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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.]

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  • (Score: 2) by kaganar on Wednesday December 16 2015, @10:41PM

    by kaganar (605) on Wednesday December 16 2015, @10:41PM (#277348)
    I have two nephews. I try to find fun but skill-building gifts for them. The older one is obviously STEM-leaning. He takes challenges head on -- the more frustrated he gets, the more determined he is. STEM gifts are falling out of the sky right now -- grant you, most of them are total junk since everyone's trying to make a money grab, but they're still easier to find than they used to be. On the other hand, the younger nephew doesn't power through failure, but he's much more interested in form over function. This speaks "designer" to me. But next to Arduino robots, colored pencils and paper just don't seem "cool". I can't help but think something like Capsela of old days would be perfect for him (the remake of Capsela is apparently terrible), but I just haven't found much out there to unleash design creativity in a "cool" way.
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