I can't wait to get one... in fact I'm getting one for my 5-year-old! (And will probably store it in the attic, along with the "Visible V-8 Engine" until she is old enough to understand it..... She's just entering the Tinkertoy apprentice level.)
I got my start in engineering with a "Radio Shack" version of this toy... circa 1976. And I'm willing to bet that many of my contemporaries had a similar experience.
Another great stuff is on that site. http://www.hobbytron.com/lynx-arm.html
I made one robot with my kid and he used it in his class for almost a year. Very interesting and educational. I actually took if from him and had a demo at a show for my sensors. It is much better then standing and moving sensors in space. I just programmed this manipulator and it did the job.
As a kid, I had a Capsella, a few Erector sets, and a few Robotix sets that I played with for several years. As an adult, I have looked for similar items for my kids, but they are hard to find. The SparkFun kit seems like it would help to introduce my kids to the world of engineering.
Totally agree. My kids used SparkFun and made some nice science demos for school projects. We just donated 20lb of Lego to a local school including some SparkFuns. Great ideas from this company. It is a great educational tool to introduce kids to electronics and basic electro-mechanics.
I love to hear about toys/products like this. My son currently has scores of legos. And we've done several other toys that require quite a bit of assembly. My question is you say you were wondering if your sons (plural) would enjoy this set and you then mention your 14 year old loves it. Would you recommend it for younger kids, 8, 10 12? Or is it too much for them?
I love to encourage my son but sometimes a project that is too difficult can lead to frustration and the money would have been better spent on something else. Although I really like the idea of being able to expand from the mechanical (lego) aspect of engineering into the electrical and electronics side of things.
I love to hear about toys/products like this. My son currently has scores of legos. And we've done several other toys that require quite a bit of assembly. My question is you say you were wondering if your sons (plural) would enjoy this set and you then mention your 14 year old loves it. Would you recommend it for younger kids, 8, 10 12? Or is it too much for them?
I love to encourage my son but sometimes a project that is too difficult can lead to frustration and the money would have been better spent on something else. Although I really like the idea of being able to expand from the mechanical (lego) aspect of engineering into the electrical and electronics side of things.
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