(Part 2) Best learning & education toys according to redditors

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B008P2XJ30

Toss it into a rock tumbler for a month or so and you could sell it on eBay for a few bucks. Might have to get one a little larger than this one though.

Sounds like she could use one of these.
Or, a little cheaper on Amazon, but not as professional.

You can recreate this yourself for the low price of $4.52: https://smile.amazon.com/TEDCO-TT-200-Tornado-Tube-Assorted/dp/B000GYSZOI?sa-no-redirect=1

https://www.amazon.com/Magnetic-Viewing-Film-Field-Display/dp/B00129CCGS

https://www.amazon.com/Originial-TEDCO-Gyroscope-Twin-Pak/dp/B000FGKHZ2/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1505692078&sr=8-2&keywords=gyroscope

Two for $10! These are cheap, but still fun.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B077LHS81K/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1524142069&sr=8-3&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=stirling+engine&dpPl=1&dpID=41Ku8cGvJzL&ref=plSrch

I think this is one

https://www.amazon.com/American-Science-Surplus-25620-Pathfinders/dp/B0087V3N3U

Magnetic Viewing Film - Magnetic Field Display Film 6" x 6" - COOL ! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00129CCGS/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_-rw7BbVFD2QTA

Honestly not that expensive! Here it’s $33 but you might be able to get it for less: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B077LHS81K/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_sTh-BbY02PQ4E

As other posters have said, it's not a fair comparison. Both the US and the Canadian products are sold by third party vendors.

• Amazon.com: Ships from and sold by STL PRO, Inc.
  
  
• Amazon.ca: Ships from and sold by Blue_Bay.
  
  So your complaint should be with STL Pro, Inc. and Blue_Bay, not with amazon.com or amazon.ca.
  
  And as someone who regularly purchases from amazon.com, I usually avoid third party vendors altogether. I'd rather have a product that "ships from and sold by Amazon.com" (or is "fulfilled by Amazon") in case anything goes wrong. It's a lot easier to have amazon deal with returns/refunds/issues than a random third party company.

The simplest is to use a radio chip like from Silicon Labs - 99% of all radios you'd buy from Walmart, etc. use these chips these days.

They are designed for "digital" so they have SPI controls to set tuning. You'll want a custom PCB for these but it only requires power, clock, SPI microcontroller, antenna, and audio power amplifiers.

You can also build "old school" discrete FM radios using discrete parts (e.g. transistors or older FM ICs). Google for circuits for these. They are strictly more complicated to build.

Ones like this are "minimally functional" - it's not high fidelity. These are so-called "super-regenerative" radios which can product radio interference or added noise in the audio. But it's quick-and-dirty easy.

A superheterodyne is better but far more complex. You need IF transformers and more circuitry. Strictly the Silicon Labs are implementing a superhet internally. I recommend an FM radio kit rather than design/build your own completely from scratch.

https://www.amazon.com/Elenco-FM-88K-FM-Radio-Kit/dp/B004YHZE0G

http://www.ebay.com/bhp/fm-radio-kit?rmvSB=true

https://www.sciplus.com/p/amfm-radio-kit_2451

> mine it yourself in the US is Sapphire.

It's highly unlikely that you're gonna be able to find any kind of a gem grade stone by visiting an open-to-the-public mine. And if you do find one, it'll be so puny and an ugly color that it wouldn't be worth the expense of cutting it.

However, I have a sneaky suggestion that poses some fun and excitement for you and she'll get a knockout gem in the end!

Start off buying an inexpensive but high quality rock tumbler. It'll come with a small amount of varying grits and instructions.

For sapphire rough you're gonna need silicon carbide 220 grit and a few weeks of patience.

Couple bags of 15mm alumina balls for filler material inside the tumbler.

Contact a gem cutter like this guy HERE, select the synthetic sapphire/ruby (or spinel) color(s) of your choice and ask that he cut up a quarter-boule into varies shapes and preform them into alluvial shapes in the 5-7ct range. This will allow you some breathing room for polishing so that you wind up with a handful of various shapes and sizes after tumbling. You would then (secretly) drop these lil beauties into your honey's gem gravel before the wash. You'd probably have to fill in the assisting staff at the mine of what you're doing. She then discovers the gems and picks out which one she wants to have cut.

You then contact Phil again, send him the piece(s)....and he cuts a perfect gem in the size and shape that you choose either from the tumbled rough or new material.

You save a bankroll, have a blast being sneaky and she gets a REAL sapphire or ruby for her engagement ring and is never the wiser. :)

I was thinking more like a rock tumbler instead of a Yeti type thing. Lol.

https://www.amazon.com/Magnetic-Viewing-Film-Field-Display/dp/B00129CCGS

$12.99 on Amazon and free shipping!

Query: If I had several small stones like OP's, and wanted to do something fun with them, what kind of results would I get by passing them through one of those cheap, commercially available tumbler/polisher things like this one? I always wanted to give it a shot, but I always thought the results on the box seemed suspect. Do you have any experience with such devices?

Haha, sure https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008P2XJ30/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/Woofer-Guitar-Discovery-Creativity-Sing-Along/dp/B004Z0VVEK

My daughter has had this doggy guitar we got from target for like 16 bucks. Its more expensive on amazon.

She has had it since she was one and still adores it.

Edit: This brand of toys makes really good quality of toys too. I can appreciate sturdy and not easily broken.

Dope.
It's an ortholinear TKL with a nonstandard layout and custom keycaps. And it's only $25.

• Fire TV Stick, which is a lower-cost alternative to the awesome Fire TV. (think Apple TV, but actually good)
  
  
• Raspberry Pi which is a tiny fully-functional/fully-featured ARM computer.
  
  
• Arduino, which is an easy-to-use electronics prototyping platform, great if you're interested in learning how to make your own electronics and whatnot. (you might also want this, this, this, this, and this. Should be less than $40 altogether, though you could also probably find like a starter kit that comes with an arduino, book, and components.)
  
  
• Huion drawing tablet, great for if you want to do digital art. I haven't used this model specifically, but I do have the (bigger/more expensive) Huion 610 Pro, which I love.
  
  
• Amazon Prime student was like $40 IIRC, not sure if that has changed though.

And to think, I was content with this when I was younger.

