pre-teens who enjoy experimenting), and it DOES help to show the basic concept of what a simple circuit is/does and what components may be present. They have come to understand that a circuit includes a closed loop, power source, etc... Looks like their smallest model is less than $30.

http://www.amazon.com/Elenco-SC-100-Snap-Circuits-Jr/dp/B00008BFZH/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1376360010&sr=8-1&keywords=snap+circuits

Another thing that both kids have loved is just a basic "science experiment" kit that my bro-in-law gave her for her 6th b-day. I was opposed to ever buying one of these sets b/c so many of the ingredients are just simple household items - I thought I'd much rather have them experience the "magic" of science via materials in the kitchen cupboards. But - the kits are really great & provide a lot of instruction & explanation & include things that you wouldn't necessarily have on hand. I think they're actually well worth getting (and contain lots of fun pipettes & test tubes/etc). I can't find a link for the one she got, but search Amazon & you'll see lots of selection for $20 or less.

Abstract toys are a good idea, we've got a few sets of those for kids to play with. I remember the tub of Legos I had growing up and how much fun that was building things with it.

In addition to abstract toys, I'm looking for things that parents wouldn't normally have access to. Many kids already have Lego sets but they probably don't have something like this http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00008BFZH

My 11 yo son got snap circuits a few years ago and loved them. I think they'd still be cool for your son. Snap circuits are electric parts that snap together like legos and you can make projects such as a light that flashes or a siren. It teaches them about electricity and it's my favorite educational purchase ever. It's $20 for a basic kit that does about 80 different projects in increasing difficulty. They are rated #1 in science education on amazon. They come with everything.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00008BFZH/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1426979922&sr=8-1&keywords=snap+circuits&dpPl=1&dpID=51J81R-V0TL&ref=plSrch&pi=AC_SX200_QL40

This was the one I asked my parents to buy me for my birthday: http://www.amazon.com/Elenco-200-in-One-Electronic-Project-Lab/dp/B0002AHR04. I also bought a couple of Forrest Mims books as well to go with it.

Wow, you guys have a lot of toys.

The nerdiest things I own are electronics project kits. I got my first one as a kid, this one, the 130-in-1 (a different brand, but exactly the same, down to the colors).

While in high school, I found a great deal on this 200-in-1 kit that had a little slicker layout and meter on the front.

Towards the end of high school, I went to radio shack and picked up this beauty, which has a breadboard and a whole bunch of components. It comes with two books, Basic Electronics and Digital Logic Processors. The latter dives into ICs, all of which are included.

I haven't played with them in a while (too much external stresses), but when I do, I'm also going to learn how to program Arduinos to see how I can combine what I learn from each to make something really cool.

Get a practice kit like this. It's $12, you actually make a thing that does something when you're done, the instructions have you intentionally foul up a few joins so you can learn to correct them. And it won't matter if you royally foul it up because it's not your keyboard.

If after reading these comments, you decide to learn to solder, here's a simple $8.59 kit that I recommend. Iron not included.

Cool project. The soldering should be pretty simple, and it's fairly easy to learn. I would recommend buying a soldering project kit, something silly like this: amazon link that you don't mind messing up and learning on.

Something along these lines would be a good place to start, just to get more comfortable with soldering in general: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0002LUAL6

Or honestly, any other kit that looks interesting to you on Amazon, Adafruit, Sparkfun, etc.

Specifically for mechs, grabbing some switches from a switch tester and playing around with small boards like these could be a good follow-up step to get direct experience with what you'd be doing when assembling your own board:

• http://techkeys.us/collections/accessories/products/the-enabler
  
• http://techkeys.us/collections/accessories/products/techkeys-keyboard-business-card
  
  Hope that helps.

Just to add onto this, I used this kit as my first project before soldering Game Boys, and it helped a ton. It comes with an instruction booklet explaining how to solder, strip wires, mount 555 timers and resistors, etc. It even has an unused part of the board you can practice on.

I would start by doing one of these practice kits to brush up on soldering. They come with instructional booklets. As for mods just figure out one you'd like to do and go for it. AV mods tend to be pretty simple. Further reading:

MMMONKEY

Console 5

One way you could help make yourself a valuable part of the team is by learning to solder. You can pick up an entire soldering kit for pretty cheap that will include some practice stuff. Here is an example:

Learn to Solder Kit

Soldering is fairly easy, especially if you are just soldering the pins on switches like in that Sentraq kit.

While a better quality iron is nice, you will get by just fine with a basic iron. Here is a basic iron that includes a practice kit.

> Is there such thing as a cheap/inexpensive kit?

Yes, here's a link to one in Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Elenco-AmeriKit-Learn-Solder-Kit/dp/B0009Z3JJA/ref=pd_ybh_a_4?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=MNYGJG5K180P793GN41W

Main thing I would ask in response is why do you want to avoid Arduino for now? I think the base level of knowledge required to do anything interesting with Arduino projects is a little lower and more condusive to beginners.

There is a cost side of things too. You can get a pretty full Arduino kit for $30. To make much progress on the analog side of things you are going to quickly run into a need for a power supply, function generator, ect.

If you are just wanting to meander through electronics and see what there is to do, I would get that kit or something similar and add in a few op amps and 555 timers.

If you are dead set on avoiding Arduino, then I would either recommend you look into the construction type kits that /u/Susan_B_Good suggested. I had one similar to this when I was starting out.

Non-mobile version of that link:

http://www.amazon.com/Elenco-AmeriKit-Learn-Solder-Kit/dp/B0009Z3JJA

Well then, before you take on any Gameboy soldering, you should get a kit like this and practice. The deluxe kit comes with a much better soldering iron though for only $20 more which will last longer. Finally, buy some rosin flux before you mess with the Gameboy, it makes modifying existing solder joints sooo much easier and more pleasant.

Yep, that's the one (it's partially put together on my kitchen table right now). I'll tell what I bought and let you decide what to get (I overbought since I have nothing to start with). Keep in mind that I am completely new to the RC hobby and this is my first quadcopter build.

laptop screws for the motors

nylon spacer kit

Nylock nuts for the props

Velcro straps

XT60 connectors to make power lead

Wire to make power lead

zip ties

heat shrink

Like I said I overbought but I think this will work for me (for example my batteries have an XT60 connection).

Some other stuff I got because I'm a newb and want my quadcopter to light up the sky:

Helping Hands Magnifier -> this works very well

Learn to solder kit -> it helped me

Pretty lights

I use these! https://www.amazon.ca/Learning-Resources-Centimeter-Cubes-Set/dp/B000QDTVFG/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1483815507&sr=8-2&keywords=counting+cubes

"But I have a lot of outdoors combat so this comes up a lot."

For outdoor encounters, I generally don't roll out the battlemat until combat is a sure thing. Unless there's some kind of kill-on-sight order or racial enmity, most fights don't start until both sides have had a chance to exchange words, well within 30' of each other.

