NEWS$show=/search/label/news

Here's where you'll find all the latest news about technology for children. We love to follow cool new inventions on Kickstarter and we hunt out all the latest announcements about tech toys and gadgets for the coming Christmas holidays. You'll also get our take on children's technology stories in the media.

REVIEWS$show=/search/label/review

Our kids technology product reviews are intended to help you work out whether a toy, gadget or kit is a good fit for your child or family. There's lots of cool stuff available, but is it the right choice for the child or teenager that you are buying for? We'll help you make the right choices and get the best value for money.

GIFT GUIDES$show=/search/label/gift%20guide

Parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and friends assemble. We create gift lists to help you make good choices for kids technology which helps them develop the right skills for the future. We research the best in Coding Toys and Games, Making / Craft Tools and Kits, STEM/STEAM related gifts, Programmable Robots, Electronics Kits and Gadgets for Tech Age Kids and Teens.

PROJECTS$show=/search/label/project

Get crafty with technology. Here we'll post all our ideas and projects using technology to get creative and making with kids. You'll find anything from making a lemon battery to a glow-in-the-dark Minecraft sword. Our projects are tried and tested on our own kids or at events we run, so we are sure you can have a go at home with your kids. Some of our projects use specific tech gadgets which we provide links for you to purchase.

STEM$show=/search/label/stem

STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. In recent years there is an increased focus in these areas of study. We like to include Art and Design too, so we often talk about STEAM (A stands for Art). At Tech Age Kids we believe Coding is a new literacy and children need to understand how technology works, practice making skills and grow in their curiosity to make a better future for us all.

CODING$show=/search/label/coding

Coding is increasingly being recognised as an important skill for children to learn. Some will learn to code at school or at a coding club, but it's brilliant if they get support at home too.

ELECTRONICS$show=/search/label/electronics

We think it's really important for kids to get hands-on with electronics and learn how to make circuits and write code to control hardware. Younger kids can start with conductive playdough. For kids who like to combine craft and tech, littleBits are fab. And we love SAM Labs wireless electronics components for making it easy for kids to make Internet of Things inventions. Lots of electronics kits for kids have support for the Arduino microprocessor environment. The DuinoKit Jr is one of our favourites. Arduino is a fab skill for older kids and teens to develop.

ROBOTICS$show=/search/label/robotics

We love robots at Tech Age Kids, especially programmable ones. We've got lots of them and write reviews and projects that use them. Our programmable robots for kids buying guide is a good place to start if you're not sure what's available. Roby the mBot Meccano robot dog is one of our popular projects and has been with us to lots of events. Our Ozobot LEGO trailer is fab for kids who love LEGO and robots.

MAKING AND CRAFT$show=/search/label/making

We're advocates of the creative use of technology, but this needs to be balanced with developing physical skills such as papercraft, woodwork, clay modelling, technical drawing and soldering. If children don't develop these skills as they grow up then physical making projects can become frustrating rather than fun. The Maker Community uses the term 'making' as a broad term to include all sorts of artisan skills or craft activities. Being able to make things can lead to life-long hobbies or even careers. It's a great feeling to be able to take a project from an idea in your head to a real object that does something. We're particularly interested to explore products that combine maker skills with tech skills such as electronics but others focus purely on the physical making skills that are still important to modern making.

Celebrate the Anniversary of the Curiosity Mars Rover with Kodu

On August 6th 2012 (August 5th in some timezones) the Curiosity Rover landed on Mars in the Gale Crater. For many kids this event started an interest in space exploration. Curiosity is still out there doing important research and sending data back to scientists on Earth.

We think it's worth celebrating the anniversary of Rover's landing on Mars and this year we've been looking at Kodu's Mars Edition. Kodu is a games programming environment for children from Microsoft which uses drag and drop icons. Kodu is available for the XBox or as a free download for the PC.

There are Kodu: Mars Edition lesson plans for children aged around 11+, but younger children will also be able to have run with the Rover content.

Kodu: Mars Edition was added to the PC version in 2012 and the Rover content became a long term addition to the environment. If your kids haven't tried Kodu then now's a good time to try.

Getting Started with Kodu: Mars Edition


There isn't actually a special edition to download, you just find the content in the regular edition of Kodu. Here's the original trailer for Kodu: Mars Edition to give you an idea of what to expect:


After running Kodu you can access Mars specific content. The Rover character can also be used in any game you create in Kodu. Rover has the ability to scan rocks and perform scientific analysis to simulate the work of the real Curiosity Rover on Mars.


Little Kids and Beginners


For the youngest children we recommend UK primary school teacher Carole Rush's YouTube videos that teach children from age 4+ how to use Kodu: Mars Edition. The videos are very slow so that young children can follow along. Start with the first video in the series of five: Kodu Mars 1 Age 4+ Introduction Curiosity on Mars.


Big Kids


Children aged around 8+ will be able to play the lessons that are included in Kodu: Mars Edition. After starting Kodu choose 'Load World' from the main menu and then navigate (you can use the right arrow key) to one of the Mars themed game levels or starter worlds. You have to move right quite a few times to find the Mars content. 

Starting by playing the Mars Rover: Discovery and Mars Rover: The Expedition game levels will help kids learn the features that are available to use. The levels teach kids about Mars exploration science as they play games in Kodu. 

To look at the kode, click Esc to enter edit mode. Click on the Kodu character in the menu to enter Object Tool mode, then right click on the Rover and choose Program. You will see the graphical code that controls Rover in the lesson. 

This Mars Rover Rocks Tutorial is useful to watch to give kids ideas on how to create their own Kodu Mars Rover game.

Tweens and Teens


For kids aged around 11+ there are lesson plans from Microsoft and the NASA Jet Propulsion Lab/Caltech which are built around the Mars game levels in Kodu. 

These lessons are designed for teachers to use in school but some of the ideas could be used at home with kids who are really interested in learning more about how the Curiosity Rover works. 

The lesson plans are available from the Kodu: Mars Edition page





24 days of Scratch coding book cover and cute penguin
Name

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Tech Age Kids | Technology for Children: Celebrate the Anniversary of the Curiosity Mars Rover with Kodu
Celebrate the Anniversary of the Curiosity Mars Rover with Kodu
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Tech Age Kids | Technology for Children
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