> https://www.amazon.com/American-Science-Surplus-25620-Pathfinders/dp/B0087V3N3U

For ages 8+

Jordan could be on the cat keyboard http://www.amazon.com/B-68612-Meowsic-Keyboard/dp/B002YIRKBS

A desk Stirling engine is such a cool and fun knickknack to have. Gave one to my ChemE sister and she absolutely loved it.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B077LHS81K/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_XkhoDbE637TY2

The only keyboard in that price range I can recommend is this one https://www.amazon.ca/Battat-B-BX1025Z-Meowsic-Keyboard/dp/B002YIRKBS/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1549215955&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=meowsic+keyboard

$49.99US on Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/MARBLEWORKS%C2%AE-Starter-Set-Discovery-Toys/dp/B003SAM6BU/ref=pd_rhf_pe_p_img_1

Just placed my order for my 3 year old.

http://www.amazon.com/4M-3653-Tin-Can-Robot/dp/B0014WO96Y

I had a gyroscope when I was ten-ish... like this one... it was pretty cool (I still think they're cool).

i've always been a bit of an audiophile. I've been interested in electronics since I was 7 or 8. My dad found an old electronic project lab from Radio Shack similar to this one here from Amazon. I built everything in the project book ranging from a light-sensitive alarm clock to a complex circuit that could simulate random dice rolls. I even built a small AM transmitter that could broadcast my voice 3 feet.

So loving electronics and audio, I was determined to find out as much as I could about it. I even tried to build my own audio mixer, but the ol' project lab didn't have enough components to do much more than make a karaoke machine... :( But it had an audio output and the mic had an input level, so to me it was pretty cool at the time!

Then a friend of my parents gifted me his old encyclopedia of electronics and in it was a blurb about Pseudo-Stereophony or Pseudostereophonics, the study of which is apparently called Psychoacoustics. According to the encyclopedia, it was only a concept that would one day find a practical application, but at the time of the writing (1980's?), there wasn't much going on with it and it was only a concept. About two paragraphs, but I said it was possible to do with any audio source, on the fly.

Here's an article explaining a bit more for the technically oriented who care about it.

EDIT:

For what it's worth, in order to produce a sound as if it were coming from in front of the listener, one would require to produce a sound and then a fraction of a second later, an echo that is out of phase since the echoing sound would be out of phase of the original sound.

To produce a sound as if it were coming from the rear of the listener (make a raspberry noise!), one would require to produce a sound and two echos. The first sound would be quieter due to the shape of the ear, sound cannot easily enter the ear canal from the rear. Then the first echo, out of phase similar to a source in front of the listener, since that sound shit likes to bounce. Then depending on the environment, another much quieter echo would then be played (again out of phase...damn echos) to simulate the original sound bouncing off any objects in front of the listener. I would say that any earphones that support this technology would need two audio drivers in the earpiece. A high-quality one for the original sound source and another, fine-tuned driver that would produce sound on a spectrum consistent with the spectrum of audio commonly carried in by echoing sound waves.

God, I'm a nerd.

Marble Works.

They still do, some even still come in a case. There are also Arduino and RaspberryPi kits.

Cat Piano

Helps your little ones explore sounds and music. Bonus, will play all notes in a meow!

please forgive the lack of formatting below, but here are a few toy favs:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N4W4PTS/ref=s9_acsd_zwish_hd_bw_bNEt4N_c_x_w?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=merchandised-search-5&pf_rd_r=QCMJ545PGH645VFRWMDW&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=84225ac7-32bd-54a6-8497-91c509904cf0&pf_rd_i=343404011&th=1 if you want a traditional pet

https://www.amazon.com/Wish-Novelty-Control-Interactive-Robotic/dp/B076KF1CSM/ref=sr_1_6?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1510792179&sr=1-6&keywords=robotic+pet another traditional but cool pet

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075CXV6Z6/ref=s9_acsd_topr_hd_bw_bNEt4N_c_x_w?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=merchandised-search-11&pf_rd_r=QCMJ545PGH645VFRWMDW&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=84225ac7-32bd-54a6-8497-91c509904cf0&pf_rd_i=343404011&th=1 getting a little out of the norm but still a cool companion
https://www.amazon.com/MSRM-Smart-Ball-App-Enabled-Robotic/dp/B01KMC76DE/ref=sr_1_9?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1510792179&sr=1-9&keywords=robotic+pet my personal favorite
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0014WO96Y/ref=s9_acsd_top_hd_bw_bNEt4N_c_x_1_w?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=merchandised-search-3&pf_rd_r=QCMJ545PGH645VFRWMDW&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=84225ac7-32bd-54a6-8497-91c509904cf0&pf_rd_i=343404011 a classic

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075BNF5Y5/ref=sspa_dk_detail_0?psc=1 middle of the line type toy

After almost 4 long months, I have just completed my (almost) fully labeled Deep Space Ergodox

Parts Listing:

• Aluminum top plate Case from mechanicalkeyboards.com
  
  
• replacement purple plate from Falbatech
  
  
• P3xon ergodox cable set
  
  
• Deep Space Core, Polaris 100% Kit, Ergodox Kit, and numerous keys from Grab Bag
  
  
• Two Black Metal Ravens from HKP
  
  I have always been a buckling springs fan.
  
  And then one day I saw the "Deep Space" keyset and fell in love.
  
  Since Deep Space obviously doesn't work on a buckling spring board, I decided to get a Cherry MX board.I was back home in the States for a month with a lot of free time, and I didn't just want to buy one so I started looking at kits. Once I saw the Ergodox I knew I had to build one.
  
  Unfortunately this was in Auugust of this year, so the Deep Space group buy was long over, and there was no groupbuy up for the ergodox (or infinity ergodox) either.
  
  Using the ergodox site I sourced and ordered the parts. I had never assembled anything using a soldering iron but decided to give it a shot. I used a cheap Amazon radio kit just to get a feel for it (I never got that damned kit working btw).
  
  The ergodox assembly went great. Had it finished in a day. It all worked first try. I had forgotten to order a TRRS cable though, so I had to wait an excruciating 3 days to find out though. After three months of use I discovered that I missed two solder points on diodes so the keys acted erratically, but that was a quick fix.
  
  I originally ordered it with blanks instead of Deep Space keys, because I wanted to test out DSA profile and they were considerably cheaper than the full Deep Space set. Once I decided I liked it I went ahead and ordered the Deep Space keyset.
  
  I ordered it a week before I planned on leaving the U.S. and it, of course, arrived an hour after my plane took off.
  
  I finally got the set a month or so later which was when I realized I made a mistake. Unfortunately I wasn't looking at the sets when I ordered. The ergodox Deep Space set is DRASTICLY different from my layout, and combined with the core does not cover the board.
  
  By this time 90% of the PMK Deep Space set was sold out, so I had to hunt for people selling it. I came across a great deal on mech market for the function keys and ordered those. I also managed to catch a grab bag which covered the rest of the board. A few PMK blanks and it was at least covered in the proper colors.
  
  As of this time I am still missing a 1.5 Return key in deepspace colors (do they even make this?) and a 1.5 Shift key in deep space colors (which only seems to be in the ergodox set which is a $44...and sold out). I'd also like to order a Planetary Set if it comes in stock to replace my Ravens with the Yellow Galaxy swirl.