So, it sounds like you're setting up a lot of encounters where either one side is ambushing the other, or the majority of encounters are solved by combat so there's no reason to approach to comfortable speaking distance. That's generally not the experience at my table (my players like talking but rarely plan ahead), so I can't say my solution addresses your "a lot" case.

In cases where one side is attempting to ambush another at longbow ranges or when I want to set up huge battlefields, I'll use a battlemat scaled so 1cm = 5' (rather than 1" = 5'), and then use centimeter cubes to represent Medium humanoids, standard 1" minis or tokens for Large size creatures, etc. This requires prep work, but like I said the long-range encounters are the exception rather than the rule with my group.

You could also run combat theater-of-the-mind style until the sides engage each other at a range that can be represented with your standard battlemat.

Learning cubes for generic cubes.

You can get 500 plastic cubes for $12 on amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/CENTIMETER-CUBES-500-PK-10-COLORS/dp/B000QDTVFG


If you want wood, it's $5 for 50:

http://www.amazon.com/Craftwood-Wooden-Cubes-56-Pkg-Multicolor/dp/B007LAWO60

For same price you can get [2oz of Ferrofluid] (https://www.amazon.com/Ferrofluid-2oz-Bottle-Science-Projects/dp/B00126P1NW/ref=sr_1_6?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1483820626&sr=1-6&keywords=Ferrofluid) , the one you linked is like 1/40th of 2oz. The bottle is 2oz but the actual Ferrofluid is 1/40th that.

I'm sure you can find even better deals looking around.

If you love magnets so much you should buy yourself some ferrofluid! Here's a cool video showing how it reacts under magnetic fields. Or you can also make a science project out of it and make it yourself!

https://www.amazon.com/Applied-Magnets-Magnetic-Ferrofluid-Projects/dp/B00126P1NW/ref=sr_1_6?crid=13P1BNAWH6YVU&keywords=ferrofluid&qid=1575086391&sprefix=ferrofl%2Caps%2C136&sr=8-6

Something to occupy his hands will help, especially because if you see him biting you can say, hey why don't you play w/ ____ , which is a positive reinforcement rather than just don't do that. I gave one of these https://smile.amazon.com/Set-Tangle-Jr-Original-Fidget/dp/B0034EKP8Q to my friend's daughter who was picking her cuticles when she was about 6, she's 10 now and to this day when I see her she will bring it up and tell me how much it helps.

I have, but they definitely aren't a cure. I kind of have to alternate between them or I get bored and stop using one. The ones I use are:
-- a fidget cube (in my case, a fidget dodecagon
-- a tangle toy
-- thinking putty


I really want to get a spinner ring, but I keep forgetting to measure my ring size for my thumb and I want it to fit right.

Have you ever heard of a Tangle? I randomly came across them on Amazon and have been using it to help curb my nail biting and picking at the surrounding skin. It’s never 100% effective for me, but I often wrap it around my fingers and get a good grip so it’s truly a one-handed object. I haven’t found the perfect distraction yet, but this thing does the job and I personally would suggest giving it a shot. They also twist up to be fairly small (or at least mine does) when not in use.

It seems they have the Tangle and Tangle Jr. I have a Jr. and it fits perfectly for my smaller hands, but it all depends on your needs and what you’re looking for!

TANGLE Jr. Set of 3- Amazon

Elenco 130-in-1 Electronic Playground and Learning Center

Elenco has stuff like this that you could even get the kids involved. Also, these go on sale sometimes for about 20 bucks. Do a search for "Elenco Kit" will show up other related stuff too. I'm not with this company, I have this kit on my desk and made me think of it.

You could also get into making speakers and amps. Or Raspberry Pi stuff for robotics or automation (or endless other things :)

I'm also not really sure what you're looking for heh

Edited1:

I had a bread board to play with growing up. It was a really fun activity and came with a project book.

It was similar to this, though not this exact model
https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0035XSZDI/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_7W5IDb1NSJ95C

http://www.amazon.com/Elenco-Electronic-Playground-Learning-Center/dp/B0035XSZDI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1412479994&sr=8-1&keywords=Electronic+kit

http://www.amazon.com/Elenco-Electronics-Snap-Circuits-Snaptricity/dp/B0013BL3LK/ref=sr_1_38?ie=UTF8&qid=1412480035&sr=8-38&keywords=Electronic+kit

http://www.amazon.com/Elenco-EP-50-Electronic-Playground-50-in-one/dp/B00000IUD2/ref=pd_sim_t_5?ie=UTF8&refRID=0KPKE2ZHBDF256TN2M8K

http://www.amazon.com/Elenco-EP-50-Electronic-Playground-50-in-one/dp/B00000IUD2/ref=pd_sim_t_5?ie=UTF8&refRID=0KPKE2ZHBDF256TN2M8K

I had the Electronic Playground thing back when I was a kid. It was a lot of fun and I learned a lot from it.

Just to add one more suggestion. I had something like one of these Elenco 130-in-1 Electronic Playground and Learning Center when I was really young and I probably built 90% of the circuits in the book. It's a lot of fun and they do a fairly good job of describing how the circuits work. You connect components using precut wires to "spring" terminals.

Here's the style I had as a child.
http://www.amazon.com/Elenco-Electronic-Playground-Learning-Center/dp/B0035XSZDI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1417537035&sr=8-1&keywords=electronics+kit

If you're looking for actual breadboard stuff - something like this might be what you are looking for.
http://www.amazon.com/Arduino-Ultimate-Starter-Includes-Instruction/dp/B00BT0NDB8/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1417537035&sr=8-2&keywords=electronics+kit

Get one of those electronics kits.

First result on Amazon

Was it like this?
https://www.amazon.ca/Elenco-Electronic-Playground-Learning-Center/dp/B0035XSZDI/

I considered it but I figured that it would not be much more difficult to just use real components and then he wouldn't be stuck with such a rigid platform. But maybe something like that would make it less intimidating.

My favorite toy was either my roll-out walk-on piano, or [this] (http://www.amazon.com/Elenco-Electronic-Playground-Learning-Center/dp/B0035XSZDI/ref=pd_sim_t_4?ie=UTF8&refRID=1522BANMZ9R4XS3WJ55K). I would spend hours on this thing. I can also still jump out Chopsticks like nobody's business.

I really wanted some Kinex or other Lego-like toys with motors to make robots.

I don't have a darn thing under $1.21 :( this is the cheapest thing I've got. I figured I'd give it to my brother, hes a mechanic and I think he'd find it super cool.

close to $20 because I loveeee to snuggle a body pillow and I just can't afford a luxury item like that at the moment, maybe soon though.

Thanks for the contest :)

Tiny solar-powered car for $2 Happy cake day!

Are you feeling 22? 22

$5

$4

$3

$2 It's a solar powered car!

$1

I love pinnipeds this thin is awesome
http://amzn.com/B004FEXUP4

Jova globe; Maglev globe 1 2 3; Orrery; actual 3d models in acrylic for cluster, galaxy, sun 1; You could also have interactive things like a tinfoil boat floating in a tank of co2 or have kids build reading-glasses-telescope for $0.50; You can download 3d models of mars and moon as well as spacecrafts and have them printed commercially.

