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.

Develop a Creative Designer with The Extraordinaires


We love Rory's Story Cubes because it develops creative problem solving and story-telling skills. So when we came across another product by The Creativity Hub we were excited to explore it.

The Extraordinaires Design Studio is a game to develop creative problem solving skills through the process of product design.  It is recommended for 8 to 108 yrs, but I purchased it for my 7 year old son.  He is a keen creative designer and loves drawing imaginative vehicles, gadgets and weapons.

Updated Sept 2016


What's Inside the Design Studio

Opened and ready to goWhen The Extraordinaires Design Studio arrived we couldn't wait to unwrap it and see what was inside.

The kit includes the game cards, a drawing pad and pen, all stowed away in a beautiful blue A4 size plastic case.

The game cards include characters ("The Extraordinaires"),

  • object cards (the "thing" you will design for your character), 
  • think cards (research, design and improve it questions and suggestions) and 
  • award cards (because every good design should receive a great reward).
There are 15 extraordinaires in total, each with unique characteristics and settings to help you with your ideas.


You choose one "object card" to go with your character.  Some of these include a communication device, time keeper or musical instrument.  There are 15 in total so providing a fantastic amount of product design possibilities.

The aim of the game is to create a product for an extraordinary character.  Some of our favourite characters  in the kit includes the Ninja, Vampire Teen, Super Hero and Rap Star.

There are "think cards" to aid the design process, helping to teach the importance of research, design and improvement of an idea.

You can play the game on your own or with family and friends in a multi-player mode.  They have also included different levels for additional challenge.




How did we play the game


Young designer at workMy son (only 7 at the time), was keen to do the singular game.  I sat with him the first time and explained the design process and how he can use the "think cards" to help improve his ideas.

He had a very strong idea initially but I was very impressed how he was able to adjust his idea with the help of the "think cards".

He is a good reader, so was able to read the cards himself. We used our own pencil and colouring pencils (the kit does contain a pen).

He designed a fantasy product rather than something that could actually be manufactured.  I felt for his age this was great, because he was developing the skills to think through the design process.

His product was a classy headband for a girl super hero that provided her with protection from her enemies via a force field that exploded out of the headband when she pressed the jewel on the front. 

Not shabby for a 7 year old.

The next day he picked up the Design Studio himself and went through the game to create a game controller for a teenage vampire.

Design for a game controller for a teenage vampire

The Extraordinaires online and mobile app


You can create an account at The Extraordinaires website and upload your designs. This feature has been replaced with The Extraordinaires app, now available on Andriod and iOS. It allows you to snap a picture of your design and upload to your projects, with voice over descriptions. (Note you need an account to use the app).

There is also a product design challenge included in the kit to unlock "The Extraordinaires Product Design EXPERT" pack by completing 3 levels of product designs. For each level you need to create 10 products and you can either log your progress on the sheets provided in the kit or online at www.extraordiniares.com  The only downside with this is you have to have an apple device to create an account and upload your designs. It looks like they provide an iPhone app to upload designs and I couldn't find an Android alternative. The app is now available for Andriod too!

New Extraordinaire Sets


The Extraodinaires Design Studio Pro

The Extraodinaires Design Studio Pro originally designed to inspire professional designers at work, has been adopted by teachers as a learning resource to teach creative thinking. The Pro set contains 120 page designer book and tutorial list, with 720 design challenges, covering five discipline areas, namely, Inventions, Buildings, Vehicles, Clothing and Gadgets. This set is being developed for educational use, and recognised as a great resource for teachers.



The Extraodinaires Design Studio Pocket Edition

The Pocket set is smaller and good for younger kids. Each set (currently Inventions and Buildings) focus on one area and contains, 6 client cards (The Extraordinaires), 6 project cards (what you need to design), 10 think cards (3 step design process of Research, Design and Improve), an Idea pad (includes 40 sheets and refills are available to order), pen and drawing case. The unit is smaller than the Design Studio, so perfect for taking on holiday or on the move. The kit is recommended for ages 10+.

24 days of Scratch coding book cover and cute penguin
Name

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Tech Age Kids | Technology for Children: Develop a Creative Designer with The Extraordinaires
Develop a Creative Designer with The Extraordinaires
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Tech Age Kids | Technology for Children
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