This?

Yeah, the innerfidelity video is great. I also practiced my soldering on a cheap little kit with a lot of components like this. That helped me become comfortable with my iron and again, more confident in what I was doing.

I am obsessed with the brand called B. Toys. They're really well made and made with interesting colors so it's gender neutral but not boring My son and his friends are obsessed with all of their toys. Here are some of my favorites:

Cars: http://www.amazon.com/B-68621AM-Wheeee-ls/dp/B002YITFWK/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1394653162&sr=8-2&keywords=b.+toys


Guitar
http://www.amazon.com/Battat-68643AM-B-Woofer-Guitar/dp/B004Z0VVEK/ref=pd_sim_t_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=0KRP6JRXKC9YQPYQWM3Q


Keys http://www.amazon.com/B-68625AMY-Fun-Keys-Papaya/dp/B0068GWX8M/ref=sr_1_1?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1394653266&sr=1-1&keywords=funkeys

Zany Zoo
http://www.amazon.com/B-68625AMY-Fun-Keys-Papaya/dp/B0068GWX8M/ref=sr_1_1?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1394653266&sr=1-1&keywords=funkeys

alphaberry http://www.amazon.com/B-68631AMN-Alphaberry-Navy-Blue/dp/B00471FMO2/ref=sr_1_14?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1394653350&sr=1-14

I've taken a lot of 2 year olds to Disneyland. Usually they're pretty bored, overwhelmed, not that into it. Disneyland is for older kids. Too many lines!

My suggestion, get her the most annoying and loud toy you can find. There's these electronic drum sets that light up. Toddlers LOVE them. These toys are torture. Get that! worst toy ever


PS. Kids under 3 get into Disneyland free.

Yes

It's also been cloned by just about everyone.

http://www.amazon.com/MARBLEWORKS%C2%AE-Starter-Set-Discovery-Toys/dp/B003SAM6BU

Not VSTs but 8dio’s Misfit Toys, https://8dio.com/instrument-category/misfits/, are fun and people are doing interesting things with the Moewsic keyboard, https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002YIRKBS/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_1Yz6CbJM8XGNJ, both sampling and hardware upgrades such as https://www.instructables.com/id/Meow-Keyboard-Output-Jack/.

Electrical engineer here...if you want to get into micro electronics and digital circuits (and you're a total beginner) go pick up one of those kits for kids. There are some that are very helpful for teaching you the basic of circuits (Ohm's Law) and stuff as well as helping you troubleshoot simple circuits. You don't want to jump right in with a fx generation, oscilloscope, DMM and try to make a complex circuit using ICs and MOSFETS and stuff as you'll just get frustrated and confused (as well as damage/destroy components).

You really don't want to skip the basics. Even in college we all ended up destroying so many resistors and chips while bread boarding things that we actually ran out of some components and some of us couldn't finish our labs.

It's a great and fun hobby to have with a great community of very smart people (especially if you get into things like Arduino, Raspberry Pi and stuff).

TL;DR: Learn the basics, get a child's electronics kit and go from there. Work up to all the other things.

Edit: I had something like this as a kid: http://www.amazon.com/Vintage-Sports-Cards-MX-906-Electronic/dp/B00005K2SY/ref=sr_1_69?ie=UTF8&qid=1412357116&sr=8-69&keywords=beginner+circuits+kit

I had one of those Elenco 300 in 1 project kits as a kid and they are a wonderful way to learn the basics

I used these growing up: 130 in one

This one is out of stock, but there are others around the 50 dollar mark.

Oh I forgot to mention, I recently found this on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/National-Geographic-Hobby-Rock-Tumbler/dp/B01LQCIL88

It's a bit pricey, but it lets you make your own jewelry and polish your own gemstones! I'd love to buy it for myself, but I think your crush would really love this too - you two could even use it together! OR you could use it and give her a necklace made with the gemstones you polish :)

cant find the exact version but heres one https://www.amazon.com/Originial-TEDCO-Gyroscope-Twin-Pak/dp/B000FGKHZ2

This looks like it's from an educational building kit. I actually have one like it, but I haven't had the chance to build it yet. Here's a link for anyone who wants one: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0087V3N3U/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_hBixybDTJF9XT

[Stirling Engine] (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B077LHS81K/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_apa_i_WStSDb6QH23EV)

Forgot to mention, for his 2nd birthday I got him these two items:
Drum Set
Piano
He loves them!
In the mornings when we get ready he will take a break and go play some music and dance around.

> https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B008P2XJ30 ADULT ONLY

hahaha.

The snap circuits version is 20$ right now on amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CIXVITO/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

http://www.amazon.com/Classic-Crafts-635-Rock-Tumbler/dp/B00000ISUU/ref=sr_1_2?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1406207238&sr=1-2

Yeah it is a long drive, but just get up early and drive out there, takes a couple hours, and trust me, it's worth it. In Ocala, you can hike all day, then setup camp, and then walk over and go swimming in a spring, two nights in a row. But you need to either hike with a partner and self shuttle, or pay someone to drop you off on the other end of the trail. But definitely you want some easier overnights under your belt. I think Hillsborough and Starkey would be good shakedown hikes.

1. Water. There's a million ways to make water, this way is one of the best. Get two smartwater bottles, 1 or 1.5L each, and a sawyer squeeze, and a tornado tube. The tornado tube lets you mate any standard water/soda bottle or bladder onto both ends of the sawyer filter. Just fill up the bladder with dirty water, and roll the bag to force water through the filter. Clean, drinkable water comes out the other side into your smartwater bottles. 3L is plenty of capacity for this area. Most times you will only need one bottle, but it's nice to have the second so you can fill it up before getting into camp. You can also add to this kit a 20oz water or soda bottle with the top cut off. This is a cheap, light "scoop", that let's you scoop up standing water and pour it into the sawyer bladder. you'll find it's hard to fill that bladder otherwise if you're trying to use water that isn't moving. (Remember, you can boil water to purify it, but this is florida and boiled swamp water is still swamp water, you'll want to filter it for it to be palatable.)
   
   
2. I am guessing you have a backpacking stove. If not, get one, and you'll need a ultralight cookpot. To start, a msr pocket rocket or micro-rocket is a good beginner's system. (I use alcohol stove, but you can work up to that later). You'll also need a cookpot. My lightweight, cheap option of choice is the imusa 12cm pot, which you can find at walmart for about $8. Bring a bandana or something to hold it though, because it gets HOT. You'll use this to boil water for cooking foods. I've had every one of these recipes, and they are all solid, and cheap to make from common grocery store items. The portions and cooking instructions are all dialed in too. http://andrewskurka.com/section/how-to/food-nutrition/meal-recipes/
   
   
   Edit: alcohol is cheaper, and since you're student, if you want advice on making an alcohol stove, you can start here: http://andrewskurka.com/2011/how-to-make-a-fancy-feast-alcohol-stove/

Snow, snow, go away

This plus this = $20 exactly.