Don't suppose you could give me some details on how the wiring works (pics would be helpful if you can take him apart)? The most electrical engineering I've done was following the instructions of one of these :/

There is a company called Kiwi Crate that will deliver monthly projects to your house. I am considering ones for my 6 & 8 year olds for Christmas. Last year we got them snap circuits and they enjoyed those too.

Snapcircuits!

You can make all sorts of electrical projects with them, or invent your own stuff. Great for STEM-oriented education.

Are flash bounce cards ever worth considering when using an A6000? Example: http://www.amazon.com/A6000-A6300-Flash-Bounce-Cards/dp/B00LEX4RW4/ref=sr_1_1?s=photo&ie=UTF8&qid=1463593682&sr=1-1&keywords=sony+a6000+bounce+flash

The most important thing to realize is that the flash can be directed upwards to bounce off white ceilings and create really nice diffused light pictures

I don't know why most camera manufacturers don't give this ability.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00LEX4RW4/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_p7xFwbSS88W7B

I have had the A6000 for a couple years now. Love it.

No matter what the camera you own the primary thing to get good exposure in low light situations is a lens designed for it. Don't get me wrong, the camera and it's sensor matters. Just not as much as the lens most times.

For the A6000 your going to want to use a super fast lens. I use either my Rokinon 12mm f2 or the Sony 50mm f1.8. The other advantage is to get some bounce cards and use your flash.

If you don't want to drop the money on a lens, the bounce cards are the cheaper route. If you want to spend the money on a lens, great, you can also afford the bounce cards. Get em.

Outside of that, you can shoot in shutter priority or manual depending on your skill level. The trick is to make sure your aperture is as fast as possible for the lens you are using. This will allow you to lower your ISO and keep your shutter speed as fast as possible as well.

As for the open box previous settings. Go into your settings and do a factory setting reset. From there, do a ton of research about the settings. If you don't understand a setting, leave it alone until you do.

BH photo video does a decent intro video on the A6000.

You can also check out Gary Fong on YouTube who works with the a6000 a lot.

Yep. Now, be careful as you gently abrade away the coating, as the ink won't be that thick. I'd suggest using a voltmeter to tell when you are through.

You can use very fine sandpaper, pumice, or something similar (even a razor blade, but that is riskier) to get the coating off.

Read up on whatever conductive material you use. Conducto compound, which I have always used (but wouldn't recommend for you; I have a lifetime's supply of it, and it was CRAZY-expensive), needs to be cured at 100°C, or with UV light.

Here are some things to take a look at:
https://www.adafruit.com/categories/221

Also:
http://www.amazon.com/Circuit-Scribe-Conductive-Ink-Pen/dp/B00OZATJ3A

Not sure but it might be easier to just buy the pen

https://www.amazon.com/Circuit-Scribe-Non-Toxic-Conductive-Silver/dp/B00OZATJ3A

how would this pen work? https://www.amazon.com/Circuit-Scribe-Non-Toxic-Conductive-Silver/dp/B00OZATJ3A

I have soldering stuff before, Mostly gameboy advances and what not but this pen seems neat.

I have a few that I like, some of which others have mentioned.

1. Bike Chain Fidget - Simple, tactile, initially cold to the touch. Can be fidgeted with one hand and discreetly. It's my current favorite.
   
   
2. Spinners - they've become pretty ubiquitous. I'm sure you've heard of them and probably even seen them around.
   
   
3. Fidget Cube - Get the legitimate, high-quality one from Antsy Labs, or get a cheap knock-off from Amazon or eBay. Someone also developed a 12-sided fidget dice thing that takes the fidget cube idea a step further. And a fidget pad which is a cross between a SNES controller and a fidget cube. (I'm still waiting for my cube from Antsy Labs.)
   
   
4. Tangle, Tangle Jr. - Good desk toy. Keeps both hands busy, but leaves you free to look and listen. There are several variants, including textured pieces and silicone-covered pieces. My wife, my daughter, and I each have our own.
   
   
5. Bead + String fidget - This one can be fun, but it's VERY distracting for everyone around you. The best thing about it is that you can make one from two beads and a string in a couple minutes. I've thought about making a string that is mostly beads each with a different surface texture, and instead of swinging it around you just fidget with it in your hand. I need to get around to making that...
   
   
6. Wooden Fidget Puzzle - Just picked this one up a couple days ago. It's small, it's interesting, it has lots of possible configurations. It's good when you need to listen but don't need your hands or your eyes free.

Try a fidget toy. I have this string of cubes that's really cool. A couple friends of mine have ADHD and recommended some kind of toy to play with in my left hand while I work or read. I have no idea if I have it too and am not really interested in finding out, but regardless it helps me with focusing. I have friends with anxiety that use toys as well.

Your feelings of being stupid are common in people with add and other issues that keep them from achieving in school. I dealt with that a lot in college, and it affected my mental health and self worth. You should definitely talk to someone about how you're feeling. Having trouble academically is no reason to beat yourself up! Everyone's brain is different and we all have a process of figuring out what works for us.

This? https://www.amazon.com/Toysmith-TSM6496-Wood-Fidget-Puzzle/dp/B00YRZ5QTE/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1521101750&sr=8-2&keywords=wood+fidget+puzzle

or this? https://www.amazon.com/Dinosaur-Brain-Teaser-Puzzle-Neliblu/dp/B06XFZWQR9/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1521101787&sr=8-8&keywords=wood+fidget+puzzle

or perhaps this one?
https://www.amazon.com/BBLIKE-Teaser-Puzzle-Multi-colored-Special/dp/B073S5WSJR/ref=sr_1_14?ie=UTF8&qid=1521101787&sr=8-14&keywords=wood+fidget+puzzle

My husband likes this

You could get this sassy robot instead.

Cozmo https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01GA1298S/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_1G2izbWEQ707Q

For those wondering this little guy's name is Cozmo. It's almost $200 and is great in introducing children to programming.

https://www.amazon.com/Anki-000-00048-Cozmo/dp/B01GA1298S

Here's the link for Amazon

You know you want one.

Cozmo

The same guys who made this. How do we make parking...fun?

this guy:
http://www.amazon.com/toys-games/dp/B00000DMER

The same people who designed this

more like Rush hour

ThinkFun Rush Hour anyone?

https://www.amazon.com/Think-Fun-5000-ThinkFun-Rush/dp/B00000DMER

My 4 year old understands Set if I limit the variables a bit (like picking only 1 colour to play with) so your 5 year old could probably play. She also likes Rush Hour which is a solitaire game, but I set up the scenarios for her. She’s starting to get into Quarto which is a bit like Set mixed with tic tac toe.

Labyrinth is a pretty easy game, though she lost interest in it pretty quickly (probably due to the overwhelming cuteness of Pengeloo which came home shortly after).

