Go from physical blocks to a virtual game that you designed! Bloxels allows players to be designers, programmers, and publishers when it comes to this video game creation platform. All you need to get started is Bloxels and the free Bloxels Builder app for your smart device. The 13 x 13 gameboard is your design space, and you use the eight different colored blocks (320 blocks total) to make your creations. You have blocks designated for terrain, coins, power-ups, water, enemies, story blocks, exploding blocks, and hazards. Players can design the layout of their game and even create their own characters using the blocks. Once you've gotten a room or a character exactly how you want it, snap a picture of it on the Bloxels Builder app and further customize it before you animate and play. A completed game can be shared on the Bloxels Infinity Wall (Bloxels online account needed) for other 13-bit builders to play. The best part is that if anyone wants to play your creations, they … [Read more...]

The craft jewelry market is booming with so many brands that it truly takes a unique product to set itself a part from the crowd. In general, crafting jewelry has very similar processes to achieve necklaces, bracelets, or earrings. Neat-Oh! and Rebeca Mojica created the Linkt® Craft Kits so that kids could make high quality artisan jewelry in half an hour. It's not the speed that sets Linkt® Craft Kits a part from other jewelry kits. Thanks to Rebeca Mojica you learn a simple chainmaille technique to make each piece. No longer is chainmaille just the archaic dress you remember learning about in history class. It's a technique that yields beautiful pieces of jewelry in record time. Linkt® Craft Kits Bubble Loops is a set that produces five necklaces or bracelets (or a combination of the two.) This kit provides hundreds of colorful metal rings, instructions, Youtube videos, and Linkt® Craft Kits patent pending tool. What is this magical tool you ask? A soft rectangular ring holder … [Read more...]

Monthly subscription boxes are all the rage these days. It seems that there is a subscription box for any interest. So, why not invest in a box that is educational and appropriately designed for your child's age? Science Unboxed has created three different types of monthly subscription STEM boxes that are great for kids ages 6-16. Ideally, ages 6-10 would order the Elementary Box, ages 11-13 the Middle School Box, and ages 14 and up the High School Box. They've worked hard to create a new STEM theme every month and to design the contents of the box around it. Each box contains 5 items to fit the theme. You'll also find inside an independent activity for the child that is very hands on. Additional projects included are designed to promote core knowledge and further practice for basic scientific principles. Don't worry! While these boxes value independence in learning and discovery, they include an instructional booklet and an educational poster. Your child won't be completely … [Read more...]

Learning and understanding are shown through a baby's development. The big milestones are talking and walking, but what if I told you that introducing your baby to science is just as important? Science helps us to better understand the world. And, babies are trying to understand the world. See the connection? Author Ruth Spiro has taken her love for science and transformed it into adorable baby literature to talk about big scientific concepts on an infant's level. Science is in everything that we see everyday. When you give explanation for these normal occurrences in an age-appropriate way you're starting a conversation that will last a lifetime. Her book series Baby Loves features big scientific concepts as board books with colorful cartoons that explains things on a basic level and makes unrelatable concepts relatable. For example, in Baby Loves Aerospace Engineering! you learn about birds and how they fly. Babies know birds. This book takes a bird flying and translates it … [Read more...]

Barbie has come a long way since the pink evening gown clad lady I just HAD to have for Christmas as a little girl. A great example of how Barbie has shifted to reflect our changing ideals is the Barbie Crystal Geology set. The highlight of this set is a block of plaster with three crystals hiding inside. My daughter loves science and has had several different excavation kits, but this was one of the best. What sets this kit apart from the others is the quality of the tools. The hammer has some weight, the chisel has a metal tip, and the brush has sturdy bristles. After my daughter was done digging out gems, we saved the tools for other kits because they are better than anything that comes with other kits. To add to the experience and increase your child’s interest in earth science, the Barbie Crystal Geology Set comes with a terrific activity book that details the excavation process and includes directions for other simple crystal-related experiments that you and your child can … [Read more...]

Are you looking for educational gifts that involve critical thinking to solve problems or an exciting way to turn abstract scientific concepts into tangible learning experiences? Thames & Kosmos has a wide range of educational kits, toys, and games that allow children to see firsthand how fun learning can be for them. We were lucky to try two of their products: Happy Atoms and Word Slam. The Happy Atoms Intro Set takes the smallest particles of our existence and turns them into large, touchable systems that you can watch work by using an app on your smartphone or tablet. Sometimes a hard concept to grasp, Happy Atoms uses 17 atom models to show you how to construct your molecular models by physically snapping the pieces together and observing their behavior digitally. It reinforces the thought that happy atoms are those that stick together and offers you the chance to experience why others do not. The amazing part about this kit is that once you’ve snapped together your … [Read more...]