You are so very pretty :)

the keyboard cat is incredible. here it is: http://www.amazon.com/B-68612-Meowsic-Keyboard/dp/B002YIRKBS/ref=sr_1_1?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1314075063&sr=1-1
and yeah one of the "voices" (besides piano/organ/banjo) is a cat where all the keys produce different tonal meows. it's pretty incredible.

it also has a microphone and decent recording capability (for a toy). and yeah like dave said it has built in songs that are cat voiced or themed.

im thinking about starting a band with it.

This thing has a song with the opening riff to stairway to heaven.

Yeah, I'm looking for a tumbler.
I've found a few online, but they look kind of sketchy....
http://www.ukge.co.uk/UK/Stone-Tumblers.asp?gclid=CNquv8S53a4CFUcRfAodqk9Kag
and this one is purely for kids, don't know if it's going to be worth a try at all.
http://www.amazon.com/Classic-Crafts-Rock-Tumbler/dp/B00000ISUU

.... and good luck try not to electrocute your self too hard.

https://www.amazon.com/TEDCO-TT-200-Tornado-Tube-Assorted/dp/B000GYSZOI

Pretty Cool

you can find these at kids science type stores, some walmarts etc.

they just need a bit of trimming
tornado tube

Want to learn about circuits? Get a Snap Circuit board for $20. My 6 and 8 year old (and I) have learned a great deal about circuits and basic electronics and if the want to dive deeper with a bread board they would already be a step ahead on basic principles.

As for the educational/school angle - $20 gets you a kit that teaches multiple projects, doesn't require additional components and doesn't run out of ink. Just AA batteries..

http://www.amazon.com/Snap-Circuits-Jr-SC-100-Kit/dp/B00CIXVITO/ref=sr_1_1?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1413517936&sr=1-1&keywords=snap+circuits

my personal recommendation is to get a soldering kit first and watch the EEVBlog tutorials on soldering: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5Sb21qbpEQ part 1 is equipment, part 2 is throughhole, and part 3 is surface mount (which you don't have to watch). Part 2 is the most important; because you're just doing throughhole you can buy a cheap soldering station for like 25 bucks since throughhole components can take a bigger beating than SMD stuff.

I got the Elenco FM radio kit on amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Elenco-FM-88K-FM-Radio-Kit/dp/B004YHZE0G because it was cool and gave me more of an incentive to finish. This part is to just work out how to throughhole solder on something that doesn't cost 80-100 dollars; you'll probably feel like you have the hang of it after a couple minutes, but it's better to get that way before you start on your board

My gravity setup: 1.5ml Evernew Bladder -> Squeeze -> Tornado Tube--> 1L Smartwater or another Evernew.

https://smile.amazon.com/Originial-TEDCO-Gyroscope-Twin-Pak/dp/B000FGKHZ2

bam

For 300 can't really help you. That's unfortunately toy tier.

If you want to go the way of VSTs then save up and get yourself a VPC1. Best stand alone midi controller for pianist using computer loaded with VSTs. $1800.

For an all in one digital piano with realistic piano action, you will be looking at over $3500 (ca48+, CLP675+)

For under $1000 there's the ever reliable P-125, but if your hands and skill level are used to a grand piano. It's not going to feel good. BUT if your option is that or nothing well than something is better than nothing.

Latency issue can be fixed by getting an Audio Interface which is like an external soundcard. Your computer and midi controller would plug into that thing and you won't have to worry about your computer's onboard audio messing with you.

Alternate cheap option. The B. Meowsic. It does nothing you want, but everything you didn't know you wanted. You just never heard Chopin until you hear it in meows.

two words...

Breadboard



Ok maybe that was just one word...

This might be a bit much, but I want to help inspire the next generation of women scientists. Might I suggest a rock tumbler at some point? Perhaps make some nice Jewelry, or just simply studying the stones that come up?

How about an FM radio circuit kit, like this?

I think you might need to get a soldering iron though.

Anyone who wants one.

https://www.amazon.com/Vortex-Bottle-Connector-Tornado-Colors/dp/B0090LYSLC

Beauty

• Hair Chalk Kit
  
• Fashion Headbands Kit
  
• Sparkle Tattoo Set
  
• Ink-a-do Tattoo Pens
  
• Mani Pedi Party Set
  
• Nail Stickers
  
  
  Tech-y Toys
  
  
• Voice Changer
  
• Snap Circuits Jr.
  
• Coke Can RC Car
  
• RC Copter
  
• RC Quadcopter
  
• RC Mustang
  
• RC Tranatula
  
  Nerf
  
  
• Strongarm Blaster
  
• Zombie Hammershot
  
• Thunderblast Launcher
  
• Bow Blaster
  
• Zombie Strike Target Set
  
• Crossbolt Blaster
  
• Rebelle Crossbow Blaster
  
• Pink Crush Blaster
  
  Arts & Crafts
  
  
• Scratch Art Kit
  
• Travel Spirograph
  
• Needlepoint Butterfly
  
• Spirograph Tin
  
• Paper Airplanes Kit
  
• Rock Pets Garden Frog
  
• Perler Bead Kit
  
• My First Sewing Kit
  
• Butterfly Necklace Maker
  
• Paper Bead Making Kit
  
• Shrinky Dinks Jewelry
  
• Needlepoint Flower
  
• Clay Charm Craft Kit
  
• Mr. Sketch Scent Markers

An electronics learning kit like this one always interested me. I've since played with electronics as an adult and I'm sure I would have loved that as a kid.

Wear a thimble. It's not exactly a perfect shield, but stuff would stick to it instead of you. Also, when I passed a sheet of magnetic viewing film over sheet metal with a magnet on the underside, I got no reaction, so it's a decent shield.

Yes, perfboard, breadboard, protoboard. These are all correct although "breadboard" often implies the solderless type like this (more info here).
You connect a resistor by bending it's leads and pushing them through the holes. Then you solder them onto the board on the other side (you know what resistors look like right?)
Usually I place all my components on the board and then wire the components together according to the schematic. Here's an idea what the back side might look like.
In the end it is rare that the board and the schematic look at all similar.

Do you have all the components you need?...
Nevermind that for now... To Youtube!!
There is soooo much material on youtube. I searched "how to populate a perfboard" and clicked a random vid. Looks promising. I didn't watch the whole thing, but clearly it's related to what you're trying to learn. Likely there are better tutorials, it's just a matter of searching and watching.
Good luck! Don't be afraid to break things :)

Use this on the key http://www.amazon.com/Magnetic-Viewing-Film-Field-Display/dp/B00129CCGS to figure out how the magnets are organized then arrange your own to match and boom key made

Honestly these things are pretty good. Not for the hardware, but for the manual that comes with it.