Can't go wrong with Rush Hour.Link
Another one I've enjoyed is called Solitaire Chess Link

It's been a while since I've played them, it might be time to play again

Classic games are always good as you are familiar with them and you can re-use components for some. My favorites in no particular order

Games

Hangman
Read a list of words from a file, randomly select one, and play a game of hangman!

War
Model cards and a deck of cards, give the 'AI' half the deck, the player the other half, then keep drawing with user interaction. Doesn't really require AI and is a pretty simple simulation

Tic-Tac-Toe
Self explanitory. Bonus points for functional AI

Rush Hour
See classic rush hour games. Get the player's car to the other end of the traffic jam. Bonus points for a hint system where the next move is given to you.

Sudoku
The classic numbers puzzle. Again, bonus points for a prediction system. bonus points + 1 for a solver (given any soduku puzzle from your favourite puzzle book, it will automatically solve it for you)

Applications

Tip Calculator
Calculate tips. Bonus points for not using any buttons (I.e., the tip is automatically re-calculated when you move a slider / edit a value)

Grocery List
Create a list of grocery items for going to the store. Be able to save out and read back in Grocery Lists. TripleQuadruple bonus points for being able to print.



Edit: I would like to add -> you shouldn't focus on projects for python. Think about what you want to do, then think about the best tool for the job. All of these can be done in python. But you should be focusing on the overall process, not the specific language you are learning if that makes sense. For example, if you learn to do it in Python, you should be able to do it in C# and Java as they have pretty similair (relative) mechanics. Write down a lot of crap before you write a line of code. What objects do I need? How will these objects interact? Am I even going for an OOP model, or can/should this be implemented functionally?

With ThinkFun, were you looking at games like this? I played games like that in the gifted classes I had in elementary school, and they were a lot of fun. These days, you can even download that type of game for an iPhone or iPad for 99 cents, or for free.

For older kids (say, 10 and up), the card game 24 is great for building critical thinking and math skills.

I bought this game for the daughter of a friend of mine in China. So I guess she should be prepared when this happens.

I got this and released 5 butterflies into the garden last week https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00000ISC5/ref=pe_385721_137472691_TE_dp_3

http://www.amazon.com/Insect-Lore-Live-Butterfly-Garden/dp/B00000ISC5/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1396929401&sr=8-1&keywords=butterfly+kit

This is awesome for kids of just about any age.

Hahaha oh man..memories of cutting hay riding on weekdays and during Halloween in Auckland, there were other crashes at the end of the year, they sent the cocoons: http://www.amazon.com/Insect-Lore-Live-Butterfly-Garden/dp/B00000ISC5.

You can buy kits my daughters nursery had them and the children were fascinated.

If you love butterflies, you could always raise your own in the spring. I'm happy to see that you are trying to find who you are and to be happy with yourself. Keep smiling!

This! I got it for my daughter at the same age and she loved it. The caterpillars come separately.

One of these

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B00000ISC5/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1457216174&sr=8-1&pi=SX200_QL40&keywords=insect+lore+butterfly+garden&dpPl=1&dpID=61ZnofBFtqL&ref=plSrch

I've been using these colored counting chips:

https://www.amazon.com/Learning-Resources-Transparent-Color-Counting/dp/B00004WKPM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1465596815&sr=8-1&keywords=colored+discs

Cheap and small. The transparency does make them harder to see if they're in a pile. And you'd have to remember what color is what denomination.

You can also try pennies/nickels/quarters as someone else suggested.

This does me justice. If you want something more creative, try what /u/namgorf said with miniature market or buy some Warhammer 4000 miniatures and paint them yourself. It's up to you.

I like Pathfinder Pawns, but they don't work for everything (and are still pricey to collect).

I have 1", 2", and 3" wooden circles and 1", 2", and 3" hole punches. I print off the minis on card stock, punch them out, and glue them onto a wooden circle of appropriate size.

I also have some multicolored counting chips that I can write numbers on for large groups of monsters. They also double as status effects when needed.

Essentially, I go through the pawns first, but they don't always have everything, so then I go to printing.. but sometimes if I have a pawn of it, I'll just use the one pawn, then use the tokens for the rest of them. One representation is good enough usually.

Which counters? Are you talking about the digital ones? It's just a calculator.

There's stuff like these: http://www.amazon.com/Richards-Company-Counter-Finger-SPR24100/dp/B0008GOGI8/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1457999673&sr=8-3&keywords=counters

or just small tokens

http://www.amazon.com/Learning-Resources-Transparent-Color-Counting/dp/B00004WKPM/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1457999673&sr=8-5&keywords=counters

Pandemic is great for cubes.

For other things it depends on what you want. I am using catan houses in a prototype right now, and before I used an othello board/tokens for something else.

One thing that I have is a bunch of circular colored tokens. (something like this https://www.amazon.com/Learning-Resources-LER0131-Transparent-Counting/dp/B00004WKPM IDK where I got mine)

and a bunch of dice in ten colors. I got this https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074C8N5XG/ref=sspa_dk_detail_0?psc=1&pd_rd_i=B074C8N5XG&pd_rd_wg=Y6rqd&pd_rd_r=5YFCCSC3XA4CFKBSB0HV&pd_rd_w=yuvJX two of the dice had a little extra paint on the two side that made them look like a three at a glance, so I threw them away. Still got 98 dice though.

yup. a friend of mine got a kit like this for his five year old, and i happened to see it at the science store, too. i played with it for quite a while myself. it's something i'd get for my own kid, if i ever have one.

http://www.amazon.com/Elenco-SC-300-Snap-Circuits/dp/B0000683A4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1324335395&sr=8-1

Elenco Snap Circuits SC-300

https://www.amazon.ca/Elenco-SC-300-Snap-Circuits/dp/B0000683A4/ref=as_li_ss_tl?s=toys&ie=UTF8&qid=1512047030&sr=1-3&linkCode=ll1&tag=thebigaawes06-20&linkId=1f1f6d40c534b0c798a6af3f047a9a5b

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/91D2lq0SH9L._SL1500_.jpg

This is the kit that I've used when starting to learn
https://www.amazon.com/Snap-Circuits-SC-300-Electronics-Discovery/dp/B0000683A4/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1522937812&sr=8-3&keywords=snap+electronics

I think it was awesome and the fact I didn't need breadboard really helped making quick projects easily without wires floating everywhere

i also enjoyed microscopes and scientific experiment kits when i was little. i think the best present i got was a "fun with electricity" cd rom! you could connect electrodes and a battery and create things like metal detectors and closed circuits. [here] (http://www.amazon.com/Elenco-SC-300-Snap-Circuits/dp/B0000683A4/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1333731473&sr=8-10) is a similar kit i found on amazon

I'd recommend a snap circuits board to teach them about electricity. Something like this.

Anything with simple machines (screw, ramp, pulley, wedge, lever, wheel, etc.) that they have to assembly is also a good idea but most will require the ability to use a screwdriver and limit their ability to experiment on their own. Those that don't will likely be a little lame like simple kinex and lego stuff.

