Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

Ask Soylent -- STEM-based Gifts for Kids

posted by CoolHand on Wednesday December 16 2015, @02:03AM   Printer-friendly
from the make-em-smarter dept.

Phoenix666 writes:

So it's that time of year again, and I'm pondering gifts for the kids that will teach them Science, Tech, Engineering, Math (STEM) fundamentals without their knowing it. The google searches so far have produced addition flash cards with cartoon characters on them and the like, which is instant tedium. I saw this replica of the Digi Comp at Maker Faire a couple years ago and thought it would fill the bill, but $350 is a big risk to take on something they might only play with for 5 minutes. Have any Soylentils given STEM gifts that really have worked, capturing kids' imaginations and teaching them useful STEM concepts?

[Please indicate a suggested age-range for any gift you suggest. -Ed.]

Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Ask Soylent -- STEM-based Gifts for Kids | Log In/Create an Account | Top | 53 comments | Search Discussion
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.

  • (Score: 2) by Anne Nonymous on Wednesday December 16 2015, @07:30PM

    by Anne Nonymous (712) on Wednesday December 16 2015, @07:30PM (#277256)

    Is Meccano compatible with old-style Erector sets from the 50s?

    Starting Score:    1  point
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  
    Total Score:   2  

  • (Score: 3, Informative) by looorg on Thursday December 17 2015, @02:11AM

    by looorg (578) on Thursday December 17 2015, @02:11AM (#277446)

    Is Meccano compatible with old-style Erector sets from the 50s?

    I can't make any promise or anything. Since I had never heard about this Erector set before I had to look at some images online and from what I can see they look to be very similar at least, if not identical. They look to contain more or less the same pieces (shapes, sizes, types, cogs, screws), the pieces seems to contain the same amount of holes etc. While doing my image search I read a bit and it seems they would be. I would be surprised if they where not compatible. The set (Meccano) I had from the 70's was compatible with newer once at least, we tried that.