Work through every single project, and for each one, once you've built it, change a detail. Predict what effect your change will make before making it, that's what'll really promotes learning and reasoning.

This thread a few days ago might be interesting too.

Awesome weird thing is right here!

The RHS is pretty good, congratulations!

For the LHS you're attempting to use a floating (i.e. neither terminal grounded) 12V power supply, to synthesize -3.4V_with_respect_to_ground and +8.6V_with_respect_to_ground (3.4 + 8.6 = 12). I recommend you connect these supplies to two circuit "stages" . Stage1 is an NPN transistor circuit that takes (0V, +3V) inputs and produces (+8.6V, 0V) outputs. Stage2 is a PNP transistor circuit that takes (8.6V, 0V) inputs and produces (-3.4V, +8.6V) outputs. Or you can zener clamp the high level of stage2 so its outputs are (-3.4V, +3.4V).

It's a shame you went straight to dead-bug-on-groundplane soldered implementation, without first building on a solderless plugin protoboard. In its current form, trying out modifications will be difficult.

Spirograph was cool but Marbleworks was the shirt!!!

I've got this guy, who walks quite well.

Well... that's a big question. I would start by getting a book on basic electronics, learn how to read a schematic, then buy a simple 1001 electronic experiments kit learn a bit about the fundamentals, then, probably try a very simple DIY synth build, or do some Circuit Bending before you attempt a build of this magnitude. You might also want to play with an Arduino, those are lots of fun.

I am 23 years old, and go to an engineering college. Every one of us own Legos. They are never outdated. You can get the kits, or really cool architecture ones to let the kids build the Eiffel tower or something.

Don't know if you have girls or not, but there is always GoldieBlox. The kids I nanny have the spinning machine. They also really love Snap Circuits. I also got them a stack of origami paper several months ago, and we learn different creatures together while talking about their habitat, what they eat, etc. We make whole webs with predators, prey, plants, everything. My boss also recommended me Dr Toy to look at when trying to find new projects for the kids.

Wow, thanks so much for the information! I've got this tumbler.

1. How can I tell which rocks are hard vs soft? Should I make an ID before tumbling and categorize them?
   
   
2. So it's less the size of the rocks that makes them shrink and more about hardness?
   
   
3. That's super interesting, I never would have figured that out! The unfortunate thing is I don't get to go hounding very often, so it would take me a REALLY long time to have enough rocks. :(

FWIW that cleaning coupler looks like it's pretty much the same as one of these tornado tube things that you can get a little cheaper. It's also useful for setting up a gravity system.

I know it's been a few days, but thought I'd still say something. I have a few of these guys and they've always worked well for me!

Did you know Amazon will donate a portion of every purchase if you shop by going to smile.amazon.com instead? Over $50,000,000 has been raised for charity - all you need to do is change the URL!

Here are your smile-ified links:

these guys

---

^^i'm ^^a ^^friendly bot

Buy one of these https://www.amazon.com/Vortex-Bottle-Connector-Tornado-Colors/dp/B0090LYSLC and glue/epoxy/whatever it to any water gun you like?

[Here](Vortex Bottle Connector - Tornado in a Bottle Colors May Vary https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0090LYSLC/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_gtamDbGSH7GCK)

Electronics kits is the way to go. Buy something recenable cheap and try to make it work. Try not to shake on your hands...

https://www.amazon.com/Elenco-FM-88K-FM-Radio-Kit/dp/B004YHZE0G/ref=sr_1_3?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1469015634&sr=1-3&keywords=build+electronics

Also buy these, that will rescue you when you use too much solder...

http://www.banggood.com/Wholesale-5-Feet-2_0mm-1_5m-Desoldering-Braid-Solder-Remover-Wick-Cable-Wire-CP-2015-p-49770.html

Wash your hands, and dont worry too much about the fumes. It is a problem if you solder every single day, but you will be soldering for a short time, every month only.

Also one of these will help you, not burning your fingers.

https://www.circuitspecialists.com/content/98947/zd-10f-0.jpg

Might want to just look around for radio building kits for sale; probably cheaper than buying the individual components by themselves. Here's a couple of examples:
https://www.amazon.ca/CF210SP-Double-Frequency-Electronic-Assemble/dp/B07GYNHHHP/ref=sr_1_10_sspa?crid=3EAT06389T0I7&keywords=radio+build+kit&qid=1566855907&s=gateway&sprefix=radio+build%2Caps%2C226&sr=8-10-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUExTVNCTzlWWUFYUFZFJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwMzEzOTE4Mk5TMkpDTVFOOEMwQyZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwODE4NjczM0tEUUhRQlZBVlNIViZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX210ZiZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=

https://www.amazon.ca/Elenco-FM-88K-FM-Radio-Kit/dp/B004YHZE0G/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3EAT06389T0I7&keywords=radio+build+kit&qid=1566855907&s=gateway&sprefix=radio+build%2Caps%2C226&sr=8-1

Just remembered about building a crystal radio kit as a kid (way back in the day and was great because it used no batteries) so went back to Amazon and searched with the phrase "crystal radio kit" which returned quite a number of hits for not only crystal radio kits but also other kit options like the ones mentioned above.

Wholey smoke, those links. Lol.
For cleaner Amazon links you can scrap all the tracker junk after the product ID:

https://www.amazon.ca/CF210SP-Double-Frequency-Electronic-Assemble/dp/B07GYNHHHP/

And

https://www.amazon.ca/Elenco-FM-88K-FM-Radio-Kit/dp/B004YHZE0G/

yeah it's good to be able to make custom lengths with solid wire but i think jumpers they are generally easier, pretty fast and neat. (this kind of thing: https://www.amazon.com/microtivity-400-point-Experiment-Breadboard-Jumper/dp/B004RXKWDQ).

i think i had a similar plan with big muffs, i actually made a vero version with all the variable components socketed and the intention of being able to try all different cap and resistor values, transistors, diodes etc... and it's had the same values since i put it in the box.

This walker - it keeps making noise after your kid stops playing with it: VTech Sit-to-Stand Learning Walker (Frustration Free Packaging) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0053X62GK/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_JNivDbSERAGDE

And this drum set: VTech KidiBeats Kids Drum Set https://www.amazon.com/dp/B007XVYSDE/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_CPivDb37NDZPP

There’s this guitar that looks like a dog and is probably top 5 things I wanted to-smash-to-bits-because-it-was-making-me-crazy that my kids had when they were about 1. They are 6 now and the batteries have never been replaced, yet it still works. It lives at my parents house since they were the ones that “gifted” us the cacophony maker. They sell it at Target and amazon. https://www.amazon.com/B-Woofer-Hound-Dog-Guitar/dp/B004Z0VVEK

I just ordered components to make my first box mod, but have done small electrical work before.