Finally chemical sets are nice but will definitely require adult supervision.

What I mean is that just getting a bulb to glow is way too simple. There more complex stuff in those my first circuit sets.

Sonya, Your Momma wouldn't tell you this but ....

Sweet child, this world is made up of all kinds of people with different ways of thinking, believing and feeling, this is important because be different is not being wrong, being different is what makes you unique. Love what makes you different, and love what makes others different.

I hope it's okay to share more than one thing that I think every child should have.

rock tumbler

Snap Circuits jr kit

Prime Club game

Happy birthday!!

My minecraft kid really loves the shirts that feature his youtube heroes, in fact i'm getting him a pat and jen shirt this year, but he also loves the dantdm one from walmart. As Ejalamung suggested, sunglasses are huge and a watch is great. Those are two really good ones.

Nerf shooters go over really big, as well as the toy archery kits.

Have you looked at anything like snap circuits?
https://www.amazon.com/Snap-Circuits-SC-100-Electronics-Discovery/dp/B00008BFZH/ref=sr_1_1?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1478652891&sr=1-1&keywords=snap+circuits

My kids also really loved this, moon in my room
https://www.amazon.com/Remote-Control-Décor-Night-Light/dp/B000EUHKUE/ref=sr_1_1?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1478653304&sr=1-1&keywords=moon+in+my+room+uncle+milton

Hope you have a wonderful christmas!

Non-mobile: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00008BFZH/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1426979922&sr=8-1&keywords=snap+circuits&dpPl=1&dpID=51J81R-V0TL&ref=plSrch&pi=AC_SX200_QL40

^That's ^why ^I'm ^here, ^I ^don't ^judge ^you. ^PM ^/u/xl0 ^if ^I'm ^causing ^any ^trouble. ^WUT?

If people are looking for ideas for educational toys, this range of kid's electronic circuits are great - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Snap-Circuits-SC-100-Jr/dp/B00008BFZH/

They are compatible with other simlar ones (e.g. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cambridge-Brainbox-Primary-Electronics-Kit/dp/B001MJ7DB2/)

Great to find in charity shops and car boot sales too since you can keep building up a library of components

I did not design the transmitter, I found it on the internet, I was being lazy. This guy was great starting out: http://www.amazon.com/Elenco-200-in-One-Electronic-Project-Lab/dp/B0002AHR04/ref=sr_1_2 for non-microcontroller projects.

One of the projects is a transmitter (I think using 1 or 2 transistors)

I have been at this a long time but don't let that discourage you. With the internet there has never been more resources to learn electronics than now.

Not the exact same brand, but some of these classic kits from the 80s are still available new in box. You can find, e.g., the elenco 130 in one and 200 in one kits on Amazon for very reasonable prices.

Holy hell, you're amazing , I'm print a hold to Arduino to complete this learning process.
>
Edit: also, not even joking, maybe you can pick up one of these: https://www.amazon.com/Maxitronix-200-in-One-Electronic-Project-Lab/dp/B0002AHR04.

This is actually really amazing, how didn't i hear of it before?
Thank you so much man, you are using a lot of ways for me and lighting my way, Thank you

I had a Radio Shack branded 200-in-One project kit when I was a kid.

Edit: This 500-in-One version has a breadboard also.

http://www.amazon.com/Elenco-Practical-Soldering-Project-Kit/dp/B0002LUAL6/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1324164212&sr=8-6

Get something like this to learn the basics:
http://www.amazon.com/Vintage-Sports-Cards-MX-906-Electronic/dp/B00005K2SY/ref=sr_1_1?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1313696934&sr=1-1

The various parts in there will be useful when you start breadboarding stuff.

and this to learn soldering:
http://www.amazon.com/Elenco-Practical-Soldering-Project-Kit/dp/B0002LUAL6/ref=sr_1_4?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1313696934&sr=1-4

You might have a local hackspace where people would be willing to help you out if you are having trouble with the soldering.

I suggest this:

http://www.amazon.com/Elenco-Practical-Soldering-Project-Kit/dp/B0002LUAL6/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1406761425&sr=8-4&keywords=learn+to+solder+kit

It's a very good kit, and will give you plenty of practice before you solder your Poker 2. No frills, and will give you plenty of practice for through hole soldering.

Combine this with a practical, but good quality soldering station:

http://www.amazon.com/Weller-WLC100-40-Watt-Soldering-Station/dp/B000AS28UC/ref=sr_1_3?s=power-hand-tools&ie=UTF8&qid=1406762091&sr=1-3&keywords=soldering+iron

A desoldering pump:

http://www.amazon.com/Sucking-Vacuum-Desoldering-Solder-Remover/dp/B005GIPKOW/ref=sr_1_3?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1406762167&sr=1-3&keywords=desoldering+pump

And some solder:

http://www.amazon.com/Alpha-AT-31604-60-40-Solder-Ounces/dp/B00030AP48/ref=sr_1_1?s=power-hand-tools&ie=UTF8&qid=1406762345&sr=1-1&keywords=solder

To learn, there are plenty of Youtube videos, I recommend you also solder the Elenco kit, then desolder everything to get a feel for how the desoldering pump works (it's super easy, you can't really screw it up). Then, solder it together one more time for extra practice.

All together, about $66 bucks. Add in the cost of the switches, and you're looking at a little over 100. Still a bunch cheaper than the Poker 2 from Massdrop ($143.50), and you've just learned a life skill. For me, that's totally worth it, but then again, I'm an engineer, and learning useful skills is what my entire profession is based on.

---

EDIT: Get this soldering kit instead:

http://www.amazon.com/Elenco-SP3B-Practical-Soldering-Project/dp/B0002LUALG/ref=pd_tcs_compl_t_3?ie=UTF8&refRID=00RQRQTCJ767WDS4D7KV

Cheaper and has more soldering points. The other one has a shitty speaker which doesn't add much to the soldering lesson, but drives the cost up.

Hey! I actually had very little knowledge of drones/electronics, and then I started lurking on this subreddit and became inspired! I did a bunch of research first, which pretty much consisted of watching build videos and googling "how do I build a quadcopter". I made sure to google any words or lingo that I didn't understand, like "what is an ESC", and "how does a flight controller work". I also tried to search this subreddit for things like "what flight controller should I use" and watched a lot of build videos.

Once I had a decent understanding of the basic parts and components, I bought a toy grade RFT quad, flew/crashed it, and took it apart to look at the various components. I also decided at that point that I wanted a deeper understanding of electronics, and bought this book, though I think that step is highly optional and not required to build a quad. I started working through the book, and also bought this soldering practice kit. After completing the practice kit, I felt more or less ready to try to build this tiny whoop.

Since this was my first build, I tried to keep it simple. It really just consisted of some very easy soldering and then putting the rest of the parts onto the frame. If you'd like more specific instructions or explanations of anything I did, let me know! I think this build could definitely be accomplished by anyone with a desire to learn. I learned a lot along the way, and I'm already planning a bigger more complicated build.

Hey bud, I think it's great that you're interested in this hobby and am happy you're doing some research before plunging in. Do you know how to solder yet? That's an important skill in building your a drone since nearly everything in the building phase will require it. I had to start out with a little soldering practice kit before I started building a quadcopter. Soldering with a quadcopter can be difficult because everything is so small!

If you've got soldering down though, and you want a good starting kit that comes with pretty much everything, you can find some on eBay for pretty good prices, I've built four ZMR250 DIY kits purchased on eBay over the last couple years and they've all flown great. (That kit isn't totally complete though, you'll still need a transmitter/receiver and batteries.)

That kit is about £61, you can get a FlySky FS-T6 transmitter which comes with the receiver for £35 which leaves you over £50 to cover a couple batteries, a LiPo Charger, other misc electronics/parts you might need like voltage regulators or connectors and shipping. (which might end up being a little over £150, but that's how this hobby tends to go..)

I'm in the same boat so I got a practice soldering kit from Amazon for $11. http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0002LUAL6/ref=sr_ph_2?qid=1463770366&sr=sr-2&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=soldering+kit

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0002LUAL6/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1482521154&sr=8-1&pi=SY200_QL40&keywords=solder+practice+kit&dpPl=1&dpID=519bj4ev-jL&ref=plSrch

This is the one I used.

this is a higly recommended kit. It doesn't include practice with de-soldering but has some practice boards and solder with it. https://www.amazon.com/Elenco-AmeriKit-Learn-Solder-Kit/dp/B0009Z3JJA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1465915944&sr=8-1&keywords=amerikit+soldering

ok my advise would be to buy the part and also buy some solder practice kits like this https://www.amazon.com/Elenco-AmeriKit-Learn-Solder-Kit/dp/B0009Z3JJA/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1523380566&sr=8-3&keywords=learn+soldering and once you feel comfortable solder the part to the drive you should be able to get comfortable after a few hours its not super hard just dont rush.

The soldering required to build a quad is not very difficult. If you are rusty you can always go to a local hobby shop and buy one of those kits that requires soldering and use it as practice.

You could also just get something like this. - http://www.amazon.com/Elenco-AmeriKit-Learn-Solder-Kit/dp/B0009Z3JJA/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1418060308&sr=8-3&keywords=Radio+kit

You-Should-Solder spiel:

if you have normal fine motor ability, soldering is easier than you think. unless you have an adustable iron turned up to max, or you're holding the iron on the pad for more than 5 seconds, you'll have a tough time ruining the PCB. Check out this comic, watch some youtube videos. If you want some practice before you embark on an expensive project, there are cheap kits you can get online.

I started with this kit. The iron it comes with is about as crappy as you can find, but it's served me very well through many projects, including building 3 keyboards, and unless it breaks or I need to do something very complex with surface-mounted parts, I don't think I'll need to replace it.

Get one of these to practice, it's easy!

Buy something like this and get over your fear of soldering. Basic soldering skills are pretty much a requirement for the next level in this hobby, and it's not too hard. A but if practice with a kit like that and you'll have no problem soldering connectors and PDBs.

Ooo I've heard awesome things about the Raspberry Pi. Definitely not a coder, though! lol, so I'll leave that to you. :D

As for me, I'm designing my own boardgame at the moment! I'm big into writing and games, so this is the perfect blend for that.

My item would be this bin of centimeter blocks! These are SUPER useful when designing a game so you can lay out pieces, resources, etc. And then use real nice pieces for the finished product.

So my current obsession is boardgames, and color blocks are my item! :P

Thanks for the contest!

3.14

Here you go: https://www.amazon.com/Learning-Resources-Centimeter-Cubes-Set/dp/B000QDTVFG/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1479863937&sr=8-4&keywords=counting+cubes

Crazy idea, but what about a Lords of Waterdeep style game? Not sure if you have played, but it's a fun game.

You can get a bucket of 500 misc colored cubes from amazon for $13.
Get some poster board, or something, and have the kids draw maps of the world. Block off certain sections, and each one of these areas of the world will produce goods (cubes)...you could say each cube represents: produce, technology, raw materials, "education." ...I don't know, something like that. Kids take turns placing units, and getting those resources.

Create a few "quest" cards (cure polio, space exploration, disaster relief, etc.) that need various amounts of resources to complete. Maybe a system where the kids could "invest" in certain areas which would allow those areas to produce more goods.

...just rambling here...

Bismuth is pretty cool.

http://www.amazon.com/Educational-Innovations-Bismuth-Crystal/dp/B008MB1MCE/ref=pd_sim_indust_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=13DYYME1DPBPMTE7TFWC

You could also get some ferrofluid, it's this awesome magnetic liquid.

http://www.amazon.com/Ferrofluid-bottle-GREAT-SCIENCE-PROJECTS/dp/B00126P1NW/ref=pd_sim_indust_3?ie=UTF8&refRID=1DE658YEG7SG10M6TQ8R

https://www.amazon.com/Ferrotec-Magnetic-Ferrofluid-Science-Projects/dp/B00126P1NW

$8300 USD....lol. Considering Ferrofluid is only $20 for 2oz on Amazon I have no clue where they are getting their price from. Its definitely not eight grand to create nor that amazing of an idea that it cant easily be replicated at a much lower cost.

To be honest I think these guys really screwed themselves with this initial "Limited run of 24 clocks at $8300 each". Probably will be able to buy knockoffs of this on alibaba by summer.

Buy some ferrofluids. Make patterns with magnets. Shit bricks.
http://www.amazon.com/Ferrofluid-bottle-GREAT-SCIENCE-PROJECTS/dp/B00126P1NW/ref=pd_sbs_indust_4

I'm a little late, but I recommend getting a tangle toy. I have been chewing my nails and skin around them continuously for years now and it's such a big insecurity of mine I decided to find a way to stop. I bought myself a tangle toy and not only does it keep my hands occupied while watching tv or doing whatever. I find that chewing gum and also playing with this works well for me. It's pretty discreet so you shouldn't have issues with that. Here's a link to one on amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/Set-Tangle-Jr-Original-Fidget/dp/B0034EKP8Q/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1485219798&sr=8-6&keywords=fidget+toys+for+sensory+kids

these are my favorite! I work with kids and they love them, but even I fidget with them. (and I am not a fidgeter)

Here you go. Might not look like much but really did amuse me more than it should have.

Perhaps you might enjoy something more like this. https://www.amazon.com/Elenco-Electronic-Playground-Learning-Center/dp/B0035XSZDI/ref=asc_df_B0035XSZDI/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312003162663&hvpos=1o3&hvnetw=g&hvrand=12376681281660115618&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9052566&hvtargid=pla-434851101009&psc=1

The Arduino kits focus more on the microprocessor and getting things to work with that.

Since he is interested in technology, you can see if he would be interested in this kit. You can also show him some youtube videos of science experiments and see if he would be interested in doing any of those.