Helping Hands will make your life much easier, may not be necessary if you only intend to make one mod.

a decent digital multimeter is required, as is a Soldering iron.

A Breadboard is very useful to ensure everything works as it should, before you have it all finished and put in the case.

those are all I can think of right now, sure there are others people use regularly though

Aw, I hope you feel better

Have your very own pet tornado or tin can robot

Turn that frown Upsidedown

http://www.amazon.com/Toysmith-3653-Tin-Can-Robot/dp/B0014WO96Y/ref=pd_sim_t_2

This caught my attention. Hope you like it.

Steam

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.

Similar to your engine model idea, a Sterling Engine would make a cool desk toy:

https://www.amazon.com/DjuiinoStar-Low-Temperature-Stirling-Engine/dp/B077LHS81K/

or

https://www.amazon.com/Sunnytech-Stirling-Educational-Electricity-Generator/dp/B01CE6Q71S/

I think these are cooler than the model, because they are real functioning engines.

Pretty sure he's using this, they're designed for it, but if you really want to do it low budget, the same effect can be created with some tape and the original caps.

How many kids per session? Same kids do all 6 sessions?

I really love the German examples given for introduction. 9V battery, LEDS to see what happened.

You could use $2.10 solderless breadboards Issue I had was my surplus resistors had oxide on the leads, so you had to hold the resistor and spin it while pressing the lead against a pencil eraser to clean that layer of oxide off.

Here is the desktop version of your link

• I can't recommend a better book than this one.
  
• Get this resistor kit. Seriously, I bought one of these a year ago and I've never once had to buy more resistors.
  
• You're going to need a capacitor set like this one.
  
• You're also going to need a breadboard.
  
• Make a trip to Maplin and get an assortment pack of LEDs and a few switches. Trust me, this will make your life a tons easier when it comes to making proof of concept or test circuits. And they make circuitry more interactive and fun!
  
• Lastly, get a cheap multimeter. You can get one at Maplin or somewhere similar for like <15 pounds.
  
  Sorry about the links, I'm in the US so the prices will be in USD but that shouldn't be a problem. I really hope you find this hobby as intriguing as I do, I started a year ago making little flashlights and what-not and now I'm making motion detectors and all kinds of cool gadgets. If you'd like some guidance or help, don't think twice about PMing me! Best of luck.
  

I think this one is probably better. It's got all the standard symbols and F keys, but it's also pretty!

You guys could make one of these or buy a kit like this

I built this with my son when he was 4 or 5, we had a blast. It was a good opportunity for us to explore planning and patience, as there are times when you need to leave it for some time for glue to set.

Pathfinders Robotic arm https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0087V3N3U/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_UfjiDbHSY8RHV

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!!

DjuiinoStar Low Temperature Stirling Engine Kit https://www.amazon.com/dp/B077LHS81K/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_7g5YAbXC54P2B

http://www.amazon.com/Originial-TEDCO-Gyroscope-Twin-Pak/dp/B000FGKHZ2

Somebody get that child a [drum set] (https://www.amazon.com/VTech-KidiBeats-Kids-Drum-Set/dp/B007XVYSDE)

If you are ever looking for fun projects to do, I have a sack full! Have you seen this one yet?

So what I would do is get a piece of magnetic imaging film [1] and survey the desk area for fields. Besides that I would introduce an insulator, for any development board I work on, I have used those green craft boards [2] which are seem to be great insulators. You might also try using a wrist connected grounding strap [3]. If there are any electrical posts built into the table, unplug them, and inspect the insulators and neutral & ground runs.



[1] https://www.amazon.com/Magnetic-Viewing-Film-Field-Display/dp/B00129CCGS


[2] https://www.amazon.com/Hobby-Craft-Double-Healing-Cutting/dp/B00GEKIM8W


[3] https://www.amazon.com/Anti-Static-Wrist-Strap-Grounding-Adjustable/dp/B002O6U65W

Learning the fundamentals of electronics usually involves lab equipment like oscilloscopes, meters, signal generators, etc. For this I'd take an electronics lab course for some hands-on learning and experience with the various electronics test equipment.

Basic info about components is in places like the AskElectronics Wiki and the Big Clive videos.

An Electronic Project Lab kit is basically a lot of simple projects and a good learning tool to start out with.

Found some on amazon. "Magnetic viewing film"

https://www.amazon.com/Magnetic-Viewing-Film-Field-Display/dp/B00129CCGS

May be a good place to start :)

I was totally going to suggest this one

https://smile.amazon.com/National-Geographic-Hobby-Rock-Tumbler/dp/B01LQCIL88/ref=gbps_img_m-8_41a7_8f2769b4?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_p=517b8b45-fcde-42db-9bce-a0abf0ce41a7&pf_rd_s=merchandised-search-8&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_i=384082011&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=CM1TEM5PRJ37602ESE2B

But the above looks like it's more in your budget. This one IS on sale right now though. I was browsing Amazon deals and saw it and thought "Hey! There was a person on Raoa looking for a gift for someone who likes ROCKS."

Found a very simillar one with all the F1-F12 keys here.

The trick is to remove the batteries and then claim it is broken.

Worked like a charm with this fucking thing.

So this basically? Vortex Bottle Connector - Tornado in a Bottle Colors May Vary https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0090LYSLC/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_b2GMBbXRCRP5G

Tin Can Robot

Magnetic Pen

Sneaky Uses for Everyday Things

Radian Wall Clock

USB beverage cooler

Check out thinkgeek.com

I would find an old electronic item, disassemble and practice desoldering things on there. You'll find very quickly there are different types of tools/iron tips you're going to want. I say old electronic item because motherboards from like a computer or stereo component are difficult to work on. The solder doesn't flow as easy and you'll want to develop a technique/acquire all the tools before you attempt something like that.

They have a plethora of soldering kits where you can solder a digital clock, radio etc

I think much of engineering is like that...it's insane what they expect us to learn in 4 years. I had to take a circuits course, and then my dynamic systems professor happened to be an EE, so most of our crazy-long homework sets and exams involved circuits. Our CAD course was a two-hour class each week with homework that would take everyone hours to complete, but it only counted for 1 credit. All 4 of my chemistry labs were 2 credits each, but they were 9 hours per week in lab, plus all the time it took to study for quizzes and write lab reports. I actually talked to the department chair about that, and he told me that he knew the labs should be at least 4 credits each, but they couldn't make them worth that much or they'd exceed the amount of credits they were allowed to require for graduation. So they left them at 2 credits despite the time and workload being so staggering. It was like that across the board. Hooray for technical majors, right? I guess this explains the high level of depression and dissatisfaction among students majoring in engineering or science.

I hope you're already seeing the light at the end of the tunnel (and might I add it's pretty neat you're the only other BME I've met on here, and you're a girl--yay!).

Also, this conversation reminded me of one of my favorite toys as a kid. XD

Googling "simple piston motor" led to this low-temperature stirling engine as the second link.

https://www.amazon.com/DjuiinoStar-Low-Temperature-Stirling-Engine/dp/B077LHS81K

Dave from EEVblog recommends building power supplies. They're pretty simple, and it doesn't hurt to have a bunch of them. You can find kits, which will teach you how to solder parts onto a PCB, but it's not too hard to design a supply around an LM317 regulator, the data sheet will have the circuit you need right on it. This will also be a good chance to learn the non-electronics skills you'll need; instead of buying a plastic box, make one out of plywood and paint it up.

Once you have a power supply or three, start playing around with simple analog circuits. You should have a breadboard and jumper wires and at least one good multimeter, though the aforementioned EEVblog recommends two, and not cheaping out on them. He did a $50 multimeter shootout , if you don't want to watch an hourlong video this was the winner, but it's worth watching to see why it won. Anyhow, you can find kits and project ideas online, get some random parts and start playing around until you have a good feel for old school analog circuits. Try to make up your own project and build it, even if it's completely useless.

At some point, preferably after you have a good grasp of analog circuits, you're going to have to move up to digital. Arduinos are a good start, they're popular enough that you can't look at a single page of Instructables without tripping over an Arduino project. You're going to have to learn some programming to make it go, but there's a million tutorials online. To make the pinball machine go, you're going to have to learn how to use the Arduino (or something like it) to control analog components, probably while giving them their own external power source. You'll also need to know how to drive a display for the scoreboard, and of course you'll have to program the logic for keeping track of the number of balls left, current score, and what inputs translate to what increase in score. The programming alone is a big undertaking, so if you go forward on this, be prepared to spend years on it.

A good project to do would also be to make a MAME cabinet. It's much simpler on the electronics side, you either hack the buttons and joysticks into a USB keyboard controller, or buy one of these which does the same thing, and then use an old PC and monitor. The hard part is building an arcade cabinet, which is still a lot simpler than building a pinball table. You'd be looking at a couple hundred dollars in parts, but that's not too bad compared to what you want to end up doing.

This kit has everything you need: https://www.amazon.com/Elenco-300-in-One-Electronic-Project-Lab/dp/B00005K86O/

This is how I got interested in electrical engineering.

The problem was I only realized years later that a lot of EE is programming and not actual circuits and circuit design. I love circuits and stuff but hate programming so take that for what it's worth.

Switched to chemical engineering sophomore year of college and never looked back.

Had one of these when I was younger. Lots of entertainment extremely cheap.

The easiest way to get Garnets ready for submersion would be to tumble them in a rock tumbler. You can get an inexpensive one (https://www.amazon.com/National-Geographic-Hobby-Rock-Tumbler/dp/B01LQCIL88 for example), or you can make your own with a round plastic container, a base with a simple motor, and some wheels or conveyor parts for it to sit on (one possible method: https://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Rock-Tumbler/). You put the garnets in, add some water and course abrasive sand, then turn it on and let it tumble for a week or so, then switch to the next finer grit, eventually getting down to plastic beads and soapy water. You can also polish them by hand with a dremil tool and polishing compound, or with a buffing wheel. This is the better approach if you want to preserve crisp edge geometry. Some people also cut and facet them. If you have a very transparent garnet it may be worth looking at having it cut and faceted as they can be worth a fair amount. But usually garnets are pretty inexpensive. If there is a lot of matrix rock and you don't want to tumble, you can typically dissolve it slowly with oxcillic acid or muriatic acid. Some people also use small sandblasters for particularly nice specimens. Its ok if they are a little rough, the fish won't mind, but they might get algae in the cracks. They also sell Garnet sand so you can have big garnets sitting on a bed of garnet sand if you like the look. I have a whole jar of it for some reason that came with the house heh.

My son recently had his birthday and I got him Snap Circuits Jr.. It's a really fun kit that he can do by himself or with me building a number of interesting electronic projects. It's very well conceived - like Legos but with electronic components.

Same principle as the thin film that does the same, except easier to see how it functions.

The film I’m talking about

this magical film lets you see magnetic fields

Things I've recently received for my toddler that make me want to scream:

• The V-tech Sit-to-stand smart cruiser - because everyone that works at V-tech is a sadistic fuck. The thing beeps continuously and the thing gets stuck in a permanently-beeping mode where it can't seem to figure out how to shut off. Really, anything made by V-tech is built to make parents want to die.
  
  
• Tonka police cars and fire trucks that make real-life volume siren noises
  
  
• The B Meowsic keyboard and B Woofer guitar - not only will they play irritating songs, but they will actually meow and woof the music too

My mom worked for Discovery Toys around that time in my life, so we had some great toys/games. Number one on the list, and in my heart:
Marbleworks.
http://www.amazon.com/MARBLEWORKS%C2%AE-Starter-Set-Discovery-Toys/dp/B003SAM6BU

A great way to get started with this stuff is through a company called SparkFun based out of Boulder Colorado. They sell two kits both for about $100:

1. https://www.sparkfun.com/products/12060
   
2. https://www.sparkfun.com/products/13154
   
   These kits come with all the sensors, LEDs, transistors (controllable switches), and a really easy to read tutorial book to take you step by step from blinking an LED to controlling stepper motors.
   
   $100 can be a bit much so if you don't care about looks as much/want to buy sensors as you go you can buy the Arduino (https://www.sparkfun.com/products/11021), Breadboard (http://www.amazon.com/BB400-Solderless-Plug-BreadBoard-tie-points/dp/B0040Z1ERO), a refill kit (https://www.sparkfun.com/products/13110), and a few transistors (https://www.sparkfun.com/products/521) for about $50 bucks and then all of SparkFun's tutorials are online (https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/sik-experiment-guide-for-arduino---v32/experiment-1-blinking-an-led). These include all the code, how to use the sensors/wiring, and anything you want.
   
   Good luck!
   