Nice. I had this http://www.amazon.com/Elenco-Electronic-Playground-Learning-Center/dp/B0035XSZDI/ref=sr_1_8?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1370635549&sr=1-8&keywords=electronic+science which was quite good. Also a tin of bits and bots is another good one, LEDS, buzzers, wires etc.

Legend! I was able to find the same products in the Aussie Amazon, thanks very much!

Edit in case anyone is looking https://www.amazon.com.au/Elenco-130-1-Electronic-Playground/dp/B0035XSZDI/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&qid=1523316972&sr=8-12&keywords=elenco+electronic

This is really excellent advice! Sometimes just staring at a book is not going to make it stick. Another fun way to get some hands on electronics experience is with those project kits built to teach kids. Doing all of the projects in something like this or this shows you a lot of the theory in a way that will stick better because you have actually seen it work. And they cost less than a text book.

Didn't know you were talking about free-energy videos. Anyway, those are a complete hoax. Sorry, but there's no way to create free energy. As for your son, here's a list of electronics and magnetism science kits I would recommend:

I highly recommend this one, I had one as a kid and loved it!:

$34.99 Elenco 130-in-1 Electronic Playground and Learning Center (ages 12+)

$26.49 Thames & Kosmos Magnetic Science (ages 8+)

$24.00 Thames & Kosmos Motors and Generators (ages 8+)

$18.85 4M Magnet Science Kit (ages 8+)

And here's some nice assortments of fun magnets to play with:

$19.95 46 small-medium magnets

$34.95 100 small-medium magnets

$69.95 26 medium-large magnets

The world's smallest solar powered car

I thought this was a pretty cool thing not really something I need, but definitely neat. :)

This is a solar powered toy car.

Why am I showing you this? Because it's a toy that is powered by the nuclear fusion of a star 8 light minutes from here. How cool is that?!?

Oh, but I was supposed to tell you something about ME? That's tougher. Technically I'm also powered by nuclear fusion which occurs in the sun's core, but only indirectly. Also that's not a terribly unique characteristic, most people and animals and plants and all life on earth is. (Except for the random stuff living along volcanic vents deep beneath the ocean.)

So let's get more unique. Well I share 98% of my genetic material with a chimpanzee, and 50% of my genetic material with a banana. Shoot... That's unique to humans, but not so much to me personally.

Ok, how bout this? I once found a painting of an ancestor in the Smithsonian museum of American History and not only did he have the best facial hair OF ALL TIME, but he looked strikingly like my father would should my father ever choose to grow THE BEST FACIAL HAIR OF ALL TIME.

Name: "World's Smallest Solar Powered Car"

$8

Purchase Link:
https://www.amazon.com/Lowpricenice-Solar-Car-Smallest-Educational/dp/B004FEXUP4

Never been :) This would be awesome!

Turn that frown Upsidedown & play with The World's Smallest Solar Powered Car!

Worlds smallest solar powered car :D

http://www.amazon.com/Solar-Car-Smallest-Powered-Educational/dp/B004FEXUP4/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1370997883&sr=8-9&keywords=cheap

what I am asking is this: you see this toy it has a solar panel. You put it on the floor and it runs exclusively by the light hitting the panel. If that car was a regular tesla, how big should the panel be, 35 square meters?

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004YY6OZI/?tag=14606-20

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004FEXUP4/?tag=14606-20

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001JHZSEG/?tag=14606-20

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004U0IRGU/?tag=14606-20

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0717802418/ < recommended

I am mildly dyslexic, it is very annoying.

solar powered car

Soft kitty, warm kitty, little ball of fur

Well, right here is the world's smallest solar powered car! It's on my "Lil Stuff" list.

You rule! I'm glad you got your cash card back. Those pesky thieves!

All of these come from China so expect a 4-6 week delivery time.

Waterproof Indestructible Wallet – $2.45

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002JWF6OC/ref=oh_details_o09_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1


Credit Card Size Survival Pocket Tool - $1.18

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000Q06LI4/ref=oh_details_o02_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Ring Bottle Opener – $0.65

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001U2RNXE/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Totals to $4.28 so you would have some left over.

You could also get
World’s Smallest Solar Powered Car - $1.99

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004FEXUP4/ref=oh_details_o09_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

4.5" Jupiter MOVA Globe https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008Y48DYY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_AczyybYFB7MKG


Probably more for shipping. Does not qualify for amazon prime.

In case anyone was like me and immediately wanted to look this up

I remember spending countless hours with Snap Circuits.

The buzzer was the most fun.

Anyone who might find this in the future I decided on this snap circuit
I figure we can do it together and I think it'll be fun too!


http://www.amazon.com/Elenco-Snap-Circuits-SC-300-Physics/dp/B00CIXVIRQ/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1406588697&sr=8-2&keywords=snap+circuit Give me a price /u/PriceZombie

These things!?. They were my jam back in grade school.

Hijacking to give some tips on toys and fun activities that can help solidify all this in your brain if you're more of a tactile learner (don't feel bad that these are "kids'" toys, as most of the people I know really only use their children as an excuse to buy them...):


Snap circuits help you get the idea of electricity transmitting information. Plus the informational material is written for someone who is actually nine.

https://www.amazon.com/Snap-Circuits-SC-300-Electronics-Discovery/dp/B00CIXVIRQ


Then you can look at how those work a little further using Arduino:

http://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/accessories/apd/a9335657?ST=pla&dgc=ST&cid=302851&lid=57581044&acd=1230980731501410&ven1=A9335657:54715087668:901pdb6671:c&ven2=:&ven3=272703650778773293

Lego robotics also use Arduino:

https://www.fractuslearning.com/2016/08/29/making-programming-lego-robotics/

You know how Lego has that picture by picture guide to building? Imagine learning robotics that way. My daughter at some point decided she didn't want to use Lego for whatever reason, though, so she's getting this for Christmas:

http://www.robotshop.com/en/makeblock-mbot-ranger-3-in-1-transformable-stem-educational-robot-kit.html

I realize these are costly items. But there are also budget versions and we also use programmr to help understand how code actually executes actions in an environment.

If you're interested in learning more, or if you know someone who is (especially a kid), hands on is really the way to start. Otherwise they'll be like me and take apart your electronics to see what's inside... that's also fun.

> Just curious what you can teach a 5 year old that qualifies as computer science.

https://www.amazon.com/Think-Fun-1900-Robot-Turtles/dp/B00HN2BXUY

Maybe a stretch to call it computer science, but you can teach "thinking algorithmically". I play this game with my four year old.

Do you mean that you want to know why coding is important? Or do you want to know to learn how to code in a way that you physically feel and understand what you're writing?

I feel like it's the latter, there are a few different ways you can approach this.

1. If you want to learn how to think in specific sequences, you can buy this Robot Turtles board game. It's fairly rudimentary, but you learn about why order matters and how to think about some task as a set of actions and loops.
   
   
2. Similar to Robot Turtles, Alice simplifies the coding process with the purpose of creating 3D animations, stories and video games. It's still rather simple, but that's purposeful to remove much of the overhead so you just are thinking about what actions need to happen to create what I want.
   
   
3. If you are fine with using a full programming language and the problems you've been doing, but are confused by magic box that is just running code, then something like Python Tutor will help. Python Tutor helps you slow down the execution and lets you go step by step to and follow along with exactly what's happening in your code (similar to using a debugger for those who already know how to use one). And it lets you do this in more than just Python. It has most of the programming languages you'll encounter (Python, Ruby, C, C++, Java, Javascript, Typescript).
   
   Best of luck on your journey.

5 is pretty young to learn coding. You could try scratch, but that may be a bit beyond him.

There is a board game called Robot Turtles that I play with my girls. It teaches some programming concepts in a board game.

I would definitely agree with Snap Circuits. They delight my BD3 (who may understand at best the very basics), and I expect that it will serve more of a learning purpose in future years.

Two other suggestions which are both logic/coding based but may appeal to a child with budding STEM interest:

• Makey Makey: I've used this with children ages 6-18 and generally get the same excited responses regardless of age. With older children, I tend to use as a way to introduce to "real" electronics. You can combine with Scratch, so she can design her own games/programs. Feel free to shoot me a message if you want to ask questions about this.
  
  
• Robot Turtles: I've not used this personally, but I've only heard positive things about it from friends and colleagues who have played with their children

I suppose I'm more optimistic about kids, regardless of how seamless tech is. I'm a child of the 80's and back then the concept of give and take with digital logic was practically non-existent. When I was young (less than 10 I'm sure) my dad asked me how I would teach a robot to walk to my neighbor's house. "Walk to my neighbors house" "No, you can only tell him to step with his right and left feet" "Step left, step right" etc. A spent probably 5 mins offering simplistic solutions that he shot down by having us run through the script and realize my robot bumped into a tree, or a dog knocked it over, etc. That conversation forever changed how I thought about computer programming.

Nowadays kids TV has more logic in it. Kids games are being explicitly setup to teach logic. Things like Minecraft go a huge way. Older practical tech like inbox rules or Excel spreadsheets has basic scripting and programming built in. A lot more kids will grow up absorbing these sorts of lessons. Hell I played a board game with my 3 year old daughter that was that robot story in friendlier packaging.

My 4-year-old son is very mature too and easily gets bored with typical toys for his age group. I totally recommend the Robot Turtles board game! It teaches children the ins and outs of programing (coding). My son plays it obsessively at his cousin's house. I guarantee your son will be hooked once he tries it. Plus NO BATTERIES! Bonus!!!

Sorry, had to find out from the girl's mother in Germany.

It's <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HN2BXUY">Robot Turtles</a>.

For people that are using the A6000/NEX-6/NEX-7, the way that the flash is designed allows you to pretty easily bounce the flash by just holding it back with your finger so that it points mostly straight up. You can even purchase some cards that will slide into the hotshoe that will hold it up and make this even easier - I don't have these myself but I've heard good things.

angle the flash upwards or get one of these if you're shooting something close-ish

I have these bounce cards which are a nice little tool: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00LEX4RW4

LOL the phone light trick does work, you can AF it too if you have adequate light and lock the focus with half push of the shutter button. Honestly the best way is to use the on-camera flash. I also use this nifty diffuser for my A6000. It's useful for indoors ceiling bounce for close-ups and the white one also works to help evenly distribute the light for less shadows. And it's cheap!


http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00LEX4RW4?keywords=a6000%20flash%20bounce&qid=1451936770&ref_=sr_1_1&sr=8-1

Take the motherboard out and look for blown capacitors or damaged board.

Some places can just replace the capacitors (Very small soldering iron tip and flux)

I had a similar problem not too long ago. Turns out the bottom of the board had a short. Looked like water damage had erroded the board away and broke part of the copper connection inside the board itself. That's harder to fix but you can use something like this https://www.amazon.co.uk/Circuit-Scribe-Conductive-Ink-Pen/dp/B00OZATJ3A to repair the connection.

I advise against this but as a last ditch effort you could try.

Other than that it's a new mobo i'm afraid. Good news tho. Motherboards are fairly cheap (Depending on what type you want/need)

Childrens toy https://www.amazon.com/Circuit-Scribe-Non-Toxic-Conductive-Silver/dp/B00OZATJ3A

Yeah, I remember the kickstarter for this. You can buy one here, but they're $30 a pop. It's silver that makes that ink conduct.

Wood fidget puzzle

So far I've found this one! https://www.amazon.com/Toysmith-TSM6496-Wood-Fidget-Puzzle/dp/B00YRZ5QTE/ref=asc_df_B00YRZ5QTE/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312031085430&hvpos=1o3&hvnetw=g&hvrand=2545190158923387587&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1014471&hvtargid=aud-800703102928:pla-493501871268&psc=1 it's a fidget puzzle

(Someone correct me if I'm wrong - I don't have a ton of experience with hinges.)

Usually, two boards hinged together will only be touching in the closed position, and one will swing away from the other when opened (pictures: closed - no gap, open - gap). You want the ends of your boards to be flush in the open position, and one end flush with one side in the closed position. This is a problem because the corners will prevent one board from rotating around the other. Normally it would be solved by chamfering the edges (for your case, swap "closed" and "open" and ignore the lid), but that would leave you with a long groove when your box is open flat. I think you would have this problem with any traditional hinge.

I can think of two other solutions, one fun and one practical:

1. Have you ever had one of these toys where the blocks are joined with an elastic band, so you can pull them apart, rotate one piece to a different side of another, and they snap back together? That could be cool!
   
   
2. Can you make the base (the middle piece and the pieces you want to hinge to it) from thicker plywood? Then you can use barrel hinges or invisible hinges to connect them. Check out this photo, except "closed" is your open, "partially open" is your closed, and ignore "fully open."
   
   (You may also want to use thicker plywood for the 900x136 ends if you plan to put latches or a handle on them.)

Particularly for people who struggle with anxiety issues, i have one of these and its a lifesaver when im in a waiting room or something like that. It seems like a child's toy but honestly it's amazing. Keeps your hands busy and somehow allows me to focus a bit more. I'm in the UK, and they sell these (and things like them) for £1, £1.50 in Hawkins Bazzar, not sure if that exists in the US, but worth metioning.

http://www.amazon.com/Toysmith-TSM6496-Wood-Fidget-Puzzle/dp/B00YRZ5QTE

Amazon!

$179.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01GA1298S

$179 on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Anki-000-00048-Cozmo/dp/B01GA1298S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1506453378&sr=8-1&keywords=cosmo

Got one for my son last Christmas and we both still play with it.

$180, you can buy it here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01GA1298S/i

Something like this

https://www.amazon.com/Anki-000-00048-Cozmo/dp/B01GA1298S/ref=sr_1_3?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1502938439&sr=1-3&keywords=cozmo
This will take you to the robot cozmo.

Do you even google?

http://www.amazon.com/Solar-Car-Smallest-Powered-Educational/dp/B004FEXUP4