This basically you put everyday rocks you find in world into it and it tumbles them for like a week i think and when you take them out they are all shiny and smooth. then i don't know what you do with them, but you would have a bunch of really shiny and smooth rocks.

http://www.amazon.com/MARBLEWORKS%C2%AE-Starter-Set-Discovery-Toys/dp/B003SAM6BU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1343281031&sr=8-1&keywords=marbleworks

LETS GOOOOOO

It's easier than ever to get into electronics these days. Make Magazine (actually, O'Reilly) publishes a wide variety of books, including starter books on electronics and simple computer circuits.
http://oreilly.com/

Also, Amazon sells some kits for folks who want to get their feet wet (tho wet feet aren't a very safe way to work in this field). This one is meant for teenagers who are probably younger than you are, but it will take you to the right part of Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Vintage-Sports-Cards-MX-906-Electronic/dp/B00005K2SY/ref=sr_1_43?ie=UTF8&qid=1380830249&sr=8-43&keywords=electronics+kit

If you're working from a book rather than a kit, you can order parts, even in ones, from suppliers like Digikey.com For orders under $25, they charge an extra $5. Even so, they're much cheaper than Radio Shack. Also, look up Sparkfun Electronics and their collection of books, kits, and free online projects.

At the minimum, you'll need a multimeter (volts, amps, ohms). Check ebay for these. A soldering iron is a useful tool, but a cheap one can be more trouble than it's worth. Better to use a solderless prototyping board (see Amazon or Digikey) at first.

With the proper bits, polishing paste, a rotary tool stand and an industrial rotary tool that specific agate could take hours. With just a regular old dremel, water and some crappy bits /u/ces614 is right that agate could take you days.

Source I do a lot of rotary tool work on shells, and have practiced on some small soft stones. On the Mohs scale they would fall between 3 and 5, an agate is what roughly 7 on the scale. The hardest thing I've worked on with the dremel I have is a striped fox conch, if you mesured it against the Mohs scale it would be about a 6 maybe 6.5. I was making a shell horn, it took an hour and a half total to finish it. Imagine spending an hour and half on that agate, thats if you only do one side. You'd have to take a lot of breaks even with a stand or a flex shaft. I guess if your just doing the one stone you could do it but man that's ify.

Personally just drop the $80 on a nice Lortone tumbler, they are simple and last damn near forever. Use the rotary tool, or whatever you already have to shape your agate then throw it in the tumbler. If you want to do it super cheap, buy a toy tumbler they cost about $30. After 2 or 3 sets of rocks they start to leak, unless they have improved them any since I was a kid (I'm 30 now) which I doubt.

Yeah you've pretty much got it. The controller you linked is the newest version of the teensy, and while it will work fine and will be more upgradable, since you are on a budget you could use any of the teensy boards for this. I would probably just a teensy++ or 2.0. As far as upgradability goes, it depends on what you think you might want to add. For comparison, here are the specs for the ($30usd) teensy++2.0(www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Teensy-2-0/221541256601) :

8-Bit AVR Processor (AT90USB1286)
128K Flash Memory, 8K RAM, 4K EEPROM
USB Can Emulate Any Type of Device
Single Pushbutton Programming
Arduino Compatible
8 Analog Inputs
46 Digital I/O Pins
9 PWM outputs

and the ($20 usd) Teensy 2.0 :

8-Bit AVR Processor 16 MHz (ATMEGA32U4)
31.5K Flash Memory, 2.5K RAM, 1K EEPROM
USB Can Emulate Any Type of Device
Single Pushbutton Programming
Arduino Compatible
12 Analog Inputs
25 Digital I/O Pins
7 PWM outputs

note the difference in analog (faders, knobs) and digital (buttons, switches) IO pins, and think about what you might want to add down the line to decide.

You can use any Teensy controller, arduino, any arduino clone, or any microcontroller that says it has a teensyduino or arduino compatible bootloader. Almost all of the controllers on this page would be suitable for the application I've described.

A breadboard is a rectangular plastic block that is covered in holes with contact clips inside them that you push wires into to build a prototype of your circuit before you do any soldering. It consists of two power "buses" (common contacts) that run down each side, each with a positive and negative hole. In the center are two banks of holes that are arranged into rows of 5, in which all of the holes in each row are connected.

This probably sounds pretty confusing but they are very easy to use, and allow you to quickly build, troubleshoot and test your design before soldering anything, and when you do solder, you can just go piece by piece from your breadboard. This video actually shows a light-controlled midi controller being put together on a breadboard using a Teensy, and shows it interfacing with ableton in real time. Take note of how the power buses on the sides are used, and how the board sits over the ravine, otherwise all pins opposite each other would be shorted to one another.

This page explains how breadboards work very well. In the videos of the teensy on the breadboard, the controllers are the version with header pins to be used with breadboards. This will make it much easier for you to prototype your design, then when it works how you want, you can actually transfer it to a "permanent breadboard" that has holes through the board surrounded by solder pads that you will solder you circuit to once you drop all the wires and teensy pins through the board. If you get one like this that has the exact same layout as a standard breadboard you can literally lift it off the breadboard and drop it into the solderable board if youre gentle. If you can get scrap wire and solder materials (be sure to watch a few videos on soldering ICs and microcontrollers, as the teensy really is teensy, about 17mm x 35mm, so you can imagine how close the pins are. Soldering really isn't difficult if you are patient and prepared though) and build you own enclosure, you can easily keep this under budget.

This one looks more like the one my brother had. Sad face for the price :( I want it, but cant really justify the cash.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00005K86O/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_2?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B000IXPYSM&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=025Q89FM43XNZ6ZHZRPP

Usually in the URL you will see something like this, It's almost always a 20 after the name in the "tag" parameter.

&tag=affinamehere-20

For example:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007XVYSDE/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B007XVYSDE&linkCode=as2&tag=affnamehere-20&linkId=E3UFYXEESH4I6L7J

Here's one off Amazon if anymore can't be bothered to build one [Gyroscope] (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000FGKHZ2/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B000FGKHZ2&linkCode=as2&tag=rafnieto10-20&linkId=844488613f55cab2eeb9a5dd5326e31a)

Snap circuits!!

I have this, and it makes me want to murder the person who bought it: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B007XVYSDE/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1451274309&sr=8-1&pi=SY200_QL40&keywords=vtech+drum&dpPl=1&dpID=51z-2FiUzUL&ref=plSrch

I have collapsible 5 gallon containers (plastic similar to the sawyer bags) and one of the adapters to make 2L bottles into a tornado in my car camping kit. Dirty bag > filter > adapter > clean bag. Hang or drape over a log and let it do its thing.

Edit: u/Swingmerightround I am leaving my mobile mess above, but wanted to edit that they are 5L, not 5G. Still a chunk of water. Containers and Adapter

You only need $50.

I have always loved using this one:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/B-68612-Meowsic-Music-Set/dp/B002YIRKBS/ref=sr_1_2/279-1783460-6947230?s=kids&ie=UTF8&qid=1426698836&sr=1-2

https://www.amazon.com/Originial-TEDCO-Gyroscope-Twin-Pak/dp/B000FGKHZ2 pretty good, and at a low price.